Mouse Refurbish

In article ,
says...

Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.



I am with you Ken. Some things are just not worth the time and effort.
I can see that if someone really likes a particular mouse it is worth it
to them to tak half a day repairing a $ 20 item.

On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 14:28:20 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article ,
says...

Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.



I am with you Ken. Some things are just not worth the time and effort.
I can see that if someone really likes a particular mouse it is worth it
to them to tak half a day repairing a $ 20 item.


Half a day? Not me. I'd spend the $20 and just buy a new one.

Patrick wrote:
On 13/10/2019 08:55, Patrick wrote:
On 13/10/2019 01:57, MouseUser wrote:
My favorite mouse is acting up.
Buttons double-click on a single-click and sometimes do not click at
all.

I tried repeatedly tapping to try to clean but does not last.

Unfortunately this mouse is no longer available anywhere (at least at
a reasonable price).

Love it because of its size and it is USB (no batteries !).

Is it possible to do my own refurbishment ?
Suggestions ?
Links please !

Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse 3000

Thanks !

Two of the screws holding it together are hidden under the 'feet' as
shown here;
http://cordes.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-299.html

And another screw is hidden under the label !!

I use a magnetic wand and move it around the base
of items like this, to try to verify in advance
where the screws are hidden. There's nothing
more embarrassing than ripping rubber feet off
something and finding "air" underneath :-/ The
screws, being ferrous, can sometimes be located
with my screw retrieval wand. Sometimes the screws
are far enough away from the surface, this can barely
detect them.

https://www.amazon.com/SE-8036TM-NEW.../dp/B000RB3XBA

And the screw under the label, sometimes the label
already has a criss-cross cut pattern in it, to
make it easier for the philips screwdriver to get
at the screw.

A good mouse now, only uses one screw, and one
end of the mouse forms a hinge, and the other end
has the screw placed in it. But back in the rubber ball
mouse era, there could be three screws.

The screws are easy to find on one of these :-)
It was the Rambo of mice, because it had "steel balls".
The rubber ball mice that came after this, were a joke.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HawleyMarkIImice.jpg

When disassembling the mouse, be particularly wary
of the scroll wheel, as the parts may not be "retained"
and if you tip the mouse upside-down with the cover
off, all sort of junk and little springs will go flying.
The mouse cover, is what prevents that from happening
normally.

1) Remove screws from bottom of mouse.
2) Tip mouse upright, scroll wheel facing up.
3) Now, remove top cover with captive plastic mouse buttons.
4) Examine what is underneath. Note whether
scroll wheel is "booby trapped" to fall apart on you.

Paul

Ken Blake wrote:
On Sat, 12 Oct 2019 21:03:20 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
wrote:


It's easy to refurbish mice.
I refurb all my mice when they go bad because I like the ones I have.
Take it completely apart, clean the optics, remove the micro switches,
and solder in new ones. The tails break conductors near where they go
into the mouse so cut off the tail about 1" near the entry point on the
mouse and re-solder to the internal plug. Use heat shrink on the solder
joints. If the plastic tabs that push the micro switches are worn down
then use your soldering iron to add more of the same type of plastic.
It will be an ABS mix. Should take no more than 20 minutes.


Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.

I like fixing things. It's sort of a hobby.
Ordering a new one for $12 is not nearly as much fun.

On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 20:51:24 -0000 (UTC), Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:

Do you think even for a second that the OP doesn't know that?
o If the OP was _that_ shallow - he wouldn't have asked the question.

Sorry for the hiccup. The machine crashed and the scripts must have still
run. I don't use a newsreader... it's just vi with telnet scripts.

Mea culpa.

BTW, if the OP needs pictures, I have plenty of my IBM mouse refurbish.
https://i.postimg.cc/5tr2SxsL/mouse02.jpg

On 2019-10-13 3:54 p.m., Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:
On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 20:51:24 -0000 (UTC), Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:

Do you think even for a second that the OP doesn't know that?
o If the OP was _that_ shallow - he wouldn't have asked the question.

