Anyone used one of these?Show Image(http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/Pictures/Models/CST2545-5W_big.jpg)
http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/highperformance.html (http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/highperformance.html)
The specs indicate it's sturdy, but I'm interested in how well the laser sensor tracks compared to a Logitech or Kensington optical sensor. I can't stand laser mice (the tracking feels "mushy"), but I am looking for a smooth+precise trackball for gaming.
what do the 1/8" jacks do?
Well I'm glad I stumbled on to this thread.
Well I'm glad I stumbled on to this thread. I have been using a CST2545W, which is like the one pictured here but with no external jacks. I use it for everything, internet, photoshop, gaming, etc. I've used every type of mouse from the MX Revolution to the G5. This trackball is very smooth compared to other trackballs. When playing games like Far Cry 2 and Battlefield Heros (I'm beta testing), this trackball makes aiming at moving targets easier. It has selectable Resolution between 400, 800, and 1600 just by holding the middle button and clicking the right button. I have my computer hooked up to my 37in HDTV @ 1080 Resolution and it only takes about 35 degree of movement to have the pointer move from one side of the screen to the other. If you are looking for the best trackball get this one. It is worth the money.
http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/index.html (http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/index.html)
Yamaha200
Hey thats great. I ordered the same one but with laser and should have it by Friday. Have you used the Kensington Expert? If so, how does it compare?
And yes, welcome to geekhack!
In my opinion, the CST trackball is better. To me, it rolls and tracks with less effort and more precise then any other.
Yamaha200
Oh man. I'm tempted to get one and I don't even LIKE trackballs. Actually I was going to get (for my wife) a USB CH DT225 but they sell OEM only (I tried) and over $200 at TrackballWorld isn't appealing.
The CH DT225 I have is built like a tank but this one sounds smoother. I get approx 2 revolutions off of a flick of the finger. A bit more than the Kensington expert.
Yamaha. Do you know how the innards work? I wonder if it's on rollers like a CH and if the laser is picking off it's signal off the actual ball or a wheel attached to the roller? Does the scroll thing grind like the Kensington or is it smooth?
If you're comfortable popping one open and can take pics that would be appreciated (you can upload with "manage attachments" button).
- Ripster
Oh man. I'm tempted to get one and I don't even LIKE trackballs. Actually I was going to get (for my wife) a USB CH DT225 but they sell OEM only (I tried) and over $200 at TrackballWorld isn't appealing.
The CH DT225 I have is built like a tank but this one sounds smoother. I get approx 2 revolutions off of a flick of the finger. A bit more than the Kensington expert.
Yamaha. Do you know how the innards work? I wonder if it's on rollers like a CH and if the laser is picking off it's signal off the actual ball or a wheel attached to the roller? Does the scroll thing grind like the Kensington or is it smooth?
If you're comfortable popping one open and can take pics that would be appreciated (you can upload with "manage attachments" button).
- Ripster
Did anyone order the opto-mechanical (http://www.trackballworld.com/40-151.html), or is everyone going for the purely optical (http://www.trackballworld.com/40-155.html)?
Did anyone order the opto-mechanical (http://www.trackballworld.com/40-151.html), or is everyone going for the purely optical (http://www.trackballworld.com/40-155.html)?
The opto-mech are good but spend a little more and get the laser.
Preference > price
Yamaha200
FKSSR, it looks like a laser escaped your trackball and punctured something.
What's with the blood on the keyboard? Sick, dude...
I just got one about a week ago and I think there is another member here that has one also. So far its working out pretty good. I have some billiard balls on order, when I get them I will post some pics.
As of right now, I think its a decent trackball. The trackball is as smooth as anything I have from kensington and the scroll wheel at the top is very smooth.I like trackballs that can be used with the left hand so that includes the kensington expert and orbit.
bigpook,
How would you rate this against the Expert, as that's the other trackball I'm considering. I'll query sales/CS about the availability of the additional hardware switches, as mapping them to Photoshop would save me serious time and work.
Thanks for the prompt reply. By the way, where did you order your billiard balls?
Cheers,
~rn
Thats a tough call. I think the expert is a great trackball and am not sure which one to go with if I had to pick just one.
So far what I like about the CST is the scroll wheel is very smooth, it has on the fly adjustment of DPI and its neat that I can swap out the trackball. It turns out that standard billiard balls can be used. I will post pics when they come in.
