Yellow Missile Command Cocktail Trackballs?

Droler

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There's another thread about this but there was never a definitive answer.

The trackballs on the MC cocktail I have a bright yellow - not the off-white or UV-burned yellow nicotine color you sometimes see on original trackballs from the 1980's.

The question is - for anyone else with MC cocktails - did those come originally in yellow? This is the all metal brass cage 2 1/4" trackball model.

I don't want to put in a replacement white ball if yellow is original and not just age discoloration.

It's really hard to discern the actual color on the two pixel wide trackball in the JPG on KLOV.

A Google image search turns up a LOT of pictures with white trackballs - but who knows if those are original or replacements? The ones in this unit are extremely clean and don't need to be replaced, just polished.

They're just Pac man yellow.
 
Every one I've ever seen are white. I bet someone replaced those at some point...

I don't think so. I have two MC tables with these trackballs (I know I started another thread on this very topic), and both of them have bright yellow trackballs (now dirty with age). The flyer I have has the white balls, but I have a really hard time believing that these things were replaced, given the evidence at hand.

I'd love it if someone could sell me new ones, but so far I can only find the white and off-white ones.

I'm given to understand that the all-metal trackball units were not long in production (replaced by a different unit), and that the later units had the white or off-white trackballs.

At this point I'm trying to figure out a good way to just clean the things, as I can't find yellow replacements. I'm also cheap, and lazy, so the 'polish by hand' method isn't something I had wanted to do. So far my attempts to come up with a way to do it using power tools have failed. The problem is that they can only roll correctly with the rollers and bearings. I'm thinking that I might pull the electronics off one of the units, clamp it down and then use a power-drill mounted polishing wheel (with automotive compound as an abrasive) to try and clean them up.

I've considered polishing them by hand (cloth and compound), but I haven't yet tried it to see how long it takes. My biggest worry is that if I do it by hand, I'll accidentally not polish it evenly and end up with a ball that isn't round.

Anyone with any ideas on where to get replacements, please post or PM.
 
Aren't bumper pool balls solid yellow and solid red, you might try those.

I just had a google and it looks like regulation bumperpool balls are 2 1/8" not 2 1/4" that we need for this purpose.

Of course, the sources I found have red/white not red/yellow, but the size is more important.

On the other hand, I did find this little number:

http://www.ozonebilliards.com/discocueball.html

A light-up cueball. Which would at least have amusement value.

Back to the task at hand, I find that some snooker balls are also 2 1/8" some are 2 1/4", but the 2 1/4" ones I found have numbers like normal pool balls, and Carom billiards are 61.5 mm (that's about 2.42 inches).

I'm thinking I need to send some e-mails to some pool supply companies.



Of course, if I had a rotating drum of some sort, I could put the balls in with some kind of cleaning media (something fine) and rotate them for a period of time, rock-tumbler style. That bears thinking about.
 
I wonder if you could use a rock tumbler to clean/polish it? Not sure how long or what grit to use, but it might work? try it on an old white one first :)
 
Since I've already got replacement white trackballs, I am going to try hand polishing with some scratch remover and see what happens. At least if they get whiter, and not brighter yellow, the question will have been answered.
 
On a side note, how in the hell do you get the rollers out of these monsters? I broke/twisted an allen wrench trying to get the column off one corner so I could slide them out.
 
On a side note, how in the hell do you get the rollers out of these monsters? I broke/twisted an allen wrench trying to get the column off one corner so I could slide them out.

I didn't have any problems - the allen screws came right off for me. I was using a screwdriver with an allen bit instead of an allen wrench, but that shouldn't make a difference. I believe I removed the top plate first, then the bottom screws on the corner posts as needed to get them off (and the rollers out).

Did you get replacement rollers yet? I haven't done so at this point, but I probably will order some soon, as I've just about got the second leg done (I've sanded loose/rusty bits, used rust-converting primer and painted gloss black), so I'll be able to bring the thing in the house soon.

You might try tapping on it a little (to try to losen it), or perhaps warming it a bit to see if you can get the screw to come out easier? Also, don't forget to take off the encoder wheel first.

Do be careful, no one makes repros of these yet, so if you break it, you're gonna have to go with alternate units.
 
I know - worried big time about the encoder boards. These are tanks, but not built for easy maintenance.

I dabbed Liquid Wrench on the Allen screws but so far no help. I'll have to get some more screwdriver bits; my cheapie set doesn't have the right size.

Thanks....
 
I managed to disassemble a rebuild one of the two trackballs today.

Looking into the yellow trackball mystery of 2009, I noticed a sticker on the bottom of it, that may explain the whole thing.

sticker-1.jpg


This sticker may have only been seen on this relatively uncommon all metal trackball assembly.

The sticker smelled faintly of - you guessed it - 3 in one oil or some related product and it was nowhere near the bearings. Very good chance that the coloration on the TB's themselves was not from nicotine or UV rays but from oil overspray or leakage.

If you soak a white vinyl or plastic trackball in oil over a period of 28 years or so - even lightly - it's going to absorb it.

I took some 400 grit sandpaper to one of the trackballs to see if it would get lighter (more white) or brighter yellow. It was the former. The balls are discolored, not originally yellow. At least, not the ones in my machine.

I replaced the ball in the TB I rebuilt with a bright white one. It's back in player 2's spot and looks terrific and rolls smooth as glass on rollers from Bob Roberts.
 
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