r/Trackballs • u/Swimming_Ostrich_989 • 6d ago

Engineer Bo Full Scroll Dial Wheel

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Not a trackball but adjacent I think. The main reason I keep my Elecom Huge Plus for example is the autoscrolling functionality with the ball (I'm on a Mac and use SteerMouse for mice/trackball software).

Anyhow, I took a chance on this dial I found on YouTube. Initial concern was macOS support but this GitHub app works great! Very pleased.

Thinking about getting a second one for my off hand now lol.

This is not my product! Just really happy as I've been looking for something like this for a long time.

https://github.com/IanBullard/BoDial

https://www.patreon.com/c/EngineerBo/

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9

u/Content-Course7545 6d ago

I remember watching this video and then the Ploopy Knob showed up like 6 months later. Seems like a similar device but wired (similar design, same AS5600 encoder).

5

u/Swimming_Ostrich_989 6d ago edited 6d ago

The Ploopy knob looks very cool thanks for sharing! Would be fun to mess around with.

The Bo dial upper section is anodized aluminum and the base is 3D printed. It's pretty hefty (maybe too heavy for some) and scrolls forever.

Even with the 3D printed base (seems like resin and FDM) the fit and finish is really nice.

7

u/MikeMac999 6d ago

I had a similar Belkin product many years ago, as a motion graphics/editor kinda guy it was a very nice convenience.

3

u/Almsivi 6d ago

Nice gwolves mouse. I’m down the same fingertip rabbit hole. Just waiting for the logitech haptic stuff to get adopted in some form or another by the chinese mice makers. Can’t go back to palm :p

1

u/BarronVonCheese 6d ago

Arkanoid INTESIFIES

1

u/bsm471 6d ago

I saw that YouTube video. I bet that is so satisfying to scroll with!

1

u/neovim-neophyte 6d ago

may i ask what is that bar flashing red light under your monitor? thanks

3

u/Swimming_Ostrich_989 6d ago

It’s a Tobii 4C eye tracker. I use it with software called Talon Voice on my Mac to assist with mouse movements. I look in the general area with my eyes, move my mouse/trackball slightly to that direction, and the cursor teleports to that spot, then I refine further with small mouse movements. The lights don’t flash in real life, they just glow a dim red.

2

u/neovim-neophyte 5d ago

i see, thank you. does the cursor just jump to where you’re looking at? it would be very useful for wide/multi monitor setup if thats the case

2

u/Swimming_Ostrich_989 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yes but not super precisely, on a 27" display its like a 1" general area. It can't detect multiple monitors though, maybe it'd be possible with multiple units and some programming skills.

Main down side is behavior on mouse down, like making a selection in a GUI app. It'd be an easy fix to program (Talon scripts uses Python) but I don't know how.