Post by: zodraz on July 29, 2003, 02:12:55 PM
My co-worker somehow managed to "supposedly" drop his mouse which is now DEAD!
This is the same guy who's "killed" two keyboards by spilling his "enhanced" mineral water on them. He actually killed a third, but I was able to revive it by disassembling it so it would dry.
I looked the mouse over (it's a graphite optical) and could see through the clear chord that the internal wires were snapped right as it enters the mouse.
So I go to the Apple Store's Genius Bar on Michigan Ave.
Guess who stumped the Genius!
Sad thing is, the mouse is still kaput, and it's not worth sending in to repair (Apple doesn't even bother).
I'm ready to give it a go, but am not sure where/how to pry that little thing open.
Anyone done such an operation?
Thanks!
Post by: Paddy on July 29, 2003, 02:38:15 PM
You can, of course, get a nice M$ optical 3 button job with scroll wheel for $19 at any BestBuy or other office or computer store, maybe cheaper on sale. Good mice - I have 2 in the house at the moment (in addition to the right-hand only Intellimouse Explorer, which is a 5 button mouse).
Post by: ljocampo on July 29, 2003, 07:37:47 PM
Post by: zodraz on July 31, 2003, 11:39:21 AM
Yes, the mouse has a lable on the bottom - only it's behind the plastic!
I think the key maybe those two small separate pieces on the sides.
They seem to act as the fulcrum, or axis for the mouse to tilt for it's clicking.
Maybe, it's the part that locks the two halves together.
I'll try prying those things.
If that fails, it's time to start up the Dremmel!
Post by: zodraz on August 01, 2003, 09:48:38 AM
Yaaaay! I found the answer on how to open up a Pro Mouse and repair it!
Here is a link: http://students.washington.edu/rainer/promouserepair/
It has pics with a step by step!
Hope someone else can make use of this!
Here is the text:
Apple Pro Mouse Repair
...not for dummies
by Rainer Leuschke
I recently got my hands on a broken pro mouse to disect and fix or toss out. From google I learned that frequently the cable breaks where it exits the housing and this tends to happen just after the warranty expires as was the case with this specimen. I also found numerous links stating that they are not easily repairable (which is true) and no hints on how to open one up. I opened mine nonetheless, fixed the cable and put it back together. Here is how: ...YMMV...
The pro mouse housing is glued together. Both the external, clear cover as well as the internal, dark cover are glued to the dark ring on the bottom of the mouse. Only a few small dabs of glue had been used on my mouse. The glue spots can be seen through the plastic. Use a razor blade to slice through some of the glue in the tiny gap between ring and clear cover. With a small pocket knife blade you can break the rest of the glue joint and dislodge the clear cover. This step requires some care as the ring can easily be broken with excessive force.
With some more careful prying the ring can also be removed from the internal, dark cover. The picture above shows the ring removed from the mouse. The clear cover can be taken off.
The internal cover is attached to the mouse body by two plastic hinges. They are visible through the cover. It can easily be removed using a flat screwdriver as pictured above.
The cable leads to the USB connector. Unplug and pull the cable out. This picture was taken after the cable repair, which explains the unsightly tape job.
The cable breaks where it leaves the clear rubber adaptor. Since the adaptor is crimped to the cable insulation, I did not see a way of removing and replacing it. Instead I pulled the wires and shield out of the cable housing to get to the section with broken wire.
This picture shows the broken section exposed. Other wires show signs of excessive bending as well. After soldering I taped up the wires and pushed the cable housing back over shield and wires, but not quite to the point where it was before. I will hopefully have another 15 months before it breaks again. This way of repairing the damage shortens the already-too-short cable very little.
That's it. Reassemble in reverse order. Mod the mouse as desired. There is plenty of space between the two covers for all sorts of stuff. Use only as much glue as necessary on the ring so you can open it when it breaks again or you feel the need to redecorate. Good luck.
Questions? E-mail me.
v1.0 © 2002 Rainer Leuschke
Post by: kelly on August 01, 2003, 10:26:19 AM
Post by: zodraz on August 01, 2003, 12:26:45 PM
PS The adhesive he used was Super Glue!
Post by: ljocampo on August 01, 2003, 03:56:35 PM
Post by: zodraz on August 06, 2003, 01:02:11 PM
Dis-assembly complete!
This mouse was glued up tight!
It took two razor blades and a scalpel to cut the "ring" off.
Some observations:
The ring has an inner raised edge. or "lip". Most of this had to be cut through since the glue was some kind of "solvent" type that actually melts the two surfaces together.
The molded wire feed had to be split to get to the metal band that crimps the wires to the outer insulator.
It appears that only one wire is the problem.
Once I fix that I will test it before I glue it together.
Post by: zodraz on August 18, 2003, 09:17:11 AM
Yahoo! It works!
Well, I was wrong about the one wire being broken - they ALL were!
It was a tricky job soldering them together, but I did.
I used the heat-shrink insulation to keep the wires separated.
I used Scotch brand "SuperGlue" that was the "gel" type.
THAT may have been a mistake. I was very careful in appling the glue, BUT the next day the inside of the mouse had smokey-milky streaks in it.
Other than that, it's a perfect repair.
Was it worth it? Well a new Mac Mouse runs $60 at CompUSA. But a Kensington Platinum scroll mouse (corded) is $40 something. And an MS optical can be had for $20 (or much less on sale).
My time and trouble? About 4 hours.
Post by: gmann on August 18, 2003, 11:51:54 AM
Post by: zodraz on August 19, 2003, 04:31:11 PM
Thanks a lot.
Actually I have often envied the lawn-care folks.
Out in the fresh air, the smell of a newly cut lawn. Actually seeing at the end of the day what you've accomplished!!
And getting to play with cool power tools....
Vrrroooom Vrrroooom
Post by: kelly on August 19, 2003, 07:14:08 PM
That's a real accomplishment.
Regardless of whether it made economic sense.