Sorry for the hiccup. The machine crashed and the scripts must have still
run. I don't use a newsreader... it's just vi with telnet scripts.

Mea culpa.

BTW, if the OP needs pictures, I have plenty of my IBM mouse refurbish.
https://i.postimg.cc/5tr2SxsL/mouse02.jpg


Is that one of the mice that came over on the Ark? Male or Female? :-)


Rene

Rene Lamontagne wrote:
On 2019-10-13 3:54 p.m., Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:
On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 20:51:24 -0000 (UTC), Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:

Do you think even for a second that the OP doesn't know that?
o If the OP was _that_ shallow - he wouldn't have asked the question.

Sorry for the hiccup. The machine crashed and the scripts must have still
run. I don't use a newsreader... it's just vi with telnet scripts.

Mea culpa.

BTW, if the OP needs pictures, I have plenty of my IBM mouse refurbish.
https://i.postimg.cc/5tr2SxsL/mouse02.jpg


Is that one of the mice that came over on the Ark? Male or Female? :-)


Rene

That's a one-screw mouse, so it can't be that old.

*******

This article, has a picture of the Hawley mouse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_mouse

And that was my first mouse. Apparently made around 1975.
Steel balls on the outside. A little small for your hand
(because it doesn't have a scroll wheel or give a rats
ass about ergonomy). And your next problem would be,
if you found an old one, the interface is neither USB
nor PS/2, and instead, gives "pulses" for +/-X and +/-Y.
So you need to whip together some counter circuits to
make something a bit better for your OS to use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HawleyMarkIImice.jpg

But still, a nice mouse, and not surpassed until the
second generation of optical mice meant never ever
again having to worry about what the mouse was resting
on. Or how dirty the place was...

Paul

On 2019-10-13 4:20 p.m., Paul wrote:
Rene Lamontagne wrote:
On 2019-10-13 3:54 p.m., Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:
On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 20:51:24 -0000 (UTC), Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:

Do you think even for a second that the OP doesn't know that?
o If the OP was _that_ shallow - he wouldn't have asked the question.

Sorry for the hiccup. The machine crashed and the scripts must have
still
run. I don't use a newsreader... it's just vi with telnet scripts.

Mea culpa.

BTW, if the OP needs pictures, I have plenty of my IBM mouse refurbish.
https://i.postimg.cc/5tr2SxsL/mouse02.jpg


Is that one of the mice that came over on the Ark? Male or Female?Â* :-)


Rene

That's a one-screw mouse, so it can't be that old.

*******

This article, has a picture of the Hawley mouse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_mouse

And that was my first mouse. Apparently made around 1975.
Steel balls on the outside. A little small for your hand
(because it doesn't have a scroll wheel or give a rats
ass about ergonomy). And your next problem would be,
if you found an old one, the interface is neither USB
nor PS/2, and instead, gives "pulses" for +/-X and +/-Y.
So you need to whip together some counter circuits to
make something a bit better for your OS to use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HawleyMarkIImice.jpg

But still, a nice mouse, and not surpassed until the
second generation of optical mice meant never ever
again having to worry about what the mouse was resting
on. Or how dirty the place was...

Â*Â* Paul
The micro switches are quite large compared to now, Is that a Pot
sticking up where the wheel should be?
or is it an actuator for the center button?

Rene

In message , Paul in Houston TX
writes:
Ken Blake wrote:
[]
Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.

That's assuming the model the OP likes is still available; I think he
thought it wasn't, but someone here found them.

I like fixing things. It's sort of a hobby.
Ordering a new one for $12 is not nearly as much fun.

