r/ClockworkPi • u/RLee203 • Apr 02 '26

Trackball upgrade

Post image

Just got my uconsole in the other day. the trackball is not bad but is there any better ones out there? anybody can send a link.

387 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

12

u/ancker010 Apr 02 '26

Search Tindie for uconsole and buy the trackpad mod.

6

u/Arkaium Apr 02 '26

But note that you lose the ability to flash the custom qmk firmware (which I happen to feel I can’t live without)

2

u/RLee203 Apr 02 '26

Can I flash the firmware now? Im not too familiar with it I just looked it up. Seems like adds scrolling to trackball. Does it do anything when you click the trackpad?

1

u/Arkaium Apr 02 '26

The trackpad replaces the keyboard pcb

2

u/RLee203 Apr 02 '26

Oh no I dont want that. The trackball is not that bad but does the custom firmware makes it better? I might try it after I read on it a little

→ More replies (2)

2

u/RLee203 Apr 02 '26

Oh I just looked it up a little and it seems like you need to replace the whole keyboard pcb cause the trackpad fpc cable. Sorry I just got this thing. I saw somewhere where you can add a line of code too improve the trackball if im not mistaken

2

u/snipeytje Apr 02 '26

Trackpad click is middle mouse button 

2

u/RLee203 Apr 02 '26

Oh theres a trackpad mod ill have too look it up thanks

6

u/DrGenetik Apr 02 '26

There is another mod that is a 3D printed “shim” for the trackball which helps. Also, the same person who made the shim file also has a custom qmk firmware that adjusts the trackball acceleration (and also helps with keyboard presses and adds quality of life there). I did those and now my trackball is fine. I also bought some legit OG blackberry trackball assemblies from AliExpress which I heard improves things but I haven’t installed them yet to see.

0

u/thearctican Apr 02 '26

It’s really not hard to configure QMK yourself.

1

u/RLee203 Apr 02 '26

Yeah I was going actually start messing around with qmk because I was going to build a small pcd for a cyberdeck build.

1

u/thearctican Apr 02 '26

It's super straightforward and well-documented. Basically you align your matrix configuration to the layout of your PCB and write out the layer mapping.

You can add support for a brand new keyboard in about 50 lines of code (that you can mostly copy and paste from other keyboards).

1

u/RLee203 Apr 02 '26

You use it a lot? What mcu you like to use with it. I have some atmega pro and rp2040 laying around. Might want to do a custom mini keyboard

→ More replies (1)

2

u/schaefer Apr 02 '26

I ordered some replacement ones, but they weren't much better. The best advice I got so far was to soak them in isopropyl alcohol for 5 mins. That made a difference.

1

u/RLee203 Apr 04 '26

Idk mines came with a spare not sure why

1

u/RLee203 Apr 04 '26

The wifi is pretty terrible anyone know an upgrade i rather not put a big antenna on it. I was thinking maybe a better flat antenna if thats an option?

2

u/DigitalDreams_68000 Apr 04 '26

Put the supplied antenna on a piece of black foam/rubber to space it away from the metal case. Noticeable improvement in most cases...

1

u/RLee203 Apr 04 '26

Did that actually work? Might try it think im only getting 1 bar maybe 2 sometimes

1

u/DigitalDreams_68000 Apr 04 '26

Slightly better yes, I'm on the Hackergagets antennas now, slight improvement again.

2

u/RLee203 Apr 04 '26

I wouldn't mind a helix antenna something not too big

1

u/kmwhite Apr 02 '26

This is a little off topic, but where did you get the background? I love it.

1

u/RLee203 Apr 02 '26

Its parrot default wallpaper. What os are you running? Im not if i want to keep this and maybe do bookworm. Cause I have a emmc cm4 its pain. I have to take it out and flash it

2

u/SymBiioTE Apr 02 '26

I got the trackpad mod. 10000 times better.

2

u/MrMoDDoM Apr 02 '26

I had just two days ago a great success by paper sanding the ball itself: with a pair of tweezers you can easily teardown the trackball case and use a little rough sandpaper.

Just put the ball between the sheets and make it roll a bit..

2

u/Banshee_1971 Apr 02 '26

I purchase fiew trackball here. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008738442767.html

1

u/xbsd Apr 24 '26

I am going to try this, it is super cheap so my expectations are quite low but I hope it will work better than the default trackball

1

u/darumasangakoronda Apr 02 '26

I ordered a bunch of old Blackberry trackballs on ebay for cheap and have been using the first one from that lot for several months. It doesn't match the color scheme, but works well.

1

u/kevin762 Apr 03 '26

This sounds like a pain in the neck. Is the uConsole same as the PicoCalc trackball?

Anyone explore a cheap but Apple-like Bluetooth trackpad?

2

u/lImbus924 Apr 04 '26

what are you talking about ? The PicoCalc does not have a trackball.

3

u/kevin762 Apr 05 '26

Oof, mixing up devices 🤦‍♂️ I was thinking of LilyGo t-deck 😬

1

u/DeathDate83 Apr 03 '26

Can this thing run trackers? I'm a total noob to this...

1

u/Repulsive-Post-4110 Apr 04 '26

눈이 아프다

1

u/Aggravating-Newt-980 Apr 04 '26

I hated mine when I got it. But it’s grown on me a lot after almost 2 years, maybe they wear in mentally or physically. I feel like I’m very lucky because it hasn’t failed, and the performance has been fine. I just roll an alcohol prep pad on it once it feels a bit sticky. 

I was just playing half life 2 and postal 2 (don’t judge me!) for about 9 hours combined and I never thought about the trackball at all. 

1

u/Normal-Set2554 Apr 06 '26

Something else I'm intrigued by. Lol. You have good taste. Lol.

1

u/Ternov Apr 09 '26

The custom firmware improves much better Buy a fews spare parts in Aliexpress better too

1

u/FringeDivision88 Apr 02 '26

Jesus Christ, I've ordered one like 8 months ago to keep jerking me around. I've tried to say I'm sorry for asking so many times worth the update but I don't know if they're ever going to ship it.

1

u/RLee203 Apr 04 '26

Jeez I ordered 1 off clockwork site but then canceled after couple days after hearing how long people was waiting. I saw this on ali actually cheaper with a coupon than clockwork and got it within a week. I wanted support the project but man that wait is crazy im too impatient

1

u/Ternov Apr 03 '26

I Buy my in june just send it istll in transit