Logitech TrackMan Marble FX Trackball

The best trackball ever sold. PERIOD! The T-CJ12 TrackMan Marble FX was sold in retail stores through the 1990's to ~2000. It was suddenly pulled from the market due to infringing on an obscure patent. During its short life span it became the a favorite pointing device of many users: CAD workers, gamers, the handicapped, artists, . . . In the years since it has developed a cult like following. I myself used T-CJ12s in CAD work in the 1990's both at the office and at home. One of my original T-CJ12 trackballs is still in use twenty years later.What makes the T-CJ12 so great: the near perfect relaxed hand position, the large fulcrumed primary buttons, the large oversized ball manipulated by both thumb and fingers, this is the only track ball where you can hold the ball between thumb and fingers, and an unique duck bill palm rest. Trackballs take some time to adjust to; they work best when set sensitive. One flick of a finger should move the cursor anywhere on the screen. The first few hours can be difficult; you will need to set the acceleration and sensitivity. After a month of using a trackball few users will ever want to return to using a mouse.The T-CJ12 is a 4 button mouse. Techies, CAD guys, gamers and such can go to town programing the buttons to do what they want. But these twenty year old trackballs work just fine as a three button mouse right out of the box. I am using a T-CJ12 on this modern Windows OS computer as a plug and play device. The trackball and two big buttons work like a regular mouse, the small white button either is scroll lock or if you are on a link opens that link in a new tab, the small red button is non-functional without installing additional software.Disclaimer: I buy and occasionally sell these. I have dozens. From several rare "New in Box" to some just for partsBuying a used T-CJ12 Online:1) Check Logitech Logo on the Spine - it should be clear and distinct - it fades from years of use and can be completely worn off2) Check Label on bottom by S/N for a small hole - a hole here (OR covered with sticker) accesses the hidden case screw for repairs3) Check Small Red Button - if any white is visible this indicates extreme wear as the paint has worn off4) General Color - is unit dirty or sun faded5) General Cleanliness - look for grime around buttons and cord6) Beware of supposedly new units in the box - it is impossible to tell if a decent used unit was carefully returned to the box from a photo. If the seal is open ask for photos of the contents.Buying a new T-CJ121) The box is sealed by a single circular seal that can easily come open. It is hard it find verifiable original sealed boxes; I have a several.2) Often trackballs where returned to their box after a period of use. When these units come to market more than a decade later they are often unknowingly misrepresented as new or slightly used.3) Few new units remain - a new unit should have: shrink wrapped manuals, sealed software, a neatly bundled and tied cord, a warranty card and . . . such as the instructional hang-tag should be attached between the PS/2 plug and the included 9-Pin serial adapter.Making the ConnectionA T-CJ12 needs to connect to a PS/2 port to work. Modern computers particularly laptops do not have PS/2 ports. So to use a T-CJ12 on your computer you will need to add a PS/2 port. The easiest way to do this is to buy a dual PS/2 to USB adapter. This dual adapter will add both a powered PS/2 keyboard and powered PS/2 mouse port to your computer. I order these from China for about $1 each for the small cube kind and $3 for the cable kind. The key here is these are powered adapters, not just a cable end adapter which will not work; I see T-CJ12 being sold with cable end adapters that work with some USB / PS/2 mice but not with the T-CJ12. The T-CJ12 needs a true PS/2 port.If you have any questions about this item fell free to ask.Addendum: In late 2014-2015 I sourced the electronic parts, cables, and vintage main board connectors. I can now retrofit a USB cable and plug it in place of the dated P/S2 cable and plug. I have tested these conversions for several years on multiple track balls. This is a simple plug and play conversion for a new or lightly used trackballs; on older well-worn units removing the bottom cover and cable typically exposes internal damage to the case, particularly where the cable wraps the ball housing by the optical sensor. The original design allows for such an exact fit where the optical sensor is held in place by pressure from the cable wrapping past it; on many older units the sensor falls loose when the case is opened; totally repairable with the correct techniques.

I bought the original Logitech Trackman Marble somewhere around a year ago and loved it. So, I jumped at the chance to "upgrade" to the new TrackMan Marble FX Trackball last week.Even though the design is reminiscent of the original Trackman Marble, actually using the mouse feels completely different, and not in a good way...I found the buttons intuitive and even after custom-mapping them, I find that their locations require me to "reach" or stop what I'm doing to find what used to be quite intuitive to me. Not good at all. I have medium-sized hands (for a woman) and so I don't think it's just that the mouse is to big for my hands.I also find that my right hand cramps up painfully after using the mouse for a few hours. This is very disturbing, considering that I've had issues with carpal tunnel syndrome a few years ago and this is the first time symptoms have flared up in about three years.I boxed this mouse up and pulled out the old original Trackman marble and surprisingly enough, the pain went away. If you buy this one, keep the receipt until you've used it for awhile and are certain that it'll work for you.

Good as described. Works flawlessly. Fast shipping as well. The little red button doesn't work due to unavailable logitech drivers for this mouse in windows 7. Hopefully someone out there can come up with a suitable driver to get this little red button to work.Note: The seller should have clean up the mouse before shipping it out. It was dirty as hell. Sellers should be responsible to keep their products nice and clean even for used items.

No page scrolling wheel. but it's great for basic mousing...

I have had three of these now in around 15 years. Yes I said 15 years, or at least since they first came out. They are the best trackball that was ever made,ever made. They fit your hand like no other trackball out there including any that Logitech has made since. I really hope that Logitech will make them again, because you can't beat them. They are so expensive now that most of the time you can't find one that you can afford. The few that are out there that are new are being sold for close to $500. That is just unheard of. Of course those doing that probably won't sell it or maybe they might. Used ones are usually REALLY USED and the buttons will go out sooner or later. But if you can find one that has the Logitech logo intact on the top and hasn't been rubbed off, then it wasn't used much because that is the first thing to go and it doesn't take long for that to go, maybe about a year or less of use. The one I have just purchased, the logo is sharp and so I know that it hasn't been used much. Even this one wasn't cheap, but it was cheap enough that I was willing to foot the bill for it because you can't beat this trackball.

I really love this old mouse design, like the fourth I've had. I just wish I didn't have to pay so much to get one. Finding drivers on windows 7 is a challenge

Absolutely thrilled to receive and use this mouse! Brand-new in box, amazing action....my arm and hand thank you!!

My only pointing device for two decades. Much prefer trackball over mouse and have four of these. Deducting one star because this device is strictly right-handed, can't be used by left-hander.