I share that hobby: I'll certainly spend more time than a thing is worth
trying to fix it, if I think the fault is something simple: the
throwaway philosophy bugs me. I'll admit, I give up a lot sooner now
than I used to, though.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The motto of the Royal Society is: 'Take nobody's word for it'. Scepticism has
value. - Brian Cox, RT 2015/3/14-20

Rene Lamontagne wrote:
On 2019-10-13 4:20 p.m., Paul wrote:
Rene Lamontagne wrote:
On 2019-10-13 3:54 p.m., Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:
On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 20:51:24 -0000 (UTC), Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:

Do you think even for a second that the OP doesn't know that?
o If the OP was _that_ shallow - he wouldn't have asked the question.

Sorry for the hiccup. The machine crashed and the scripts must have
still
run. I don't use a newsreader... it's just vi with telnet scripts.

Mea culpa.

BTW, if the OP needs pictures, I have plenty of my IBM mouse refurbish.
https://i.postimg.cc/5tr2SxsL/mouse02.jpg

The micro switches are quite large compared to now, Is that a Pot
sticking up where the wheel should be?
or is it an actuator for the center button?

Rene

The IBM mouse above, the microswitches look "normal" sized to me.

The thing in the center, I had to use the mouse cover to
guess at the function. It looks like a rubber nubbin, and
that would make the thing on the PCB, some sort of 2D strain
gauge.

But there's also what looks like a LED next to it,
and the LED is not pointed in any specific direction.
It could be for illuminating the rubber nubbin, as I don't
see any other function it could carry out, considering the
angle it is pointed.

This isn't the same item, but it's along the same lines. "Trackpoint mouse"

https://www.microsoft.com/buxtoncoll...il.aspx?id=121

https://www.microsoft.com/buxtoncoll...il.aspx?id=120

Paul

On 2019-10-13 7:33 p.m., Paul wrote:
Rene Lamontagne wrote:
On 2019-10-13 4:20 p.m., Paul wrote:
Rene Lamontagne wrote:
On 2019-10-13 3:54 p.m., Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:
On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 20:51:24 -0000 (UTC), Arlen _G_ Holder wrote:

Do you think even for a second that the OP doesn't know that?
o If the OP was _that_ shallow - he wouldn't have asked the question.

Sorry for the hiccup. The machine crashed and the scripts must have
still
run. I don't use a newsreader... it's just vi with telnet scripts.

Mea culpa.

BTW, if the OP needs pictures, I have plenty of my IBM mouse
refurbish.
https://i.postimg.cc/5tr2SxsL/mouse02.jpg

The micro switches are quite large compared to now, Is that a Pot
sticking up where the wheel should be?
Â*or is it an actuator for the center button?

Rene

The IBM mouse above, the microswitches look "normal" sized to me.

The thing in the center, I had to use the mouse cover to
guess at the function. It looks like a rubber nubbin, and
that would make the thing on the PCB, some sort of 2D strain
gauge.

But there's also what looks like a LED next to it,
and the LED is not pointed in any specific direction.
It could be for illuminating the rubber nubbin, as I don't
see any other function it could carry out, considering the
angle it is pointed.

This isn't the same item, but it's along the same lines. "Trackpoint mouse"

https://www.microsoft.com/buxtoncoll...il.aspx?id=121

https://www.microsoft.com/buxtoncoll...il.aspx?id=120

Â*Â* Paul

OK, that makes sense. Thanks.

Rene

On 10/13/2019 6:25 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Paul in Houston TX
writes:
Ken Blake wrote:
[]
Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.

That's assuming the model the OP likes is still available; I think he thought it
wasn't, but someone here found them.

I like fixing things. It's sort of a hobby.
Ordering a new one for $12 is not nearly as much fun.

I share that hobby: I'll certainly spend more time than a thing is worth trying
to fix it, if I think the fault is something simple: the throwaway philosophy
bugs me. I'll admit, I give up a lot sooner now than I used to, though.


