Mouse internals

[ChrisGreaves]

I got tired of its wonky behaviour so I disemboweled my mouse.
I found lots of stuff in there; I'm naming no names, but ...

HPIM3610 [640x480].JPG

Above we see four components - the cover (a black plastic shell with a fitting lug), the single retaining screw, the perspex prism, the base and hinged motherboard.

HPIM3611 [640x480].JPG

Here is the prism in detail. I rather wish I'd counted the number of facets(?) while I held it in my hands.

HPIM3612 [640x480].JPG

Here is the motherboard in more detail, with the prism in place.
The Red LED is lying on its side like a dead R2D2.
The black cylinder at the right is the stem which receives the single screw.
It's obviously an Australian mouse, because the printing on the chip is upside-down.
The board is hinged (by cable?) at the left-hand end off the side of the image.
At the top left of the image is the base of the blue LED(?) which shows as a blue hue on the scroll wheel. I'm not sure if this light has any purpose other than decorative.

Three minutes spent disassembling, and strongly mouth-blowing the rubbish out of there has given my mouse new life. (I'm trying not to make a pun on "mouse-organ").
The only hazard I met was almost-not having the cable ("tail"?) in place between two small pillars as it makes its way out of the shell.

[PJ_in_FL]

Congratulations on a successful operation, Doctor!

[ChrisGreaves]

Congratulations on a successful operation, Doctor!

Thanks!

Moral: If your mouse is "playing up" it may just be an accumulation of cat hairs, sandwich crumbs, ...

[PJ_in_FL]

Good thing it's an optical mouse instead of the older trackball version. There might have been suggestions or comments about taking care not to cause any (static) discharges by excessive cleaning of certain parts of the assembly.

[viking33]

So you gave your mouse, mouth to mouth resuscitation? Didn't need CPR? Pushing the scroll wheel in and out?

[ChrisGreaves]

Didn't need CPR?

You know, I'm sure, that my middle given names are "Paul" and "Reynolds" ...

[BobH]

You reminded me of that ancient write up from IBM about cleaning mouse balls.

My mouse is a Logitech tail- less. I think it's called an MX Revolution. I can find no screw that would allow disassembly. Since I own only a screwdriver and a very large hammer, I must conclude that the hammer is the correct tool for the job.

Now if someone could tell me the exact spot on which to bring the hammer down - and the correct amount of force - I might attempt to do what CPR Greaves did.

[ChrisGreaves]

I can find no screw that would allow disassembly.

I bet it's a clip-assembly.
Is there a groove running around it the outside? If so try a small chisel-blade 'driver to see if you can locate the little lugs that snap it together; it is sometimes possible to press one inwards to release the catch, so to speak.
http://chrisgreaves.com/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi

[BobH]

I can find no screw that would allow disassembly.

I bet it's a clip-assembly.
Is there a groove running around it the outside? If so try a small chisel-blade 'driver to see if you can locate the little lugs that snap it together; it is sometimes possible to press one inwards to release the catch, so to speak.
http://chrisgreaves.com/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi

Thanks, Chris.

I found that there are 4 plastic pad 'feet' on the bottom of my mouse that cover the screws that hold the pieces together. I found a forum that pointed this out. I guess I'm gonna have to invest in a new tool to pry those feet out.

[ChrisGreaves]

I guess I'm gonna have to invest in a new tool to pry those feet out.

Let's not get back into declawing, OK?

Actually now that you mention it, I've lost track of the number of times rubber pads and the like have covered the one screw that was holding everything else together.

[BobH]

Did you notice my new avatar, Chris?

This is the kitty that we inherited back in September when the next door neighbor moved and she hid while the commotion was going on. I posted here asking for hints about how to find a home for a cat. Seems the cat was more successful at making our place her home.

The avatar is a pic taken last Friday when we had snow on the ground here in central Texas (a very rare occurrence). The snow brought birds to the feeder and my wife got this pic of the cat. I think we are the only people ever to get a picture of Dark Matter (my name for the Kat).

[ChrisGreaves]

I think we are the only people ever to get a picture of Dark Matter

Ah Bob, Nothing is impossible!
(I worked out he will make 53 pounds per hour literally moonlighting!)

[PJ_in_FL]

I can find no screw that would allow disassembly.

I bet it's a clip-assembly.
Is there a groove running around it the outside? If so try a small chisel-blade 'driver to see if you can locate the little lugs that snap it together; it is sometimes possible to press one inwards to release the catch, so to speak.
http://chrisgreaves.com/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi

Chris,

I've found if I use an old credit card that I've sanded one edge to a beveled edge I'm less likely to mar the surface of the device I'm separating. A trick I learned trying to disassemble my LCD display to repair the power supply (replaced the capacitors, which is a typical failure mode for many LCDs). Using multiple cards this way keeps the separated part from reclosing while I'm running more cards around the edge to open additional clips.

[BobH]

That's a great tip, PJ_in_FL.

I keep old cards for spreading glue and other such tasks. I hadn't thought to sand an edge on them for those trying prying jobs.

Thanks!

[ChrisGreaves]

I've found if I use an old credit card ... Using multiple cards this way keeps the separated part from reclosing

Good one! Thanks PJ.