SlikStik

[GeorgeT]

Anyone here have/using a SlikStik controller? I've had mine about 4-5 years no and slowly the trackball has been dying. First it didn't spin left very well (made a funny noise), then last week it decided it would no longer go horizontal, only vertical. Yesterday it decided to not work at all - no mouse movement when I spin it.

I've tried the controller on a couple diff computers with the same results. Everything else works, spinner, joysticks, buttons...just the trackball has died.

Any ideas on what I might do to get it working again?

[Draco1962]

Have you tried disassembling it to see if there is any dust or other crud blocking sensors? It is, after all, a super-sized upside down mouse.

[Stub]

Soon I am going to have to explain to the kids that mice used to have balls in them.

[GeorgeT]

Yeah, I figured first step would be to see if there is any crud on it...it seems to spin rather freely. I'm just apprehensive about taking apart my $600 baby. Thanks for the info Draco.

[Circo]

you do have to clean those out every so often

[Kustom Kid]

Soon I am going to have to explain to the kids that mice used to have balls in them.

If you took the rubber off most of them were .68 caliber. Perfect fit for a paintball gun. Or so I've heard.

I don't miss cleaning the rollers and sensor on old mice.

[Draco1962]

Agreed. Although, I do miss "stealing" the balls from my coworker's mouse and listening to the yowling and gnashing of teeth that ensued...

[ehuonder]

Usually you can put a piece of scotch tape over an LED mouse, and it diffuses the light enough that it will not track... so you can still drive them crazy!

[Draco1962]

Have done that as well in addition to taking a screen capture of their screen (you really should lock your PC in the corporate workplace), hiding their desktop icons, and pasting the screen capture as their new desktop image. It is a wonderful combo.. first the mouse doesn't track, they discover the cause, but yet it still doesn't work when they click on their desktop shortcuts..

[ehuonder]

Nice!

[Adultery]

Lol! You guys are pricks!

[Circo]

Lol! You guys are pricks!

I left my computer open once at work and my "buddy" went into my gmail and forwarded 500 messages to me.