Building a Mouse Pad

[cjtaylor0103]

Got a Logitech G9 on the way and want to get away from using my supermat (cloth pad) and into something with a little less friction. I picked up a standard peice of precut glass today and cut it to the size of the mousepad I currently have and then finished the edges with a clear tubing which I sliced the whole way down to fit around the edges of the pad/glass (the glass is sitting on top of the pad to give it added structural integrity and that black background I needed for reflection).

Well, the mouse wouldn't recognize movement. I currently use a Logitech mx518. I don't want to give up and give in to a $100 glass mousepad...I want to build my own. Do I need to get a frosted glass that is not completely clear? What's going on in the mouse that it would not read the movement when being seperated from the pad by a 3/32" peice of glass?

[SgtM]

Welcome aboard!

What's happening is the same as if you would lift your mouse off of a regular mouse pad and try to move it around. It can't see anything to track it's position. Using a clear or reflective surface will have this affect on all laser and optical mice. Frosting or painting the surface will clear this up.

[cjtaylor0103]

Gotcha. Makes perfect sense. I think rather than putting a coat of paint on the surface which would ultimately change the frictionless glass appeal I'm shooting for, I'll go down to the speciality glass shop and get a good frosty peice of glass.

Maybe I'll even take the ol' laptop with me and plug in my G9 to make sure the surface will work. Boy will I look cool to those shop employees.

Thanks for the kind help.