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Re: Trackball?

Louis Cornelio <cornelio@crl2.crl.com> wrote:

> hi all
> I recently acquired an Assimilation model AP0705 trackball for the 512k mac.
> This is 9 pin & plugs into joystick port of IIGS.

Maybe so, but it won't do very much.  I assume the trackball is designed
to emulate a Mac mouse.  Do you know if it needs a special driver to
work on the Mac?

If it works without a driver, then you might be able to use it in a IIgs
by installing an Apple II mouse card in slot 4, setting slot 4 to "your
card", and connecting the trackball to the card.  For a ROM 3 IIgs, this
will only work in 8-bit software; native software always uses the ADB
mouse.  For a ROM 1 IIgs, both 8-bit and native software will use the
mouse card.

The joystick port on the IIgs does not support a mouse or anything
resembling one.  The mouse and joystick operate on completely different
principles (the mouse uses a pulse train with phase changes to indicate
movement, while the joystick uses a resistance to indicate position).

On the other hand, the Apple IIc joystick port DOES support a mouse - it
has dual-function pins and switches modes according to the type of
device connected.  You might be able to use this trackball on a IIc.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand