I picked up the Jomaa E03 recently and fell in love - I've not touched a mouse since. I'm using it with a lil tenting 3D print and getting on well, bar finding the buttons a little too easy to accidently click and already being able to see some wear on the odd soft-ish plastic coating.

I'm considering either the Huge Plus or the Protoarc E06 as an upgrade, both with a 3D print underneath to tent them some and I wondered if anyone who has used both has an opinion either way?

Hey ballers!

My first trackball 🖲️ arrived, any advices? Ticks and tricks? And how to get my confidence back playing games with it? 😅

Thanks in advance!

My T-BB18 started getting double-clicks, and all the trackballs I see are wireless (BOO!)

really open to anything, hell even any of the larger trackball-in-the-middle mice (I forgot the name for those)

I love how a trackball keeps spinning after you give it a flick, and I wanted that on my MacBook’s trackpad. I couldn't find anything that does this, so I made a little menu bar app called Coast.

How it works:

• Flick and lift: the cursor keeps gliding and slows down like a ball under friction.

• Touch the trackpad: it stops dead, right away, even if your finger doesn’t move. It detects actual finger contact, so it feels like putting your hand on the ball.

• Flick again instantly: no delay, nothing gets swallowed.

• Mice aren’t affected. It only applies to the trackpad, so a regular mouse or trackball plugged in works normally.

I just put out version 2.0:

• Rewritten as a native Mac app. It’s under 1 MB now and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel.

• Stays smooth during games and full-screen streams. macOS Game Mode used to make the glide choppy, and it doesn’t anymore.

• Glide and flick sensitivity are sliders now, so you can tune how far it rolls and how hard you have to throw it.

• A glide into the edge of the screen slides along it or stops.

• It also works in games that capture the mouse, and in game streaming.

It’s free and open source (MIT), macOS 12+:
https://github.com/seastwood/coast

Curious what you all think. If you use a trackball and a trackpad, I’d love to know if the glide feels right or if the friction needs tweaking.

I spend way too much time at my desk tuning Vocaloids, and NNN has me channeling my disaster energy into... whatever this is. Honestly, I just got tired of staring at my boring balls all day, so I gave them some personality.

Disclaimer for the IT crowd: Zero hidden macros, intricate circuitry, or programming.
Just pure, unadulterated aesthetic nonsense designed to double as my fidget toy while I wait for bounces and renders.

Currently working on a "BS Detector" theme for my SlimBlade Pro next!

Mac users here know the annoyance: macOS has one "Natural scrolling" switch shared by the trackpad and every mouse or trackball. Natural on a trackpad usually means a backwards scroll ring or wheel, so you pick which one feels wrong. Vendor software (Logi Options+, KensingtonWorks) can fix it for their own devices, but not for everything else.

I'm the developer of Scrollr, a small free menu bar app that reverses wheel scrolling only and leaves the trackpad alone. Trackpad scrolls arrive in phases (fingers down, moving, lifted, momentum); wheel and ring clicks have no phase, so Scrollr flips only those. No driver, no kernel extension, and it doesn't touch buttons, acceleration or anything stored on the device.

• A switch per device, so you can reverse the trackball but not, say, a second mouse

• Up/down and left/right separately (handy if your ring or tilt does horizontal)

• Free, MIT licensed, no network code, universal app, macOS 14+

Demo GIF: https://github.com/atuuuuuuu/Scrollr/blob/main/assets/demo.gif Source and download: https://github.com/atuuuuuuu/Scrollr

The honest part: I've only tested it with a regular USB mouse, not a trackball yet. Trackballs normally identify themselves to macOS as mice, so they should show up in the list. If yours doesn't, turning off "Detect mice automatically" makes it reverse every scroll wheel. It also isn't notarized, so the first launch needs "Open Anyway" in Privacy & Security, and it needs the Accessibility permission to change scroll events.

If anyone tries it with an Expert, SlimBlade, Huge, MX Ergo or anything else, I'd really like to hear whether it showed up correctly and whether the ring or ball scroll got flipped. That's the testing I can't do myself.

I received the EM06 directly from Protoarc for testing late September and it has been my primary pointing device for work since, so a 6 week usage review.

Tiny bit of background, I used to use a kensington expert for work, and for gaming i use a zaunkoenig m1k. I consider myself fairly big on ergonomics and finding the best ways to protect the 2 wrists you start life with ha so that's why I applied to test the EM06 (im one of the 20 selected testers)

Ergonomics:

I've found the EM06 comfortable to use pretty much since delivery day, at a push I'd say it took me a day at most to get used to the different angle from the kensington.  The slant is comfy and wrist laying on the leatherette pad doesn't give me any problems. I seem to like hooking my pinky onto the side of the trackball which is a bit strange feeling and I catch myself after a while and correct it before I cramp up or hurt myself haha. Can't explain it.