You guys seem to be the type that would appreciate this:

https://i.postimg.cc/KjvyybrZ/Doonesbury-01.jpg

John

--

In message , John Dulak
writes:
On 10/13/2019 6:25 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Paul in Houston TX

writes:
Ken Blake wrote:
[]
Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.

That's assuming the model the OP likes is still available; I think he
thought it
wasn't, but someone here found them.

I like fixing things. It's sort of a hobby.
Ordering a new one for $12 is not nearly as much fun.

I share that hobby: I'll certainly spend more time than a thing is
worth trying
to fix it, if I think the fault is something simple: the throwaway philosophy
bugs me. I'll admit, I give up a lot sooner now than I used to, though.


You guys seem to be the type that would appreciate this:

https://i.postimg.cc/KjvyybrZ/Doonesbury-01.jpg

John

I did, sadly.

A couple of minor netiquette matters: when you send someone an email as
well as posting to a newsgroup, it's considered polite to indicate
you're doing so - usually at the top of your post/email, such as by
saying "(posted and emailed)". This is because lots of people read their
email first, and reply to emails; if they then find the same thing has
been posted, they find themselves having to say the same thing again.
The other one: if you use a fake email address, especially in a private
email, it's usually considered good form to highlight that you're doing
so (usually just above the signature separator - something like "remove
XYZ to reply"). Otherwise people might genuinely reply, possibly putting
some effort in to it, only to receive a bounce.

Above two points intended to inform, not to reprimand.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"Address the chair!" "There isn't a chair, there's only a rock!" "Well, call
it a chair!" "Why not call it a rock?" (First series, fit the sixth.)

On Sun, 13 Oct 2019 23:25:27 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

In message , Paul in Houston TX
writes:
Ken Blake wrote:
[]
Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.

That's assuming the model the OP likes is still available; I think he
thought it wasn't, but someone here found them.


No, to me, it would hardly matter whether it was still available. If
my mouse died, and was no longer available, I'd find another one that
was close enough to the old one, so I would like it just as much. I
might even find a new one I liked more.

As an example of what I mean, earlier this year I used a Logitech
M500 mouse which I liked very much. If it died, I would have replaced
it with the same model, if it was still available. But then I was at
someone's office and he was using an Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical
Ergonomic Optical Mouse. I tried it at his office and immediately
liked it better than my Logitech, so I ordered one from Amazon ($20).
It's now my favorite; I no longer use the Logitech.

Mice are no different from most other things. Newer models are usually
better than older ones.

On Mon, 14 Oct 2019 15:27:55 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

In message , John Dulak
writes:
On 10/13/2019 6:25 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Paul in Houston TX

writes:
Ken Blake wrote:
[]
Each to his own. Mice are very cheap these days. I wouldn't dream of
spending 20 minutes, the cost of new microswitches, soldering iron,
and solder to save $20 or so for a new mouse.

That's assuming the model the OP likes is still available; I think he
thought it
wasn't, but someone here found them.

I like fixing things. It's sort of a hobby.
Ordering a new one for $12 is not nearly as much fun.

I share that hobby: I'll certainly spend more time than a thing is
worth trying
to fix it, if I think the fault is something simple: the throwaway philosophy
bugs me. I'll admit, I give up a lot sooner now than I used to, though.


You guys seem to be the type that would appreciate this:

https://i.postimg.cc/KjvyybrZ/Doonesbury-01.jpg

John

I did, sadly.

A couple of minor netiquette matters: when you send someone an email as
well as posting to a newsgroup, it's considered polite to indicate
you're doing so - usually at the top of your post/email, such as by
saying "(posted and emailed)". This is because lots of people read their
email first, and reply to emails; if they then find the same thing has
been posted, they find themselves having to say the same thing again.


That used to happen to me often, and it's the reason I switched from
my real return address to a fake one. Some people would have send both
an e-mail message and a newsgroup posting.

And my fake one is purposely a very obvious fake, to dissuade anyone
from e-mailing me.