Hello, All.

I am looking for two Kensington Model #64215 serial trackballs. I could
go to eBay but hate the whole auction process. Plus, half the time,
posters there won't ship to me. )-:

Richard Bonner
http://www.chebucto.ca/~ak621/DOS/

Richard Bonner <ak621@chebucto.ns.ca> wrote:
:
: I am looking for two Kensington Model #64215 serial trackballs. I could
: go to eBay but hate the whole auction process. Plus, half the time,
: posters there won't ship to me. )-:
:
Why? Sure, they work for a year or so, then hair gets caught
up inside the optical sensors, and you lose the X and/or Y axis
in one direction.

Get the Kensington Expert Mouse, optical trackball (64325),
and don't look back. Adding a USB port can't be that difficult,
can it?

Bruce
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I like bad!" Bruce Burden Austin, TX.
- Thuganlitha
The Power and the Prophet
Robert Don Hughes

Bruce Burden (brucegb@realtime.net) wrote:
> Richard Bonner <ak621@chebucto.ns.ca> wrote:
> :
> : I am looking for two Kensington Model #64215 serial trackballs. I could
> : go to eBay but hate the whole auction process. Plus, half the time,
> : posters there won't ship to me. )-:
> :
> Why?

*** If the "why" refers to the model, it is very smooth and uses a
cue-ball sized trackball. I also like the button layout and low profile. I
run two of them now (one each at work and home) but want one for my laptop
plus a spare.

If the "why" refers to the shipping, I see too often that the sellers
are in the U.S. and either won't ship to Canada or want to use rip-off
UPS.


> Sure, they work for a year or so, then hair gets caught
> up inside the optical sensors, and you lose the X and/or Y axis
> in one direction.

*** Easily cleaned. I have had the models I use now for eight or more
years - and they were bought used at the time.


> Get the Kensington Expert Mouse, optical trackball (64325),
> and don't look back.

*** Can't hair get caught in those optics, too?


> Adding a USB port can't be that difficult, can it?
>
> Bruce

*** I have USB capability on all three systems, but would want to
experience the 64325 before I buy. In particular, if software is required,
it will likely be only for Windoze, a system I dropped a decade ago.
Unfortunately, no computer store here carries Kensington. )-: However,
the 64215 is a known quantity to me, and the price will be a third to a
fifth of a new one. (Kensington is expensive in Canada.)

Richard Bonner
http://www.chebucto.ca/~ak621/DOS/

Richard Bonner <ak621@chebucto.ns.ca> wrote:
: Bruce Burden (brucegb@realtime.net) wrote:
:
:> Why?
:
: *** If the "why" refers to the model, it is very smooth and uses a
: cue-ball sized trackball. I also like the button layout and low profile. I
: run two of them now (one each at work and home) but want one for my laptop
: plus a spare.
:
As does the 64325. Only in black. Plus it has a scroll ring.
:
: *** Easily cleaned. I have had the models I use now for eight or more
: years - and they were bought used at the time.
:
Well, I never could get mine to work after enough cleanings.
You have to peel off/back the silver Kensington sticker to access
the four screws that hold the trackball together, right?
:
:> Get the Kensington Expert Mouse, optical trackball (64325),
:> and don't look back.
:
: *** Can't hair get caught in those optics, too?
:
No. While the 64215 drove wheels, which then drove the serrated/
etched plate that the LED reflected off of, the 64325 rests on three
posts inside the ball well. A LED then reflects off of the ball,
which another port reads.

If you get hair in it, just wipe/blow out the hair/dust/etc.
:
: *** I have USB capability on all three systems, but would want to
: experience the 64325 before I buy. In particular, if software is required,
: it will likely be only for Windoze, a system I dropped a decade ago.
:
You are already using it. Just paint your trackball black, and
you are 95% there. :-) You can use the Kensington driver if you want
to play with the ball sensitivity, but otherwise, the WinDoze driver
will work just fine. I use mine off of a KVM, with two different
FBSD systems and an XP system.

Happiness is a trackball the kittehs can't kill, and takes all
of 5 seconds to clean.

And, yeah, they are proud of their products, aren't they. :-)

Bruce
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I like bad!" Bruce Burden Austin, TX.
- Thuganlitha
The Power and the Prophet
Robert Don Hughes

Bruce Burden (brucegb@realtime.net) wrote:
> Richard Bonner <ak621@chebucto.ns.ca> wrote:
> : Bruce Burden (brucegb@realtime.net) wrote:
> :
> :> Why?
> :
> : *** If the "why" refers to the model, it is very smooth and uses a
> : cue-ball sized trackball. I also like the button layout and low profile. I
> : run two of them now (one each at work and home) but want one for my laptop
> : plus a spare.
> :
> As does the 64325. Only in black. Plus it has a scroll ring.

*** I never use scroll wheels or rings. I find them tedious. Although I
am right-handed, I use pointer devices with my left hand so that with my
right hand, I have constant access to the Insert, Delete, Home, End,
Page-Up and Page-Down keys, along with their Shift, Alt and Ctrl variants.
It makes for easy "hand" mulitasking and means I don't have to drag the
pointer all over the screen unnecessarily.


> : *** Easily cleaned. I have had the models I use now for eight or more
> : years - and they were bought used at the time.
> :
> Well, I never could get mine to work after enough cleanings.
> You have to peel off/back the silver Kensington sticker to access
> the four screws that hold the trackball together, right?

*** I didn't peel the sticker off; I used a scratch awl to open the
sticker at the screw access locations. There are only two screws; the
other end fits into slots.

To service, I used a headset magnifier and tweezers to easily see, and
then remove, hair. I next used methanol and swabs to clean the rollers and
optical modules (which are easily removed). The scroll wheels were lightly
sanded with emery cloth to give them better grip. Finally, a light oil was
put into the roller bearings.

The trackball was sanded with emery and cleaned with methanol before
replacing. This technique lasts me one to two years depending on location
and how clean I keep my hands.


> :> Get the Kensington Expert Mouse, optical trackball (64325),
> :> and don't look back.
> :
> : *** Can't hair get caught in those optics, too?
> :
> No. While the 64215 drove wheels, which then drove the serrated/
> etched plate that the LED reflected off of, the 64325 rests on three
> posts inside the ball well. An LED then reflects off of the ball,
> which another port reads.

*** Neat.


> If you get hair in it, just wipe/blow out the hair/dust/etc.

*** OK,


> : *** I have USB capability on all three systems, but would want to
> : experience the 64325 before I buy. In particular, if software is required,
> : it will likely be only for Windoze, a system I dropped a decade ago.
> :
> You are already using it. Just paint your trackball black, and
> you are 95% there. :-) You can use the Kensington driver if you want
> to play with the ball sensitivity, but otherwise, the WinDoze driver
> will work just fine. I use mine off of a KVM, with two different
> FBSD systems and an XP system.

*** I'd be surprised if a Windoze driver would work on my DR-DOS
system, and I am not willing to spend over a hundred dollars to find out.


> Happiness is a trackball the kittehs can't kill, and takes all
> of 5 seconds to clean.

*** I hear you! (-:


> And, yeah, they are proud of their products, aren't they. :-)

*** I agree, Kensington makes an excellent product.

Richard Bonner
http://www.chebucto.ca/~ak621/DOS/