I would say all buttons are easy to reach and ive never found an issue hitting the right ones.

Performance / usage:

I've really enjoyed using the em06 so far in my 6 weeks testing. Its been smooth and efficient as my main work mouse, i know this sounds like corpo glazing in the community but I dont think ive ever had a stiction problem! With the expert i would say maybe once every 3 or 4 days the cup where the ball sits would get jammed with fluff and dust and cause some scratchings, but somehow that hasn't happened at all with the em06. The buttons are clicky and satisfying, nothing feels cheap or tacky.

I sorted my fav button layout by day 2, its slightly unorthodox and its a super subjective topic so im just going to list it here and let people fight in the comments. All I'll say is it works for me and I dont want to change it BUT I did contact Protoarc about having a "hold to repeat" toggle in the web configurator that would massively improve how I mousewheel.

Bottom left = left click

Bottom middle= windows tab (app switcher)

Bottom right= right click

Top left = scroll up

Top left/middle = open snipping tool/spectacle

Top right/middle = back

Top right= scroll down

Maintenance:

On a Friday after work i wipe the whole thing down with iso alcohol and a cloth with the ball removed so I get into the cup, and the ball I give a quick wipe down with a microfiber. No issues cleaning it yet but I might have lost some colour on the left click button because of the alcohol+frequent usage.

Pros:

*Web configurator so my locked down corporate laptop has no issues even with changes. On board saving so nothing has to run 24/7 on the machine side

*Not seen any issues on a Linux machine either running Bazzite (apart from the normal BT disconnects haha). Just remember you have to use chrome or edge to use the web configurator! Firefox won't work.

*Both lighter and shorter than my old kensington so office trips are a bit easier, very backpack-able

Biggest cons so far:

*I KEEP pressing either the dpi button or the 2.4ghz to bluetooth switch button when moving the device, even just around the desk. Very annoying and have to reconnect or mess with doing for 10 seconds afterwards (which adds up over 6 weeks)

*As mentioned earlier I want to hold Top left or right and have a continuous scroll

Overall Verdict:

If i lost this one in a house fire, i would buy another one to replace it. Wouldn't go back to kensington expert, even though the scroll ring is sorely missed of course but that's by us all haha

I want a trackball to compliment my split ergo keyboard by sitting around the thumb cluster somewhere.

I can add mouse keys via QMK, so it’s not even necessary to have buttons on the trackball (I think).

The Nape Pro was the initial inspiration for this idea but it’s so long and fat I can’t imagine it fitting well around the Corne’s body?

I could get an ergo keeb that has a trackball built in, but I hear those are often finicky and/or low resolution to compensate.

What are some readily-available, ball-only options out there?

Hi folks,

Today arrived my second trackball a slim blade pro and it is amazing! (First one was a CST KidTrack the difference is enormous.)

My plan is for the far future to invest for a Rotatrix upgrade kit, but I started to wondering, that maybe I can find an easier solution.

I am using Debian and want to navigate at Onshape, and I found a really useful tool what I never tried before, called imput-remapper.

Did anybody tried to use this tool to convert a trackball to a spacemouse?

Thanx

personally I dont like thumb trackballs so I dont think I'll be checking it out

The Protoarc EM06 is a great trackball, but in my opinion there's a fundamental flaw. After this review I will be going back to the EM03.

The execution on this trackball is clinical. Ball is crazy smooth, connection is fast and it feel premium. I opened the matte finished box to reveal a leather case with the trackball inside, sleek and understated design fits with any desktop. The panel gaps line up perfectly unlike a Tesla Model 3. Material is soft-touch plastic, but not the kind Logitech uses on the MX Master that gets sticky and gross after a while. It's a bit harder, and it doesn't attract dust at all.

THE PROBLEM

So what's wrong with it then? Nothing on its own. In my opinion it's a design flaw shared with all trackballs in this form factor that I've tested, from the ploopy adept to kensington slimblade.

The most commonly used button on the mouse is the left click. And on these kinds of designs, the thumb button sits completely flat on top of a device, so pressing straight down on it requires rotating the thumb (pronation). Over thousands of clicks, this slight twisting motion can cause fatigue in the basal joint. Personally, it only took me an hour to notice the thumb fatigue, whether it's on this trackball or any other.

It's the worst on the Kensington slimblade because the switch has a high activation force. Out of all the designs, I like the Em06 because it mitigates the thumb fatigue a little by using a soft touch switch for the keys and i can map different keys to left click to distribute the workload a little, but its awkward for my index finger to reach over the ball to get to the top left corner button. It did get me thinking about how we can solve the problem entirely:

THE SOLUTION

Pressing inward toward the palm or index finger mimics a natural pinching posture, keeping the wrist and thumb joint in a neutral, low-stress position, so how about putting the button on a side-facing surface?

