CDTV CD-1200 Trackball Problem
 

Hey Guys,

I recently picked up a CD-1200 Trackball controller on E-bay (for a grossly high price) and am having a bit of trouble with it. It works except that the trackball wont register any rolls to the left or the right. Anyone ever seen a problem like this or have any experience taking these things apart?

Thanks

Matt

Hi Matt,

It sounds like the rollers want cleaning. Can you drop the ball out without stripping it apart?

No, I will have to take the entire unit apart. That was going to be my project tonight... and to see if there are any simple mechanical issues.

Well, I would guess it's either dirty rollers or a lost connection to the transducer on that axis. Should be easy to clean up or fix either way.

These units normally come apart just by taking out a few small crosspoint screws. Certainly qualifies as a do-it-yourself job, I would say! :)

Just watch out when the ball drops out. Oh, and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or a little methylated spirit should be okay for cleaning the rollers.

Good luck,

prowler

So maybe a little bit of premature panic on my part. I disassembled the trackball and could find no mechanical issues, and the rollers were spotless. The back of the circuit board looked a bit dirty from a sloppy solder job on the transducer, so I gave it a scrub with Isopropyl. Put it back together and it worked perfectly. You can never go wrong with a little engineers luck...

Anyway, since I had it open I snapped some pictures in case anyone is interested in what these things look like on the inside.

Enjoy!

Matt

Well done, mate! :great

That gunge must have picked up some dust which was shorting out the transducer. You never know what you will find. It's always worth having a poke around and cleaning anything that looks dirty.

All's well that ends well! And thanks for the pics, Matt. Shots like this are always interesting.

prowler

I've got the same problem with mine but I haven't gotten around to taking it to pieces yet. My main reason for buying it was the joystick ports :)

Has anyone got one of these CDTV trackballs which they are willing to sell? I am willing to pay a good price for a working example...