Ploopy upgraded its new Classic 2 open-source trackball with better scrolling

Ploopy, a Canadian company known for its customizable open-source peripherals, has announced an upgraded version of its Classic trackball mouse. The Classic 2 has the exact same shape and ergonomics as the original but offers improved connectivity, a more accurate and reliable scroll wheel, and an upgraded design, making it easier to 3D print without the need for adding support materials.

The most useful improvement on the Classic 2 is a switch from USB-B – that chunky USB port most often found on printers – to USB-C. The company originally went with USB-B because it found the connector to be “very mechanically strong,” but has since found USB-C to be just as reliable after using it on other products.

The Classic 2 also fixes an issue with the original’s scroll wheel. If spun too quickly, it would “act oddly” or “sometimes reverse direction unexpectedly.” The problem was caused by the microcontroller in the original Classic being too slow to keep up. The solution was to upgrade the Classic 2 with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, which “runs the scroll wheel algorithms fifteen times faster than the one in the original Classic.”