After much consternation and gnashing of teeth I've managed to get my Portable "Galatea" up and running again (the hard drive is flaking out, causing problems with the PMU; planning a replacement with a standard SCSI drive and conversion cable). The other problem that doesn't seem to want to go away is the track ball. I'm not sure if this is a case of it isn't seated properly or what, but spin as I may, and the cursor only barely budges. Irritating to say the least, having to resort to a mouse.
Any thoughts, fellow Fritterererers?
Rob
After looking at the way the trackball is constructed, I've discovered that the sensors are indeed working, albeit in a strange way; after the rollers are depressed and spun for a bit, the cursor will indeed move. This leads me to believe that it is the way the trackball is actually seated.
At any rate, just a guess...
Have you removed the ball and cleaned the gunk out around the rollers?
Wayne
Wayne sayeth...
Yes. A long time ago, in fact (rebuild #1, summer 2002). That there might still be something akin to dust in there on the sensors has crossed my mind, but it is pretty clean in there.
The Portable can be configured for left or right hand trackball. How about trying it on the other side to see if it works there?
Wayne
One step ahead of you... same result.
I think what wer're looking at here is a mechanical issue with the trackball unit itself. I found a couple of places where you can find number pads, and right now I am leaning towards just replacing it and sticking to an external. In the end, may be a better idea.