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CST L-Trac nowhere near as durable as I thought. Switch to Ploopy?

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smagoby:
I have a CST L-Trac since 2018. I thought it would be the last trackball I'd buy (at around 200 CAD!!) but I'm disappointed to see that less than 6 years in, it needs service.

One of the metal rollers has worn out with a flat spot. Cost to replace with shipping: almost 60 USD.....!

One of the clicks is starting to become intermittent. Cost to fix? I don't really want to know if the rollers cost 60 USD with shipping.

All this is making me wonder if I should quit throwing good money after bad. A new, repairable, open source Ploopy costs about the same with shipping to my location.

All in all, I'm rather disappointed in the L-Trac. I really thought it would be more durable.

Has anyone any experience with using the Ploopy? Is it a worthwhile alternative?

Stupidface:
Can you please tell us if you ended up repairing your CST after all?  Or did you take the plunge and purchase a Ploopy?



--- Quote from: smagoby on Fri, 09 February 2024, 02:46:28 ---All this is making me wonder if I should quit throwing good money after bad.

--- End quote ---

Are you really throwing good money after bad, though?  There are times when it makes sense to put money into keeping an older peripheral going.



--- Quote from: smagoby on Fri, 09 February 2024, 02:46:28 ---One of the metal rollers has worn out with a flat spot. Cost to replace with shipping: almost 60 USD.....!

--- End quote ---

Spending $60 can be a pain in the wallet, no question.  However, ask yourself, "How much do I enjoy using this trackball?  Does it allow me to get things done quickly and comfortably?  Can I use it for hours on end without the slightest twinge?"

Only you know the answer to these questions.

Put another way: spending $60 every so often may seem more reasonable if you view it in terms of the time the trackball is working versus when it is not.  You got five years of service from it: divide $60 by 5 and it works out to $12 a year - a dollar a month.

Is it worth a dollar a month to keep a much-loved peripheral going? 


--- Quote from: smagoby on Fri, 09 February 2024, 02:46:28 ---One of the clicks is starting to become intermittent. Cost to fix? I don't really want to know if the rollers cost 60 USD with shipping.

--- End quote ---

If you can post a picture of the switch, someone here may be able to identify it and suggest a replacement.  If you are a dab hand with a soldering iron, replacing the switch yourself might be possible.

It is all a matter of whether the time and trouble is worth it for you. 

Believe me, I understand the Sticker Shock of paying $200 for a trackball or keyboard - that is a lot of money, money that could be used for other things.  But if you look at it in terms of having something you can use that you can rely upon for a half-decade, well, perhaps a $200 price tag is a bargain when you view it in terms of having something you can use for years on end that will give angst-free service.

Unfortunately, we live in an era of throwaway peripherals - you need only look at a typical manufacturer's warranty in 2024 to understand how little faith many (though not all) of these businessmen have in their own products.  Having to replace something every year or two costs both time and money, but I would say that is about as long as typical gear is designed to last.

If it is any help, I am a firm believer in older peripherals and prefer to spend money on purchasing and maintaining older gear.  Most of what I use was built before the turn of the century, and sure, buying used computer gear is always something of a gamble.  However, I prefer to gamble on the older stuff rather than take a chance on the newer gear simply because I do not have much faith in what cost-cutting obsessed manufacturers (which is most of them) offer in the present day.

Having said that, perhaps the Ploopy is a good deal and the chap who makes it does so with an eye to longevity - I do not know.  If you decided to take the plunge and picked up one of those, your experience with it (good or bad) could prove to be valuable to someone who may be trying to make up his/her mind about buying one.

Either way, can you please let us know how it worked out? 

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