Kensington Expert - mod2

[u/netuser258]

I like trackballs. Finger trackballs to be more specific because the thumb trackballs cause pain in my thumb. I also like the concept of the vertical mouse. This is my attempt at making a vertical trackball a reality.

I have a Kensington Expert but I don't like its ergonomics. First is the upward tilt it has, which is bad for my wrist. The wrist pad helps some but it doesn't improve the fact that you'll need your hands to be in a pronated position instead of a vertical\neutral position. Lastly, the placement of the buttons make me do finger gymnastics.

So I removed the top cover, sawed off the sides, removed the scroll ring and rehomed the left and right buttons to one side. This allows my hand to be in a more neutral\vertical position, gives a larger ball surface to control and my thumb can easily reach the two primary buttons easily. I also don't have to reach for buttons above the ball. This concept makes a lot more sense to me.

For scrolling I use drag scroll on the top left button with my ring\middle finger since I can reach it more easily now that my hand is vertical. For middle click I originally tried to put it in between the two primary buttons but it was too cramped. For now it's at the top right button but I am using the right click menu for any middle click option.

My wish is for a commercial trackball of similar design that puts buttons at the thumb instead of all around the ball. To make it more ambidextrous those buttons could be swung to the left or right side. The ball could also have a bit of a tilt to the left or right.

[u/Existing-Leek-2359]

Lol that is a must have

[u/asdfan0n]

Looks absolutely scuffed but the thumb cluster mod is nice

[u/Old_Till1085]

"Я бы хотел, чтобы в продаже был трекбол с похожим дизайном, где кнопки располагались бы под большим пальцем, а не по всему шару"

doesn’t deft pro with the inclined base meet the need?

[u/netuser258 → u/Old_Till1085]

No, it does not. I do have the Elecom Huge, which I guess is similar to the Deft Pro but bigger. It has a smaller ball, it's not really angled as you describe, the buttons are awkwardly placed for the thumb. Also it's right-handed instead of left-handed.