The kensington has 4 buttons versus 2 buttons on the CST(however, there is a button that is forward of the ball that can be used as a universal scroll/paste button. The kensington scroll ring is not as smooth as the CST but the scroll ring is adequate and its location (around the ball) is genius to me. The one major negative with the kensington is the supplied wrist rest. The actual material is fine but its such a cheaply designed part that connects it to the trackball base. Its a flap of plastic with 2 small plastic tits. Mine have broken off and I need to figure away to fix it as I need to use the wrist rest with this particular trackball.
Both trackballs are comfortable for me. Once noticeable difference between the two is that the kensington is a bit wider.
Which allows me to use my thumb to activate the button. The CST is a little bit narrower and instead of the thumb I use my forefinger.
Both trackballs are physically large and both of them are easy on the eye.
On another note, the CST is a industrial grade trackball The cord is larger/thicker and the mouse itself seems to be over-built. I can imagine Bubba using one of these in some wharehouse, one hand on a plate of gooey, greasy ribs and the other hand glomming this mouse.
Lots of dust, dirty hands and greasy fingers. I think the CST would survive in this environment, the kensington not so much.
I ordered the balls here:
check it (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/at-a-glance.html?ie=UTF8&isAmazonFulfilled=0&orderID=002-3644589-7821844&marketplaceSeller=1&seller=APQBJ7M73PO0F)
Thanks, bigpook. Another question: where did you buy the CST? I'm looking for the CST2545-5W (laser) that can accommodate the additional hardware switches (for a 5 button configuration) and for the hardware switches themselves that no one seems to stock :frusty: :mad:.
Hey, I like the yellow.
All you need now is to get a Touch Screen and use a Pool Cue as a stylus.
- Ripster
Thanks again for your time and help, bigpook. As I track down what I'm after, I'll return to the thread and post what I bought, from whom, and costs, should others be interested.
Cheers,
~rn
Yes please do. I'm interested in the same one but am not quite ready to purchase yet. So anything you find out would be a great help to me. As well as finding out about adding the extra switches as well.
Hello,I have an e-mail in to trackball world, but they've not yet responded. If they don't respond today by e-mail, I'll phone them and post their response about ordering the CST2545-5W. As for the switches, a company called Tash makes superior 1/8" mono jack switches, but egads, they're expensive. I'll look around, see what I can find, and post back here about that, too.
Most of our resellers offer the CST2545-5W only for special orders. I would recommend calling or emailing Trackballworld.com. They are the reseller that deals the most with our L-Trac series. If they don't have any in stock we could drop ship the order to you. (he didn't mention cost, but I'd imagine it to be on par with resellers--I'll edit in this information after I hear from/contact trackball world).
The CST2545-5W can use any external button with a 1/8" mono jack. We are currently working on getting switches for a trackball but would not be ready for a while. If you look online, you can find different companies that make buttons that are compatible with the -5W.
Rob,
CST
rnak92a,
We currently have one left in stock, cst2545-5w-RC (part number #MLTRACSAUB), free shipping.
See here:http://www.fentek-ind.com/laser-trackball.htm#mltracub
Let us know if we can help....Later
Ms Keyboard
Oh, Pook, you coulda told me earlier!
Hah, and I just ordered one. Well I haven't had that problem with the Expert or the CH DT225 but then I don't use them exclusively. I'm going to try alternating mouse on right and trackball on left just to give my right wrist a break. So we'll see when it arrives.
- Ripster
P.S. If desperate I could try a variation of Chimera's epoxy putty trackball mod or some kind of foam wrist rest attachment.
OT, but is that a CD case for the Miles Davis Quintet in the third pic, bigpook? If so, that's good stuff.
The Miles Davis and John Coletrain stuff is flat out amazing.
O'Cmon.... it's not my pressing of "Kind of Blue", or "Cookin'".
Don't tell me it's "*****es Brew"!
- Ripster
I was surprised when hooking it up to my computer the rather low sensitivity - I have to really jack up my mouse settings to get it to scroll the entire screen (2 1/2 revolutions for me!). I think you're on Unix so maybe there's a way to fine tune the thing.
Is this due to Windows mouse acceleration being on by default - and unconfigurable in XP (and later versions?)Ugh, SetPoint drops support for older pointing devices? I already hate Logitech for it being a 60 megabyte download.
I have a TrackMan Marble FX plugged into an XP machine, and it has 2 modes - moving like a snail or flying across the screen when you flick it. I have no way to configure it because SetPoint doesn't list it. (I already have 2 versions of SetPoint running, I don't want to load up a third LOL.)
Bigpook, did you end up returning the CST?
