Mouse Refurbish

[] My first thought was faulty microswitches. But it seems unlikely they've both failed at once - or is that not the case, did one fail (or become unreliable) before the other? If both at once, then it might not be the switches. I'd suspect the chip in that case, which is probably unidentifiable (and unobtainable if it is) - though it'd be worth looking for broken tracks on the PCB.

Does it "feel" wrong - do the "buttons" make a proper click?

Replacing the microswitches shouldn't be that difficult for anyone capable of reasonably fine soldering, if that _is_ the cause. What is likely to be more difficult is (a) getting the mouse apart enough to get at them, then (b) finding ones similar enough to substitute.

If it's a three-button mouse, the middle one (assuming it's not mechanically different!) might be a source for one, as it tends to be used less. Other scrap mice might be another source. Failing those, you should be able to find a fair selection of microswitches in most of the electronic component retailer's online "catalogues" - RS Components, Farnell, Newark, CSC, Digiguide (these may or may not be still in business - I've been out of electronics for a couple of years) - once you've got one in your hand to look at (and measure). The better distributors will have mechanical drawings near their listings; if not, they should at least tell you the manufacturer's name and part number of the ones they sell, and you should find such drawings at the manufacturers' websites. You'll also need to know if they're press-to-make or press-to-break; I'd assume the former, but check with a continuity beeper once you've unsoldered. (Unless you can make out the part number on them.)

It _may_ be possible to dismantle and repair the switches themselves, but I'd not like to try.

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/

Not sure where you live, but I find it on Amazon.com for about $11.00. Much easier then trying to repair one. Also there are literally hundreds of different ones to choose from, Surely you can find a suitable lookalike replacement.

Rene

Rene

I should mention also that battery life is really not an issue anymore, I have a Logitech M510 that goes a year on batteries, My new Logitech M705 is advertized to go 3 years on a pair of alkaline AA cells.

Rene

The Logitech M100 mouse is still available for $9.99 plus tax and shipping. It is a corded mouse with a USB connector.

I found this to be quite durable. I bought mine 5 years ago and it still works well. My wife has a similar Logitech mouse that is even older.

See .

--
David E. Ross 
 

Immigration authorities arrested 680 undocumented aliens in meat 
processing facilities in Mississippi.  Employing someone who is not 
legally in the U.S. is also illegal.  How many of the EMPLOYERS are 
being criminally charged?  If none, why not?

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.

I have a logitech M330 and like it so much, had it for quite a while. It also like Rene's says 2 years on battery, but I don't get more than a few months on it. Still mine is a single battery and that consumes less batteries.

My wife's Kindle doesn't last the time Amazon says it will, but then she reads 6 hours a day not the little time they say is typical. I'd say mice batteries are the same, it depends how much you use it. Mine goes to sleep when not used to save battery but if it's used 12 hours a day, that's a lot of drain.

Al

+1

I've been using M705's with multiple PCs since 2013 and love them. I get more than two years on a set of AAs, but who knows how fresh the cells were to begin with.

One thing about the M705 is that it can run on a single battery if you're willing to trade longer battery life for less weight. I don't mind the weight, so I use two cells. Also, there's an LED on top of the mouse that normally lights up green, but changes to red when the batteries are weak. Lastly, I love the mechanical switch that disables the wheel detent, making it easy to scroll up/down at high speed.

--

Char Jackson

Usenet is a community potluck where everyone chips in where they can.

I didn't read all the details in the thread, where my value add is that o I can simply vouch for fixing mice by taking them apart (carefully).

My suggestion to the OP is to take the mouse apart, like I did here:

And then clean everything up and look for something broken:

If nothing else, it's useful to see how the thing works inside.

Two of the screws holding it together are hidden under the 'feet' as shown here;

And another screw is hidden under the label !!

I'm on my 2nd M705- the first one (after 3-1/2 years) was having the same mechanical problems as the OP's mouse. My newer one is 2+ years old and so far is everything it's advertised to be. I use rechargeable batteries in it, and they last about 14-16 months. Since I have a number of these batteries around (I also use them in my various remotes), I always have at least 2 that are charged up and ready to go.

I would definitely recommend the M705 to my friends :-)

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SC Tom

These Omron switches are used in a lot of mice. I go through a set about twice a year, from writing a lot of HTML by hand. I use the Logitech M310 most of the time, but I do use other mice. I bought 50 switches, the last time. :)

On Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 8:58:06 PM UTC-4, MouseUser wrote:> My favorite mouse is acting up.> Buttons double-click on a single-click and sometimes do not click at all. I don't waste my time fixing mice. I have a 5 gallon bucket of mice I've picked up at the local thrift stores from $0.25 to $1.99 each. With and without scroll wheels. Wired and wireless with the transceivers. Even track balls. (My preferred mouse.) USB and P/S2 as well, even a few serial mice.

*laughs* I even have a Logitech "Bus Mouse" with an ISA card. If a mouse quits working or starts to get erratic, into the trash it goes. Same goes for keyboards.

--
"I am a river to my people." 
Jeff-1.0 
WA6FWi 
http:foxsmercantile.com

The mouse I use and like very much is the Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse ($19.99 from Amazon). It's my first wireless mouse. I've had it for about four months, and I just had to replace its batteries.

It's very different from the common horizontal mice; it's much more comfortable.

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.

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.

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.

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

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