That sounds like the em03! Which explains why it's my daily driver. But the idea behind the EM06 was to create an ambidextrous trackball, so maybe a replacement for the Logitech trackman marble, especially since it is currently selling on amazon for around 500 dollars.

Ironically in a poll that protoarc ran in the early days of designing the Em06, the trackman marble design got the most votes in the comments. Makes me think of what could've been.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackballs/comments/1ewr6i8/which_ambidextrous_trackball_model_do_you_prefer/

Found this while digging through an ancient box of family electronics from around the time we moved from Russia to North America early 2000s.

Cherry G84-4400 with a built-in trackball and these red Cyrillic double keys. I don’t even remember this being around the house back then.

Not yet tested.
I’m hoping to get it working again, with or (ideally) without modifying the original hardware.

Is this cool? Is this good? Bad? Junk in all eyes but my own?

The keys sound wonderfully clickably clicky.

The MX Ergo was my first trackball and I have liked it very much, however it is nearing the end of its lifetime and I must soon replace it. While I could just get another one, I figure theres no fun in that so I'm looking for something else. I'm pretty unknowledgable about the world of trackballs so I thought that asking here would be a good starting position. I only have a couple of requirements: A) portability, B) reasonable for video games, and C) ergonomic. Any suggestions are much appreciated, thanks

I've had my Kensington orbit for a good few years now and its recently decided to wear down. I'm left handed and have small palms so looking into a new trackball has been just stubbornly googling until i find myself back to the Kensington orbit. I'm wondering if anyone has any other recommendations though

Anyone having the problem that I had!
I switched from Deft Pro to Huge Plus and found it’s not as much ergonomic as Deft Pro.
The palm has to be flattened to use it and for the THUMB part (the main switch, scroll wheel, 2 function key) are difficult to use.
The biggest issue that I encountered that my palm must be almost parallel to the desk which bothered my wrist quite much.
So I looked for a tilt adapter and found a 3D printed one from Japan. It’s very pricey itself and even doesn’t make sense after calculating the international courier cost.
So I ordered an ankle stretching Wedge (18 degree) with about $13. I cut the chunky piece perfectly fit to my Huge Plus as you can see from the picture.
And the PLUS is, all THUMB buttons became super comfortable to reach and use.
Hope this also solves your problem and strongly recommend everyone who use this.

My scroll wheel is starting to go bad for my Elecom Huge and I'm wondering if I could just fix it. I've had a switch go before and swapped that out without much trouble.

Wondering if there's a good place to pick up replacement parts and if there's any possible upgrades to something more durable. Would the scroll wheel from the Huge Plus be able to be swapped in?

This is a follow-up to my previous post, where I shared my initial observations after testing different 34 mm trackball spheres.

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackballs/comments/1wq70qg/i_tested_5_different_34_mm_trackball_spheres/

Since then, my collection has grown. I have acquired two additional trackballs and two more Perixx spheres, so I thought it was time to expand the experiment.

This is still an ongoing comparison. In particular, the black and pink Perixx spheres are relatively new additions, and I haven't completed testing them across all devices yet.

The five trackballs

My current setup includes:

1. ProtoArc EM01 RGB

2. ProtoArc EM01 NL

3. Logitech MX Ergo (original model)

4. Logitech MX ERGO S Plus

5. ELECOM EX-G Left

There is an important detail regarding their usage history: the ELECOM EX-G Left and the MX ERGO S Plus are both recent acquisitions. The ProtoArc EM01 NL has been in use for a few months, but is still relatively new compared with my longer experience using the EM01 RGB and the original MX Ergo.

Therefore, not all devices have the same usage history, and I am taking this into account when comparing their behaviour.

The eight spheres

I now have eight 34 mm spheres to compare:

Original spheres:

• ProtoArc graphite (original EM01 RGB)

• ProtoArc red (original EM01 NL)

• Logitech grey (original MX Ergo)

Perixx replacement spheres:

• Green

• Blue

• Gold

• Black

• Pink

My testing environment

One of the most important aspects of my experiment is actual cursor movement rather than simply judging how smoothly a sphere spins under my thumb.

My horizontal desktop span is approximately 6440 pixels, across multiple monitors.

I use Momentum Pointer, which makes a considerable difference to the way I operate my trackballs. With it enabled, a vigorous thumb movement can effectively launch the pointer across a large portion of my desktop, sometimes covering the entire horizontal workspace.

This makes cursor travel, fluidity and the ability to make small corrections particularly important in my comparisons.

I also pay attention to:

• Initial surface texture.

• How the sphere feels after extended use.

