nano-trackball
A very small trackball-only mouse. Mechanical files, PCBs, and firmware all included. (by ploopyco)
aball
A Ball - Buttonless trackball for all (by brickbots)
nano-trackball | aball | |
---|---|---|
41 | 27 | |
406 | 622 | |
- | - | |
0.0 | 0.0 | |
over 2 years ago | over 1 year ago | |
GNU General Public License v3.0 or later | GNU General Public License v3.0 or later |
The number of mentions indicates the total number of mentions that we've tracked plus the number of user suggested alternatives.
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.
nano-trackball
Posts with mentions or reviews of nano-trackball.
We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives
and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-07-05.
- Ploopy Adept is an open source, customizable trackball that sells for about $60
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Moonlander Ploopy Nano Mod
Files and Links I used 1. Final Mod: https://www.printables.com/model/520579-ploopy-nano-btu-mod-with-zsa-moonlander-right-thum 2. Github for BTU Mod & Buying BTUs: https://github.com/gbrnt/ploopy-nano/tree/master/hardware/mechanicals-btu-mod 3. Ploopy Nano; github, kit on website 4. ML Thumb Pad Blanks: https://www.printables.com/model/232829-moonlander-thumb-pad-blanks 5. Original Mount Mod: https://www.printables.com/model/480064-ploopy-nano-mount-for-zsa-moonlander-keyboard
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Moonlander + Ploopy Nano : anyone else out there?
I have been using a Moonlander for a bit more than 2 years now and have been loving it! Up until a few months ago I used a Logitech M570 alongside it. Looking for a trackball at the office, too, I then went out and bought a Logitech M575 only to realize very quickly that it just is not the same. So my search for an alternative set in almost immediately. Luckily I was also following r/Trackballs and learned about the Ploopy Nano Trackball which I hoped would pair very nicely with my Moonlander. And indeed, it does! I am still getting used to the layout changes I had to make to accomodate the one missing thumb cluster but so far I am absolutely loving it!
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This Dygmate has ALL the balls.
Ploopy*
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My first Dactyl
It’s a Ploopy Nano. Been using it, with any mouse buttons mapped to left keyboard half for about 6 months now and it’s really helped keep my hands pain free.
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Microsoft Ballpoint Mouse
The Ballpoints predate my time in the Hardware group by a few years, but I'd be surprised if anyone that worked on those devices would have expected the color to be so nice on the device all these years later, and that the plastic wasn't too brittle to keep it in use today. Might just be easier to take something like the Ploopy Nano and make a case for it to meet your needs vs. trying to retro fit the Ballpoint.
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Beeball info/guide/alternative
alternatively, Ploopy Nano (no buttons) or Meishi Trackball
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Experience customizing Raise Firmware
So far I've done 2 modifications in the form of Kaleidoscope plugins, both of which I've put up on Github for those curious: • Mouse Layer - This switches my homerow keys to mouse keys whenever mouse movement is detected: wallisc/Kaleidoscope-MouseLayer (github.com). I use to do this with Bazecor by creating a separate layer and manually switching to the layer using a layer shift, but found I used the layer so much that layer shifting became fatiguing for my finger. Then I heard of a modification in the ErgoMechKeyboards reddit where QMK was modified to trigger mouse keys on mouse which inspired me to try something similar. I'm a trackball user and I love this modification, it allows me to use the Ploopy Nano (https://ploopy.co/nano-trackball/) which has no mouse keys but I also enjoy it with my CST L-trac, which does have mouse keys but are stiff and generally less pleasant than the keyboard switches. For fun, I animate the color of all the keys I'm overriding with a rainbow shift effect, this is how it looks in action: https://imgur.com/a/ptOHkcS • Alt Tabber - This overrides certain keys when the left-alt is held. Primarily used for quick alt-tabbing: wallisc/Kaleidoscope-AltTabber (github.com). I have alt as a thumb key and using this I can change the F/J keys to turn into Tab so I can alt tab without moving my hand off the homerow. I also override 4->F4 because alt-f4 is handy. Currently I just set any overridden keys to red, but probably will update it to have some fun LED animations as well at some point Disclaimer: There's probably some inefficient code but at the very least it's fairly simple if people are just curious what a plugin code looks like.
- Possible to purchase *just* the nano board?
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Prototype: Auto-activate mouse layer on mouse movement
I believe that one is the Ploppy Nano, you can get more information about it here: https://ploopy.co/nano-trackball/
aball
Posts with mentions or reviews of aball.
We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives
and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-06-15.
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DIY trackball
But brickbots did the hardwork on this one https://github.com/brickbots/aball
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Moonlander + Ploopy Nano : anyone else out there?
I did a similar thing with the aball. My extremely barebones version of it was small enough to fit between the thumb cluster and palm rest, so I was able to keep my right thumb keys and not lose any stability. I used that setup for a few months until I eventually built myself a Charybdis Nano.
- Can someone please explain to me how to understand and find these capacitors?
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My last project of the year
Qmk trackball based on aball project, but with left and right mouse buttons and 3d printed case.
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What is the ideal trackball for an ergo split keyboard?
Brickbots' aball also would look nice to a Lily58, specially if you try to make the cases match.
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Can anyone help?
Yeah, I’m making myself one of these at the moment, all trackball with no frills, which I would have suggested but no buttons. Where are you based? Do you have someone who could help you build something like either of these? I’m in the UK in London and could happily make some of the parts for you but if you have someone local they might be able to make whatever modifications would make it work best for you.
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Build a trackball
Along the same line there's also the aball.
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Does anyone else stagger the right side angle so you can have your mouse closer?
I use the aball. I built the most minimal implementation of it possible: https://imgur.com/a/HiJgRkw
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Kyria + KAT Cyberspace + Ploopy Nano
That makes sense. Would it be any easier to try to convert something like an aball that uses a pro micro style controller? Could you just drop in a nice!nano?
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Where do I start!!!!!!
If you find a good split without a pointing device and you have q 3D-printer, the aball is for you.
What are some alternatives?
When comparing nano-trackball and aball you can also consider the following projects:
pmw3360-breakout - Breakout board for PMW3360 optical mouse sensor
ADNS5050 - Arduino Library for Avago ADNS5050
zmk-config
trackball_module - 34mm trackball module with ADNS-5050 sensor. This module can be implemented with existing DIY keyboards via wiring.
arduino-adns-5050 - Arduino library for handling the ADNS 5050 optical mouse sensor
HIDs - HID projects
dumbpad - Simple 4x4 numpad with rotary encoder. Powered by QMK via ATmega32u4 Pro Micro
scroll-ring-trackball - DIY trackball with scroll ring
rp2040-pmw3360 - RP2040+PMW3360 PCB and code
Chordie - A chording keyboard you shouldn't be scared of
qmk_nano_dualhand - A keymap designed for two Ploopy Nano devices, with QMK inter-device communication
nano-trackball vs pmw3360-breakout
aball vs ADNS5050
nano-trackball vs zmk-config
aball vs trackball_module
nano-trackball vs arduino-adns-5050
aball vs HIDs
nano-trackball vs dumbpad
aball vs scroll-ring-trackball
nano-trackball vs ADNS5050
aball vs rp2040-pmw3360
nano-trackball vs Chordie
aball vs qmk_nano_dualhand