Repairing a mouse

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

My scroll wheel started acting up. Might jitter about in any direction but one thing it wouldn't do is scroll. As in the past I have worn loads of keyboards out working on software at home I still buy Cherry. Logitec key markings wear off and the usual HP stuff breaks – their workstation ones are great but not wireless. The mouse is about 2 years old and I would expect a longer life than that even doing rather a lot of photo editing at times.

Thought it might be software so googled for ideas and found mention of dust and bits of fluff. I used a duster can to blow down each side of the wheel. Bit of an improvement so I dismantled it and gave what looked like some sort of encoder a good blast. Even better. Next came IPA on a thin paint brush. On the bit that the wheel turns and a bit of excess to run down into it – then another blast to blow the IPA away.

It's working perfectly again. Saves me spending £60 ahead of time as replacement mice for the 8000 set don't seem to be available.

It seems many mice are held together in a similar way. I screw under the batteries and in this case 4 more under the pads. A chunk of metal in this one as well to increase the weight.

I wondered about putting this in workshop equipment but then thought not.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 31/08/2016 23:25:21

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Scroll wheel doing any old thing but scrolling.

[Nick HulmeParticipant @nickhulme30114]

Doesn't the IPA get sticky when it dries?

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

personally I just buy a couple of ?1 mice from Poundland (wired not wireless) – they usually last over a year – usually killed off by mechanical damage if I knock it off table etc

Keyboards have got worse – still use an old Dell from probably the early 80s that was built with a heavy gauge steel frame and decent key switches

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I treat keyboards as disposable items. Expensive ones often have heavy keys and clumsy actions IMHO.

Back in the late 80s I worked at a place where we had a volunteer who had been a telex operator/typist in the Navy. he hit the keys as if he was using a big manual typewriter. I'll swear you could see the keyboard bend in the middle with each stroke – he couldn't last more than 2 or 3 characters without thumping.

Another chap tried to get me to use predictive text, I swore it would never catch on. It did, but only for phones!

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

The best-built keyboard I have ever seen came from ICL Kidsgrove

I think it was from the 'System 25' **LINK**

https://www.fujitsu.com/uk/Images/ICL-Technical-Journal-v02i04.pdf

… Every key had a Hall-effect switch under it.

MichaelG.

[NJHParticipant @njh]

I have an Apple "magic" ( cordless) mouse. Sensor for movement of the mouse and just touch on the mouse and swipe Up/Down or L/R or press to click. Works like magic! Keyboard is also cordless.

Norman

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