It was fun too shaping that wood. It's hilarious to watch dads work with their sons these days on pinewood derby cars (one of my friends is a boy scout leader). Their dads are spending HOURs scouring the internet, buying parts, getting tools, and perfecting the design while the kid watches.
The kensington expert is a fine mouse, the scroll ring is genius. The only downside is it is plastic on plastic. I don't know why kensington didn't design a better mechanism for that.I found the same ball bearing dimensions in stainless steel (from one of Microsoft's trackball devices) and replaced the plastic ones in my Kensington EM. I have not encountered any post modification issues with materials concerning weight bearing, possible scarring, resolution or ratios.
Having said that, it works great for me.
Doesn't understand the joy of finding the right size metric bolt with the right size nut!
I found the same ball bearing dimensions in stainless steel (from one of Microsoft's trackball devices) and replaced the plastic ones in my Kensington EM. I have not encountered any post modification issues with materials concerning weight bearing, possible scarring, resolution or ratios.
He will when he's older...if you catch my drift
Anyone used one of these?Show Image(http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/Pictures/Models/CST2545-5W_big.jpg)
http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/highperformance.html (http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/highperformance.html)
The specs indicate it's sturdy, but I'm interested in how well the laser sensor tracks compared to a Logitech or Kensington optical sensor. I can't stand laser mice (the tracking feels "mushy"), but I am looking for a smooth+precise trackball for gaming.
So... what do you think of the Mouse-Trak? That is one huge trackball.
Fentek if you're in the US. There's some others, and a few European ones. Check the CST site for more details.
http://www.fentek-ind.com/laser-trackball.htm#mltracub
L-trac is pretty expensive in Europe (95 £ + VAT + shipping is the cheapest I've found, total is around 140 €). Most of the American retailers who stock this won't even consider shipping here.
I have now ordered this, but from Ergoguys (sorry mskeyboard). I took the all black version, no switch jacks. Now the wait... I don't have a clue when we can have plane cargo here next. Hopefully the air will clear up, no new eruptions occur and the aviation authorities will re-open the airspace.
I'm expecting a 2-4-week wait.
The L-trac can double that to 1600dpi.
How can you pass up giving a royalty to Wendell? Look at that glare:Show Image(http://images.asia.creative.com//images/inline/products/lasermouse/fe_photo.jpg)
**** specs. My fatal1ty mouse (http://asia.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=10&subcategory=223&product=15037)goes to 11^h^h 2400 dpi, with a color-changing LED for dpi.
The D-Con is only lethal to USB mice!
Great, this problem is back again. Worked perfectly in the morning. I come back home this afternoon and the mouse won't work without unplugging and replugging. What's the problem here?
Oh great, I have my first problem with it already. I'm running Windows 7 and it won't recognize the mouse after boot unless I unplug and replug. BIOS recognizes that there is a mouse connected. Windows Device manager show this device under mice and USB devices.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be?
EDIT: Never mind. It must have been some temporary glitch. What, glitches, in MY Windows?
Just got off the phone with MsKeyboard at Fentek and heard that there will be a new l-trac released at the end of the month (cst2545xw-rc). It will include 2 extra buttons and an additional 3200dpi adjustment. Interested to see what it will look like. Have an order in for one.
I want one. Can it be bought in Europe? :-)
I want one. Can it be bought in Europe? :-)
From what we have been told, the wrist rest will attach to the front of the trackball in a manner that allows adjustment in angle and placement.
The last windows I installed was XP and it was incredibly tedious. Maybe its better with windows 7?
I think I'm in the minority when I say I like the Windows install process
I still think a windows install is tedious but haven't done Vista or Win7 yet. Maybe its improved.
All I remember is the multiple reboots, failure to detect the hardware on the motherboard (and this from a "plug and play" OS no less ), then the endless round of application installs and then finding drivers....and more reboots.
Different strokes for different folks I guess. I'll take apt-get over whatever passes for package management on a windows machine.
I've been using mine regularly and have to say that I miss the slimblade. The main problem for me is I like to use my finger tips to manipulate the ball. This means that whenever I need to hit the middle button or us the scroll wheel, I have to significantly shift my hand forward.
How does everyone else use the trackball? I can't imagine being very accurate with the palm of my hand (plus, that would mean a lot of arm movement).
That spacebar and layout - ow! Nice switches though.I've always been hard on my space bars, so the one on the Model F is perfect. And now that I have closely replicated the HHKB layout, I'm quite happy with it for now.
Well, I never liked it in that mode even with a mouse so I never use it. I have middle button mapped to CTRL-W (close Firefox tab). Use the scroll wheel for scrolling.
