this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024
30 points (94.1% liked)

PC Master Race

14917 readers
1 users here now

A community for PC Master Race.

Rules:

  1. No bigotry: Including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
  2. Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
  3. No NSFW content.
  4. No Ads / Spamming.
  5. Be thoughtful and helpful: even with ‘stupid’ questions. The world won’t be made better or worse by snarky comments schooling naive newcomers on Lemmy.

Notes:

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
_MoveSwiftly@lemmy.world
Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world
IowaMan@lemmy.world
BobaFett26@lemmy.world
The_Vampire@lemmy.world
Fudgeknuckles98@lemmy.world
CatZoomies@lemmy.world
Xeon@lemmy.ml
30
Does this unicorn trackball mouse exist? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by Showroom7561@lemmy.ca to c/pcmasterrace@lemmy.world
21 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

My current trackball has lost its smoothness and feels "sticky" no matter how well, or often I clean it.

So, I'm looking for a trackball (thumb controlled) with the following features:

  • Bluetooth wireless with support for at least two connections (for laptop and PC media station).
  • Uses AA or AAA batteries.
  • Uses bearings.
  • Set at a tilt/ergo angle.
  • Repairability is also important, but not a total dealbreaker if the mouse is high-enough quality.

So far, most that I've found will lack one of those features, but I'd really like to have all of them, if possible.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who offered tips on getting my current trackball working better. Today, trying to roll the ball left became very difficult, like it didn't want to move. I took it out, looked at the little white ball (bearing?) supports that the ball should be rolling on, and noticed that the left-most one was almost pushed in, and flush with the cup that the ball sits in. The other two are higher up, so the ball can "float" on those, but not this other one. The manufacturer is already sending a replacement mouse, so it should work better, but I'd still like to find my unicorn 😄

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

When reading your post, I started thinking of silicone lubricants. Have you tried anything like that? Ideally, you would only lubricate the parts that come into contact with the ball.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That might be an idea! I'll see if that's safe to do. 👍

[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

I would try PTFE. Some people report using the grease from your nose / face works well, but that's a bit icky for me. You don't want to use a lubricant that will make the ball too slippery or you won't be able to manipulate it with your fingers. And you don't something thick that will gunk up. PTFE is safe for electronics, very thin, and safe to touch at room temperatures. It gets toxic at a very high temp (like 500F or something). I would put it on a cloth and rub all moving parts with it. Add it in small amounts gradually and see if the scratchy "woody" feeling improves.