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| Cleaning trackball assembly |
Posted by: ironhalo on 2025-08-03 16:46:36
Just starting to get to work on a new PowerBook 160 project. The whole trackball roller assembly is understandably a bit crusty (though it could be much worse). Any reason NOT to submerge the whole black roller assembly into IPA to help loosen up the gunk before I go at it with a soft brush? I don't know exactly what all these materials are, hoping they can stand up to 91% IPA... |
Posted by: finkmac on 2025-08-03 17:05:44
I use ipa and a brush + qtip to deal with these
Be very careful with the springs
For what it’s worth the rollers might be bad and need replacement |
Posted by: ironhalo on 2025-08-03 17:16:45
@finkmac Perfect, thanks! |
Posted by: 3lectr1cPPC on 2025-08-04 08:37:29
The rollers won't be harmed by IPA, I can say from experience. I haven't had bad rollers on a 100 series yet, but that's just my experience. |
Posted by: Garrett B on 2025-08-04 09:02:37
I replace the rollers in every 1xx machine I work on regardless of what they look like. It's cheap and easy. Cleaning them with IPA loosens them up and causes them to spin on the metal shafts. Very very annoying when trying to get the cursor where you want it! |
Posted by: 3lectr1cPPC on 2025-08-04 09:08:47
Cleaning them with IPA loosens them up and causes them to spin on the metal shafts. I think that's happened to me once or twice - in those cases, they returned to normal once the IPA had fully evaporated. Either way, there's certainly no harm in replacing them. Where do you source replacements from? |
Posted by: finkmac on 2025-08-04 09:19:57
one solution is silicone earring backs |
Posted by: Garrett B on 2025-08-05 05:27:19
I think that's happened to me once or twice - in those cases, they returned to normal once the IPA had fully evaporated. Either way, there's certainly no harm in replacing them. Where do you source replacements from? AliExpress - very cheap. Hardest part is getting a straight cut from the long piece. |
Posted by: ironhalo on 2025-08-05 06:36:21
AliExpress - very cheap. Hardest part is getting a straight cut from the long piece. Nice! Great tip, thx. |
Posted by: 3lectr1cPPC on 2025-08-05 06:42:10
AliExpress - very cheap. Hardest part is getting a straight cut from the long piece. Thanks! |
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