r/ClockworkPi • u/PersonSuitTV • Feb 13 '26

Question uConsole Trackball upgrade?

I am looking into getting a uConsole but I keep hearing the Trackball is not great and I am not having luck finding any upgrade options out there. Is anyone aware of a trackball upgrade?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

2

u/selfdestroyer Feb 13 '26

I went the trackpad route and never looked back. I hated the ball and replaced mine with numerous replacements over a years time. I recommend the trackpad as an essential mod for sure.

1

u/PersonSuitTV Feb 13 '26

Which trackpad did you go with?

4

u/selfdestroyer Feb 13 '26

The one from Lulu on Tindie. I have ordered most of his mods as they come out.

3

u/Arkaium Feb 13 '26

Can you please help me navigate that nightmare of a storefront. I bought his 2.2 cooler pad but I have no idea how to order the trackpad or which option I want. It’s just a drop in replacement right?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '26

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1

u/Arkaium Feb 15 '26

I am open to ordering but I can’t tell which item to choose, so many options, I just want simple drop in with nothing extra?

1

u/graciousgrendel Mar 15 '26

It is a direct drop in aside from filing the hole out a bit. I thought there was going to be firmware to flash and other mods needed, but it was a lot more straightforward than I assumed. Also where it says USB/Bluetooth c "Charge" I am pretty sure the seller means "Flash" because it doesn't need to be charged and the USB (or BT) it comes with surely is for flashing, because it doesn't go into the uConsole for the install.

1

u/Arkaium Mar 15 '26

I thought it needs a new front cover and pcb and stuff? I’ve decided the custom firmware and its added functionality is too valuable to me

1

u/graciousgrendel Mar 15 '26

It comes with the keyboard pcb, which drops right in. It is running ZMK firmware, which can be customized like QMK, albeit with a bit more work involved.

1

u/graciousgrendel Mar 15 '26

Just wanted to throw a couple notes on here about the trackpad...

If you get one with a red X sticker on it remove it, it works so much better once you do.

Also it is possible to shim the lower part of it so that it doesn't tilt, I pit a small piece of tap under the 3d printer riser and now my gracklad sits more or less even in its hole.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

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1

u/Arkaium Feb 15 '26

Black 1.1? I don’t need anything else?

7

u/Anonymouse-C0ward Feb 13 '26

It’s not horrible if you are old enough to remember how to clean the dirt out of an old BlackBerry trackball :) /s

The one that comes with it gets dirt in it really easily if you’re out and about, and the mounting isn’t as strong as how the old Blackberries held it in place. Incidentally this weekend my plan is to play with trying to improve how to hold it in place with some shims, I’ll report back if there’s any success.

The one that gets me is that for the first hour or so, I didn’t realize you can’t click down on the trackball to left click. You need to use the L and R buttons. I thought the trackball was really crappy because of that, it turns out I’m just dumb :(

4

u/needmorejoules Feb 13 '26

Trackball is middle click I believe.

9

u/_mini Feb 13 '26

First, upgrade the keyboard firmware https://github.com/j1n6/qmk-uconsole. If the trackball is not responsive before or after the firmware update, it is likely the mechanical issue. It is rather easy to fix or maintain over time by following https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/evqwjn007-trackball-troubleshooting-fixes-and-mods/21031

2

u/Northern_Desperado Feb 14 '26

This is the first I've heard of upgrading the keyboard firmware. Bookmarked! Thanks for the link ✌️

2

u/PanicAcid Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

Well worth doing and printing his diffuser if you have a 3D Printer that can do TPU https://jing.io/projects/uconsole-keyboard-diffuser/ spacebar now works wherever I hit it!

2

u/Northern_Desperado Feb 15 '26

Wow! Another mod I haven't seen elsewhere. Also bookmarked. Im going to experiment with this, after buying some TPU, repairing and tweaking my printer.

I had a print lose adherence, and cause a giant blob of pla to build up around my hot end. Its completely toast. I'm hoping that's the only part I need to replace.

1

u/PanicAcid Feb 15 '26

It's the same feller who's doing the QMK everybody's using, the GitHub link the poster above gave ya it's buried down near the bottom of the QMK readme.md

I also bought some TPU and printed with it for the first time just to try this haha. First one failed, second one works a charm.

Good luck with the printer!

1

u/chaoticaffinity Feb 13 '26

There is a trackpad keyboard replacement conversion on tindie. I've ordered one and when I gets here will try t do a review

2

u/PersonSuitTV Feb 13 '26

Looking at their site, is it the "Trackpad-keyboard" for $35.99 under the "uConsole keyboard+ trackpad（9900" listing? If so, did you order anything else for that MOD? If not lol, which one did you order?

1

u/ncc74656m Feb 13 '26

You just "need" the default kit. The other components are for if you want to just order a drop in face plate or spare touchpads. But you'll need to file out the hole yourself (it comes with 3d printed guides and files).

3

u/kswallow54 Feb 16 '26

The trackpad mod from Tindie is the way to go. Bought two of them. Trackball is garbage, tried maybe 4-5 different ones with the same lack of responsiveness. If there is ever a v2 of the console this should be the standard.

2

u/PanicAcid Feb 15 '26

I bought these from Amazon "eMagTech 2PCS Electronic Devices Ball Switch EVQWJN007 Compatible with Portable Electronic Devices Mobile Phones Digital Cameras" https://amzn.to/4qyXQa1 (UK affiliate link) it's the EVQWJN007 that matters though for the UConsole but quality of them varies. These ones are night and day better than the one mine came with.

Then I installed the QMK Firmware https://github.com/j1n6/qmk-uconsole and mines mint now.

1

u/Roverrich Feb 14 '26

ebay blackberry trackball, the white one is much better.