[PLUG] OT (Hardware): Do pointy devices wear out?

[Rich Shepard]

On Sun, 8 Feb 2004, Galen Seitz wrote:

> My guess is that the two thin rods are mechanically coupled to a slotted
> wheel.  The slotted wheel turns inside an opto interrupter.  This is how
> ball movement gets turned into electrical signals.  If dust were to make
> its way into the wheel or opto, it could cause problems such as you
> described.  It sounds like you found the problem though.

galen,

  This certainly looks reasonable. I've never delved into the guts of the
trackball; I gave up taking things apart just to see how they work when I
was about 8 years old. Guess that's why I didn't become an engineer. :-)

Many thanks,

Rich

-- 
Dr. Richard B. Shepard, President
Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc. (TM)
<http://www.appl-ecosys.com>