Congrats. I think I have personally been responsible for doubling CST's sales to non-handicapped people.
... - having the scroll wheel under the ball is far superior IMHO...
noctua, cool - do you have pictures/links to your mod? Somehow I can't seem to find it...
I find the diagonals are more stair-stepping like when I try to go diagonal upper-left using my right hand. However, it goes away if I adjust my hand position a little. It doesn't help that the bearings move sideways a little as you move the ball. Maybe I should find tiny washers to fill the gaps hehehe.
on ripster's image above (post #272) you can see where you can insert the two
missing switches, he also describe this "modding" in his own thread (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:8810)..
i plan this too, the for- and back-switch are quite practically..
Oh I want one so badly, but the price is so hard to justify. I'd be browsing the internets in style with one of those though..
Is http://www.computerware.co.uk the only European reseller of the L-TracX 3200 cpi?
I mailed el-fi.dk to see if they could bring me one, probably going to receive an answer & price within a few days time, I'll let you know what they say. (They do at least ship to Sweden (for 100 SEK), unsure about the rest of Europe.)Oh thanks, that seems like a possible option.
I mailed el-fi.dk to see if they could bring me one, probably going to receive an answer & price within a few days time, I'll let you know what they say. (They do at least ship to Sweden (for 100 SEK), unsure about the rest of Europe.)
Has anyone noticed the slight stepping fade over time, or with a different ball?
Oh thanks, that seems like a possible option.
Good luck with Linux.
Hi :-)Sounds like you already bought one from somewhere, but for the benefit of others I want to point out that el-fi.dk in Denmark had the best deal for the L-TracX when I was buying. Service via e-mail in english was okay.
I want to buy one of these CST L track but is there a dealer in France, or at least in €uro countries?
there is a reseller in the UK but VAT will kill the deal...
Is this the trackball there is? Are there any alternatives. I've read about the Kengsington SlimBlade but i read in the customer reviews on Amazon that it has one of the worst software around, especially for Win x64.
I hope this shows up properly.
(Attachment) 35646[/ATTACH]
Is there something like this that can be purchased (and preferably not assembled with lego pieces :P) ?
That's harsh tim! :) ;)
Just bought an L-TracX from computerware thanks to this thread, and it's a great mouse.
Coming from a Logitech marble mouse to this, I had a hard time adjusting to the very flat nature of the L-Trac. As a temporary fix, I stuck a cut down section of a pringles tube to it, which actually works quite well.
Also, I had a few problems with holding down the left mouse button, occasionally it would act as though the button had been let go for a split second, making scrolling pretty tough. This was probably due to the way I held the mouse, as the buttons have a slight bit of movement when depressed due to their size. Adding a small piece of thick tape to the bottom of the key seems to have fixed it, and also shortens the travel distance slightly.
The scroll wheel seems fairly useless for actual browsing, so instead I set it to volume up and down, which works well as it's free spinning.
Overall, the problems I personally have with the mouse are fairly minor, it excels in movement and I love the larger ball, and DPI adjusting is solid, although the light is hard to see.
Does anyone have any recommendations for US size pool balls in the UK, as ours are a little smaller and don't fit correctly? Also I figure some sort of soft wrist rest would be best for further modification, any ideas on how to non-permanantly secure it to the mouse?
Just bought an L-TracX from computerware thanks to this thread, and it's a great mouse.
Coming from a Logitech marble mouse to this, I had a hard time adjusting to the very flat nature of the L-Trac. As a temporary fix, I stuck a cut down section of a pringles tube to it, which actually works quite well.
Also, I had a few problems with holding down the left mouse button, occasionally it would act as though the button had been let go for a split second, making scrolling pretty tough. This was probably due to the way I held the mouse, as the buttons have a slight bit of movement when depressed due to their size. Adding a small piece of thick tape to the bottom of the key seems to have fixed it, and also shortens the travel distance slightly.
The scroll wheel seems fairly useless for actual browsing, so instead I set it to volume up and down, which works well as it's free spinning.
Overall, the problems I personally have with the mouse are fairly minor, it excels in movement and I love the larger ball, and DPI adjusting is solid, although the light is hard to see.
Does anyone have any recommendations for US size pool balls in the UK, as ours are a little smaller and don't fit correctly? Also I figure some sort of soft wrist rest would be best for further modification, any ideas on how to non-permanantly secure it to the mouse?
Mine works flawlessly, no problems at all :)
I find the scroll wheel quite comfortable to use, better than those from mices that have a scratchy feel.
