Arch Linux

synthead

Member

From: Seattle

Registered: 2006-05-09

Posts: 1,319

[solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

I was just given this awesome Kensington Expert Mouse but it's serial-driven.  What do I do to make it work?

Last edited by synthead (2008-04-12 16:13:11)

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MoonSwan

Member

From: Great White North

Registered: 2008-01-23

Posts: 815

Re: [solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

Get a serial to usb adapter then plug it into a usb port would be what I'd do.  Serial ports are a giant pain to get to function properly.  Serial ports on linux are mapped to ttys0 through to ttys# (depending how many you have) and iirc tldp.org has a small how to on getting serial mice to function with a linux distro & X properly.

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I'm torn apart between worlds. Basically, using vim in a highly visual environment with a lot of mouse features feels like soldering a lose wire to a motherboard with a Zippo and a needle, while working with ANY TEXT AT ALL with a "modern GUI" text editor feels like joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra with a Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Magical Musical Mirror.  --Awebb

synthead

Member

From: Seattle

Registered: 2006-05-09

Posts: 1,319

Re: [solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

Aha!  You just made me realize what I needed to do.  I put a new InputDevice entry in there, mapped to ttyS0, and it works!

Here's what I did.  I added this to the InputDevice area:

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier "Serial Mouse"
    Driver "mouse"   
    Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
    Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
    Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
EndSection

And added this to my ServerLayout section:

Section "ServerLayout"

... bunch of other stuff ...

    InputDevice "Serial Mouse"
EndSection

Wham - 1994 ftw!

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synthead

Member

From: Seattle

Registered: 2006-05-09

Posts: 1,319

Re: [solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

Sorry to bump, but you guys gotta try a huge trackball.  They are the bombdiggity big time.

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MoonSwan

Member

From: Great White North

Registered: 2008-01-23

Posts: 815

Re: [solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

Glad you got it to work.  I'd love to try one but afaik they all use mechanical means to read the balls movement, which leads to the little bearings wearing out.  If yours is using an optical or laser sensor please post to me the name of the trackball and/or a link to it on kensingtons site!  I have a good friend who needs a new trackball.

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I'm torn apart between worlds. Basically, using vim in a highly visual environment with a lot of mouse features feels like soldering a lose wire to a motherboard with a Zippo and a needle, while working with ANY TEXT AT ALL with a "modern GUI" text editor feels like joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra with a Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Magical Musical Mirror.  --Awebb

iBertus

Member

From: Greenville, NC

Registered: 2004-11-04

Posts: 2,228

Re: [solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

IIRC, many newer trackballs use an optical sensor.

http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html

synthead

Member

From: Seattle

Registered: 2006-05-09

Posts: 1,319

Re: [solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

This one does use ball bearings now that I look at it.  Still works fine though   ... for now at least.

I really like the scrolling thing on that optical one though.  I'm thinking I might buy one of these for home too, they really really work well.  Gosh, I hooked it up cause I thought it was cool, I had no idea I would fall in love with it ...

Last edited by synthead (2008-04-12 23:32:38)

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Touch my kernel

theringmaster

Member

From: Air Force

Registered: 2007-07-16

Posts: 581

Website

Re: [solved] Getting a HUGE serial trackball to with with xorg!!

yeah I have a logitech marble mouse and it's great. I love the multi directional scrolling, and the fact the I don't need a huge desk to move an inefficient mouse around.

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