USB cord replacement on Mouse

[luciusad2004]

Does anyone have any experience replacing the cord on a USB mouse? I discovered that the cord on my Logitech G5 had a pinch in it and the covering of the cord has split open. This really bothers me. Has anyone here replaced the cord to a mouse before? Anybody have any idea how hard it would be? I would love to salvage this mouse as i don't want to spend $60 on a new one.

Thanks guys

[DonT-FeaR]

yes yes i do.... know what to do..


open up your g5 and use ur supreme soldering skills to take of the current 4 wires that concet from the usb plug... then get the new length of ubd cord and re solder it on..

make sure you take note of where the diff colour wires are..

hope this helps a little

[luciusad2004]

Any Idea were i might be able to find a new length of usb cable? Is this something that's purchasable or should i look for an old decommissioned mouse on ebay or something and just gank the cable?

I've never soldered before but i suppose its never to early to learn. I think my moms boyfriend has a soldering iron. Maybe i can find an old mouse to practice on first though.

If I just steal a cable from an old mouse is there anything i should look for or is a cable a cable?

thanks for the response.

[xmastree]

How far from the mouse is the damaged part? If it's close you could just shorten it a little.
Otherwise, pretty much any USB cable should work fine, just make sure it's very flexible.

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

just get a usb extension cable.. and 4 wires aint hard to solder... just dont over heat it and ruin the traces... cuz then it will be royaly ruined..

[luciusad2004]

Thanks for the advice. Ill have to source a new cable because the split is right in the middle of the cable.

Thanks guys!

[Spawn-Inc]

just get a usb extension cable.. and 4 wires aint hard to solder... just dont over heat it and ruin the traces... cuz then it will be royaly ruined..

exactly what i was going to say.




find some broken ewaste and practice desoldering and resoldering wires on it. don't forget to use flux!

[Omega]

exactly what i was going to say.




find some broken ewaste and practice desoldering and resoldering wires on it. don't forget to use flux!

any good solder will have flux in it.


Here's what you do.

Tools needed:
Solder Sucker
Soldering Iron
Solder (4.4% flux will do you well. I will look up the lead/tin ratio of the solder I use for you tomorrow. I suggest, if possible, to go to a real electronics store, but in a pinch, radiocrap will work.)
sponge

1. wet sponge, heat up iron, get all parts ready.
2. tin the tip of the soldering iron. this is done by applying solder to the tip of the iron and leaving the tip with a shiny coat. If you put too much on, wipe it off on the sponge.
3. place tip of soldering iron on the solder on the circuitboard.
4. when the solder is shinier and the tip of your iron goes in to the solder, get your solder sucker and use it to remove the solder.
5. repeat this until the wires are off.
6. get new cable stripped, etc.
7. place one wire down on it's appropriate place on the circuit board, then grab your soldering iron and solder.
8. near the circuitboard, but not on it, put a small bit of solder on to your iron. it should form a melted ball of solder.
9. touch the tip of the iron to the circuitboard. instantly, if not, very soon after, the ball of solder will seemingly wick itself onto the board, soldering the wire to the contact.
10. remove your iron from the contact and watch it solidify.
11. repeat this for the three other steps.
12. turn off iron, clean up workbench, reassemble mouse, grab a cold one and congratulate yourself! you just fixed your mouse!

-Omega

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

or you could just pick up specific tech solder.. which is lead free.. and rosin cored. which would make your life a hell of alot ezier...

[Omega]

or you could just pick up specific tech solder.. which is lead free. and rosin cored. which would make your life a hell of alot ezier...

Rosin core solder has always been a pain in the arse for me. The rosin always (always) melts and covers the contact I'm trying to solder, meaning I have to dock my iron and clean it off before going at it again.

I should make a short video tutorial on how to solder/unsolder circuitboards like this. god knows I have enough USB mice I can cannibalize for it.

[XcOM]

i use lead free as it near impossable to find lead solder in the UK now, becides the stuff i use has always been very good, never really had a problem with it, i did recently buy a new solder stand and it came witha sponge what is 1MM thick!

But i just did this to a mouse and you will all see why shortly when i have finished.

[Luke122]

Fixing a mouse cord is a great opportunity to replace the LED inside with a different color. I have green and blue now.. replacing the red LED is very easy, and I've never had troubles with the mouse not tracking correctly after the swap.

Also, if the cable is split in the middle why not just cut it, slide on some heatshrink tubing, solder it back together, and shrink the tube? It'll look pretty good and be the easiest repair.

[Eclecticos]

You may need to peel back the shielding, solder you new usb wire on there,
cover your connections with shrinkwrap and reconnect the shield.