It's too ****ing precise, I'm still getting used to moving the cursor so fast.
I would like to change the ball, it works nice as it is but I want to touch something better. I think the plastic ball is too lightweight to my needs, I need something heavier.
Are there some ways to configure it in Linux? I mean stuff like dpi and such, not sure about the extra buttons. Maybe there's some info in the wiki, I'll check it soon.
I don't agree with many critics to this nice trackball. It might lack the style of Apple, but this piece of true industrial design works like a charm.
Thanks CST!
Here how i see it the schrool wheel is good as it exsist but its out of the way, you have to extend you had for ward to use it as you would the middle button. Which is a pain and takes away from the ergonomics. If it too precise tur down the dpi i thing 800 isnt low enough for tiles when u need low dpi whish it went a notch lower. The original ball isnt plastic itis the sale as any modern pool ball. I replaced mine with aramiths highest grade cue ball. Dpi and the extra buttont will work in linux without software. Dpi is harware controlled so linux wont even know it happenning. And the buttons will just be the default im sure u can use some other program to remap those.
tim, hold down the middle button then press the right button. It'll change the DPI. 800->1600->2400->3200 and back to 800 again. If you look closely at an angle you can just barely see the LED light up inside the casing - look towards the middle button.
I am getting used to the scroll wheel - but I still don't use it in games because I need the tactile feedback to know when I've switched weapon/inventory item/whatever. Maybe I should do a mod for that one day, using a cheap mouse with the tactile scroll wheel (take the spring and add a notch or something somewhere). :P
my CST L-Trac X is in the mail :)
Lot of CST Info in my CST Review in my sig.
Hard to miss.
You lucky american bastard ;)
funny enough, it's coming from canada lol
but i can't wait :) i already made 2 switches for it, and they have been sitting in my closet for like a month.
BTW didn't you say you were struggling to reach the scroll wheel?
(Attachment) 41283[/ATTACH]
http://www.senlick.com/ solved my issue - costs $20 though . It figures that apple completely screwed with the curve on mouse (info here: http://tidbits.com/article/8893). Any other tweaks that are freely installable to OSX?
FYI, it seems that USB Overdrive is no longer being developed. I used it for years but recently had to remove it because gestures on the Apple Trackpad wouldn't work otherwise. Now I use ControllerMate (http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/) instead, which BTW has a graphical editor for the mouse acceleration curve. You can also remap keyboards with it, if you wish (which I used during my TrulyErgonomic test (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?27089-A-Kinesis-Advantage-fan-tries-the-TrulyErgonomic-keyboard))
I think there's also some freeware to get rid of mouse acceleration in OS X, but I'm unable to find it ATM. :(
Would there be something cheaper to try for a first trackball?
Maybe a fake version?
I don't wanna go and spend all that money on one of these only to not use it.
Get a second hand CH trackball. It's vintage and low res, but you can check if you feel comfortable.
I got a TracX and I'm very happy with it. It's the best piece of pointing device I ever used in my life, even if I manually modded it to fit my weird hand ergonomics...
Anyway, I have big hands so I find the scroll wheel quite comfortable too.
Any idea where I can get a wrist rest for my CST L-Trac similar to the one below?
(Attachment) 42090[/ATTACH]
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7826/p1010894yo.jpg
Someone should donate one of their balls to help me convert. ;) ;) ;) ;)
Not touch.
Fondle.
IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING!
(Attachment) 42148[/ATTACH]
This thing is huge! I just got it in the post and it's somewhat awkward to use, for now at least. I feel like I'm riding a bicycle for the first time because I'm so clumsy with it. Hopefully I'll grow accustomed to it fairly soon though.
How does looking around in game feel on one of these, can you get to be as fluid as a mouse? I just can't help thinking it would turn out jerky and restrictive like using a gamepad. And are you able to look, aim and shoot at the same time, seems it would be a bit of a stretch?
Ripster, Did you use quick disconnects with the sanwa switches? You wouldn't know where I could get them in the UK? Also did you go for the 2.4mm or the 3mm?
You mean 24mm or 30mm. Hey, apart from Sanwa there's also Seimitsu. They have a model (the PS-15 with 30mm diameter) that's low profile, almost 1cm in overall length than the Sanwas. A photo with dimensions is here (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:26579#Part+5:+Adding+palm+keys). They snap-in.
Ripster, Did you use quick disconnects with the sanwa switches? You wouldn't know where I could get them in the UK? Also did you go for the 2.4mm or the 3mm?