Replacement Trackballs for Kensington

[daerid]

I'm having trouble finding a replacement ball for the Kensington Slimblade. Kensington says they can't supply just the ball, and none of the balls on http://trackballworld.com say they will work.

I just need a replacement ball, the one that came with my Slimblade is nicked and keeps catching on the little support nubs in the unit. Really, really annoying.

[vun]

I checked Trackballworld, the balls they sell say nothing about the Slimblade, which uses 2-1/4" balls according to the spec sheet they have, and they do sell balls of that size.

[daerid]

True but their site does say that they don't work with the Kensington Expert, which uses the same optical mechanism. I think for the Slimblade and the Expert you need that sparkly finish they have on there to allow the optical sensor to track

[vun]

True but their site does say that they don't work with the Kensington Expert, which uses the same optical mechanism. I think for the Slimblade and the Expert you need that sparkly finish they have on there to allow the optical sensor to track

I think the reason they say it won't work with the Expert is because the Expert ball is smaller, but not by a lot, so it would seem proper size at a glance when it really isn't.
My Slimblade tracked with one of those squeezy stress reliever balls, and that's fabric, so I doubt it's the finish that does it. It also tracks whenever I move my fingers past the sensors.

[daerid]

All those things are textured though. My optical mice would track on fabric as well as detect my finger. But when I put it on a reflective surface, nothin.

[vun]

Still, why would they not include the Slimblade if that was the reason? Considering the fact that they state it won't work on the Expert but say nothing about the Slimblade I would assume this is due to the 2mm difference in ball size rather than a tracking issue, and either way I'd say it's worth a shot considering that the balls, at least the blue ones, are not all that expensive.

[daerid]

Good point about the price. I think I'll pick one up, even though Kensington is sending a replacement unit.


*edit* looks like their website checkout process is borked. Well see if I can order one via email.

[daerid]

Ok, they had a minimum order, so I had to buy two. Unfortunately, they're about 1-2mm too large, and thus won't fit in the slimblade

Oh well, now I got a couple of cool paper weights

[vun]

You might want to tell them to make sure they get their info right, maybe even ask for a refund, as their page on the slimblade says 2-1/4" and by using the wonders of logic we can conclude that a 2-1/4" ball will fit. If it doesn't they need to at least update their specs either on the balls or on the slimblade.

[daerid]

Well, I just bought a pool table today so worst case scenario I got some cool translucent cue balls.

[kurplop]

I have empirical proof that an Expert Mouse ball will work. If you'd like I will send you one.

[daerid]

I have empirical proof that an Expert Mouse ball will work. If you'd like I will send you one.

How much you want for it? The nick on this thing is driving me crazy. It's like trackball Russian roulette.

[Surnia]

the kensington trackballs run on 55mm with the big models... unfortunately a bit non-standard.

Have you considered trying Ebay for those 55mm gem balls, or the acrylic ones? its a laser so it SHOULD work with clear ones... not sure on that one though.

[daerid]

The only 55mm/5.5cm balls on eBay I found were crystal, and I wouldn't want one of those because of chipping.

I found one place that sold 55mm clear juggling balls, but if I can get an actual ball from kurplop, that would be preferable.

[kurplop]

I have empirical proof that an Expert Mouse ball will work. If you'd like I will send you one.

How much you want for it? The nick on this thing is driving me crazy. It's like trackball Russian roulette.

PM me your address and I'll send it to you

[tayot]

This is local to me - I bought some billiard balls to use for my Ltrac - They have a 2 1/6 size for Kensington slimblade and expert. Although I'm not sure  if they work because they have no speckles like the original expert balls.

www.dynamicbilliard.ca/products/view/386/individual-aramith-2-1-16-premier-snooker-ball-asst-colours

I'm sure they deliver everywhere. One day I'll order for my Expert also to try out.

[All The Fire]

Those snooker balls are actually 2 1/16", 2mm too small.

It's very hard finding 55mm (2 1/6") balls, I've been through this before. Where balls would need to be made to precision, like snooker/billiard balls, they don't do them in 55mm sizes. You might be able to find 55mm baoding balls, but there's no guarantee on their size, they could be 53-57mm, I'd say it would be the same story with juggling balls.

I tried my luck on two rocks from ebay. One was easily too large, the other, a very nice black obsidian ball with silvery/gold sparkly bits, I believe is 55mm but not perfectly spherical, it's usable but occasionally seems to want to jam, it's also very scratchy due to a plethora of small surface imperfections.

I'd get onto Kensington again, that they won't provide replacement balls sounds like a crock of ****.

Good luck.

[daerid]

They will just replace the unit, which seems terribly wasteful. I was thinking of getting something to fill it with, and then buffing out the excess, but i have no idea what a suitable substance would be.

[skully]

Hi daerid,
The clicky banged-up mouse click is hard to take, huh? I have the same problem with mine. I called customer support, and they won't provide me with a replacement, but they will give me a 25% discount on a brand new trackball of my choice. I couldn't believe it! Thanks but no thanks!

It sounds like you have replacements for the old expert mouse (the silver balls)? I have the same problem (of course) with my older expert mouse so they would work for me if you still have them and they aren't knicked-up yet.

[berserkfan]

necrobump discussion on this thread

I am looking at Joey Quinn's discussion of a billiard ball group buy here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69859.msg1682996#msg1682996 and am quite interested. But I use Kensington slimblade and Kensington Expert mice. Both are laser opticals.

Am wondering whether I can use a billiard ball with my trackballs. Seems that some people have done so, but they were using older versions of the Kensington expert.

[CPTBadAss]

Am wondering whether I can use a billiard ball with my trackballs.

The answer is still no for the Slimblade. Slimblade diameter is 2.2" or 55.88 mm. An American style billiards ball is 2.25" or 57.15 mm.

From Wikipedia, here's a list of some other diameters of pool balls. None of which seem to exactly match:

Cue balls from (left to right):
Russian pool and kaisa—68 mm (2 11⁄16 in)
Carom—61.5 mm (2 7⁄16 in)
American-style pool—57.15 mm (2 1⁄4 in)
British-style pool (largish) —56 mm (2 3⁄16 in)
Snooker—52.5 mm (2 1⁄15 in)
Scaled-down pool—51 mm (2 in) for children's smaller tables
Not shown: half-scale children's miniature pool—approximately 28.5 mm (1 1⁄8 in).

I suggest looking up the diameter of your trackballs balls and then try to hunt down that diameter ball.

[berserkfan]

TY CPTbadass

Did my measurements and googled, yeah, can't find anything in the same size.

Baoding balls (I also have them for health reasons but never use) aren't precisely machined and mine are either too big or too small.

[Snowdog993]

How can I replace the damaged control ball on my Expert Mouse Trackball model K64325?

The control ball can be replaced by contacting Technical Support.  Technical Support is available via phone at 800-535-4242 FREE, Monday through Friday 7:30 AM PST to 4:30 PM PST.  You can also contact Technical Support via the web at our support page by initiating a support incident.  The URL for this site is http://www.kensington.com/kensington/us/us/s/1708/faqs.aspx .

I don't know if this pertains to the Slimblade, but this is for the Expert Mouse.  Aren't they the same size?