• Friction and resistance during movement.

• Tracking consistency.

• Actual cursor displacement.

• Differences between trackball mechanisms and sensors.

Some observations so far

My previous tests suggested that the same sphere can behave quite differently depending on the trackball in which it is installed.

The Perixx green has been particularly impressive in several devices, while the blue has also delivered excellent results, especially in the ELECOM EX-G Left.

The gold sphere has a slightly different character, with more grip and a surface feel closer to the original ProtoArc graphite sphere.

The new black sphere is showing promising results in the MX ERGO S Plus. Its initial texture felt somewhat gritty, but it has already started to become smoother with use.

The pink sphere, currently installed in the ELECOM EX-G Left, is showing a similar evolution.

An interesting detail: all the Perixx spheres seem to have a slightly gritty texture when taken out of the box. This sensation appears to diminish with use. I intend to monitor this over a longer period before drawing any conclusions.

The newer trackballs

The MX ERGO S Plus has been an interesting addition.

My first impression, using the Perixx green sphere and Momentum Pointer, was that its cursor movement felt approximately 70% better than that of my original MX Ergo.

This is a subjective estimate based on my experience, not a laboratory measurement. I still need to test the other spheres and spend more time with the device.

The ELECOM EX-G Left has also been interesting. Its behaviour with the Perixx blue and pink spheres has been particularly promising.

I am also continuing to investigate the similarities I noticed between the ELECOM and ProtoArc devices, although I don't have enough technical evidence to establish any relationship between their internal components.

What remains to be tested

I still need to:

• Test the black and pink spheres in both ProtoArc EM01 models.

• Test them in the original Logitech MX Ergo.

• Complete the comparison of all spheres in the MX ERGO S Plus.

• Compare Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz behaviour where applicable.

• Investigate the possibility of independently operating two trackballs using MouseMux or another solution.

Final thoughts (for now)

I don't have a definitive winner yet, and I don't want to rush into a ranking.

One of the most interesting things I've discovered is that a sphere doesn't necessarily have a fixed performance independent of the trackball. The mechanism, contact points, sensor, firmware and pointer processing all seem to influence the final experience.

I also want to give the new black and pink spheres enough time to settle into their respective devices before making any definitive comparisons.

I'll share another update once I have completed more of the testing.

If anyone has experience with these Perixx spheres, particularly the black and pink versions, across different trackballs, I'd be interested to hear about it.

I ran into a limitation with the Endgame because ZMK's default configuration supports only five standard mouse buttons. This restricted what I could do with SteerMouse, especially when configuring multiple button combinations (Chords).

With the help of AI, I modified the publicly available ZMK firmware to recognize all eight physical buttons as independent standard HID mouse buttons.

I also learned that Windows generally supports the standard five-button configuration, while macOS can handle up to 32 mouse buttons. Since I'm a Mac user, I decided to create a customized firmware specifically for my setup.

The best part is that all eight buttons now work perfectly in all three connection modes:

• Wired USB

• Bluetooth

• 2.4GHz USB Dongle

Now I can assign individual functions to all eight buttons and combine them freely using SteerMouse's Chords feature.

Just got the Elecom huge wired as my first trackball mice and also replaced its bearing to a Ceramic ZrO2 bearing and the difference is huge(pun intended).

The rubber part broke on one of the rollers in one of my Clearly Superior Technologies CST2545 trackballs.

PI Engineering is out of stock and theirs don't appear to have the rubber part anyway. https://piengineering.com/products/l-trac-rpkit

Alternatives?

Estou a pensar em comprar uma trackball kensington para testar a marca.
Gostava de uma opinião de quem já tenha experimentado as duas.
Obrigado

I've been using a MX Ergo S for about a month and it feel great. The problem is that I've been reading a lot of reviews here saying that it starts to fail after about a year. And due to how expensive they are I was looking for an alternative.

I'm testing the ProtoArc EM01 NL because of its similarity with the MX Ergo S, but the ProtoArc version feels slightly smaller in my hand, plus the right click button is extremely sensitive and I end up clicking it all the time.

Are all ProtoArc trackballs click that sensitive? I was thinking about trying another version, maybe the EM05, but if they are all like that, I'm probably just going to stick with the MX Ergo S.

I mean this is not the first time relisting on Amazon but since Kensington removed TB900 EQ's web page, I dont think it's coming back ever again. You can go ahead and purchase it on Amazon but it may not ship it instead of cancel it again.

I have been using a trackball for going on 7 years now but every once in a while I switch it back to a regular mouse for a couple of months just because. Anyone else do this? I am lucky enough that I don’t use a trackball because I have carpel tunnel I just use it because everyone I work with used it and I got used to it but I do miss the accuracy and quickness of a regular mouse from time to time.