[xmastree]

or you could just pick up specific tech solder.. which is lead free.. Lead free solder is awful compared with proper stuff. It melts at a higher temperature, and is more prone to going stringy if you heat it for too long. Pity you can't buy the proper stuff any more, it was much easier to work with. Presumably the lead kills dolphins or something.

[luciusad2004]

Hey guys, tore my mouse apart to get a look at what i was in for and found this.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k314/luciusad2004/Mods/Photo2536.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k314/luciusad2004/Mods/Photo2535.jpg

I imagine if i can find another cable that ends like this i should be able to just pop it in. I know my microsoft mouse has a similar plug design but the cable on that one is in worse shape that this cable. (Me and cables don't get along.)

Any one know If its possible to purchase these cables anywere or know of any specific mice that are cheap and have this kind of end in them?

Thanks for all of the help so far.

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

Rosin core solder has always been a pain in the arse for me. The rosin always (always) melts and covers the contact I'm trying to solder, meaning I have to dock my iron and clean it off before going at it again.

a classic quote has always spoken quite a bit to me....
a poor craftsman blames his tools...

[Omega]

a classic quote has always spoken quite a bit to me....
a poor craftsman blames his tools...

whoever's told you that is a right dolt, there is a such thing as good tools and bad tools.

Also it should be noted that solder isn't a tool, it's a material (much like wires, screws, etc).

also, here in the US, lead based solder is still legal, so.

Found what I use. 60/40, 4.4% flux.

[Spawn-Inc]

it still helps to have flux on hand. with flux/resin filled solder it tends to be burnt off the next time i want to use it. yes i could put more on the tip, but then there is to much. its like soldering pipes, sure you could do it without flux applied but its a hell of alot easier with flux.

[mittelmeier]

Omega, where do you find lead based solder? I can't find any.

[Luke122]

I like silver solder (2-3%) myself. I only have some because of my audio addiction. :)

Lucius2004 - Most usb mice I've opened have that sort of connector in them. You should have no trouble finding one to replace it. See if any friends have broken mice, or even just watch the garbage cans. ;)

[Omega]

Omega, where do you find lead based solder? I can't find any.

a local electronics chain called HSC, though any proper electronics store should carry it here in the US.

[xmastree]

Hey guys, tore my mouse apart to get a look at what i was in for and found this.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k314/luciusad2004/Mods/Photo2536.jpg
A sofa?

Seriously, having replaced more than a few mouse cables (serial/PS2 rather than usb) it's not difficult to solder to that plug. First make sure how it's wired, buzz it out with a meter and write it down. Then buzz it out again. Cut the wires just above the plug, and remove the insulation, then solder the new wires to the stumps of the old ones.
Don't have a vice to hold it? Use a pair of pliers with a rubber band round the grips.

[luciusad2004]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna try to source a cable w/ the plug before soldering it. Simply because i don't currently own a soldering iron and my mom's boyfriend probably has his in storage. Also having no experience w/ it, It might be easier to get my mouse up and running by just swapping the cables. Using my tiny portable mouse is starting to give me hand cramps.

Thanks again. :up:

[xmastree]

I'd be very surprised if you can find a lead with the correct plug, wired correctly.

Is it a particularly good mouse?

[Collinstheclown]

Fantastic soldering tut.:
http://www.curiousinventor.com/guides/How_To_Solder

If you want, you can snip the old wire and solder a new one on and keep that connector.




-CollinstheClown

[luciusad2004]

I'd be very surprised if you can find a lead with the correct plug, wired correctly.

Is it a particularly good mouse?

Logitech g5, I payed somewhere between 50 and 60 dollars for it. If it was a run of the mill 10 dollar mouse i would just toss it. I'll see what i can come up w/. I'm not in a hurry or anything so if it comes down to it i can solder it. It would be nice to avoid it if i can though. In the mean time i can even just throw some electrical tape over the split and see if i can source some wire loom or something to fit over the bare section.

It's also a matter of getting my hands on a soldering iron. I owe some ppl like $4k and i have to get it payed off asap so money is tight. If i can't find a friend or relative that can loan me a soldering iron, I won't be soldering anything for a while lol.

[xmastree]

Hmm, I'm thinking of some sort of decorative sleeving to bling it up a little. Although you'd have trouble sliding it over the plug, so that's not much help, is it?

[luciusad2004]

Hmm, I'm thinking of some sort of decorative sleeving to bling it up a little. Although you'd have trouble sliding it over the plug, so that's not much help, is it?

I think it would slide up over the end that goes in to the mouse pretty easily. Sounds like a good idea to me if I can find some expandable loom.