geekhack
geekhack Community => Input Devices => Topic started by: knightjp on Mon, 10 March 2025, 01:23:50
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Just a thought.. I like the look of the Kensington Turbo, especially for a retro style system project I'm in the middle of. However the lack of scroll wheel is an issue for me. I've used the Slimblade before and love the scroll function in it. Wondered if it was possible to retrofit the internals of the Slimblade into the Turbo housing.
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I've fitted a few Slimblades into other housings and found they were pretty versatile because the flexibility of the PCB's. There are two that tightly hug the ball socket and the third is attached with wiring cables that allows a little relocating to fit. It will still require some moderately skilled techniques but it will likely fit.
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I found this GitHub project for a 3D printed Marble FX-like mouse that uses the SlimBlade's style of ball twist scrolling. You apparently need two sensors to make it work, so it could get kind of expensive if an open source solution is more your cup of tea.
https://github.com/monroewilliams/trackball (https://github.com/monroewilliams/trackball)
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Having used the Slimblade for about 10 years, and also tried the Expert mouse as a possible successor, I find that the "virtual scroll wheel" of the Slimblade (turning the ball itself with your fingers) seems to me to be a much more natural gesture than having to move your index finger to the scroll wheel to turn that. Also, if you have to scroll longer ways, the way of the slimblade seems easier to me.