Assembling a Ploopy Classic Trackball
It's been a couple of crazy months, so, forgive me my friend1. I'm posting this on December, but the writing began on November.
Last year, the switches of my Logitech M570 started agonizing. Basic repairs didn't fix the clicking issues, so I started considering getting a new trackball.
The Internet recommended the Logitech MX Ergo, a USB-C powered trackball that was easy on the eyes and the wrist, however, it seemed too pricey assuming it would last for a couple of years, before showing the same symptoms as my much cheaper M570. So, I decided to just replace the switches instead.
I cannibalized parts from an old Microsoft-branded mouse (which, for some reason, once it was opened, it could never fit back in properly). I asked a friend for soldering materials, as I'd never done any soldering before. After watching and reading soldering tutorials I tried desoldering the faulty switches. It was much harder than I expected.
A few hours after, and with a couple of burns in my hands, I was testing the newly installed Kalih switches. They worked pretty well and I was able to use my trackball again. A few months later the symptoms reappeared, and they were even worse than before. A new investigation on Reddit revealed up a name, Ploopy.
On October 9th, after giving it a lot of thought, I ordered a Ploopy Classic Kit, which stated in its website description:
The Ploopy Trackball Full Kit includes everything necessary to build the trackball. You will have to build the trackball before it can be used.
And this is how a new challenge started.
Assembling
I received the kit on October 25th, but it wasn't until November 8th that I had enough time to start the assembly process described in the wiki. Soldering was a little hard because this was my first time soldering such small components. Also, assembling the 3D parts was a bit tricky, especially the top cover and driving the screws for the first time.
After that, I tested the trackball at my workstation, and… it was alive! The process took me all morning, and it was getting late to go to my class, so I went to school, leaving the trackball connected to my computer. Sadly, a couple of hours later, when I got back, the trackball wasn't working.
The next couple of days, this pattern repeated, so I started figuring out what was causing the issue. I tried using different USB ports, a different USB cable, another laptop and disassembling the trackball and verify everything again, but that didn't fix the issue. During these tests, I discovered that the sensor wasn't working, while the switches were behaving perfectly fine.
The next day, the switches stopped responding as well, so I decided to reach out for support. After gathering enough evidence (photos and videos) I emailed Ploopy describing the situation. The following day they (Colin) responded that, based on the behavior, soldering quality and the tests done, I had encountered a faulty PCB. To fix this, they kindly offered to send me a new PCB, which I accepted.
A few days later, the new PCB kit arrived. I assembled it again and experienced similar issues. This time, Colin suggested using a different USB cable than the previous two, so I used one from an old printer that has been working flawlessly so far.
Conclusion
This is my first experience assembling an open-source hardware project, and I'm really happy with how things turned out in the end. A couple of friends told me that this process seemed too much of a hassle compared to just buying a trackball. They're probably right, but this process is the fun part. If you care about the philosophy behind open hardware or software and enjoy tinkering with things, then you'll probably enjoy Ploopy products. I'm really glad people like Colin and Phil exist and create amazing products.
As a side note, the quality of the Scroll Wheel Holder Holder I received was not good; it broke during assembly. Luckily I printed a new one for a cheap price (yeah, the magic of open hardware <3). Also, the scroll wheel does its job, but it could be better. I should check the mods from the community.
Footnotes
Mr. Robot reference, right?