Amiga Tank Mouse Revival

[mahen]

Ah, pfew, thank you, it works !
I guess the fact I tried to call the early startup menu on cold boot switched mode !!

[Akiko]

For those interested in customising the Tank Mouse, Sordan also sell replacement mouse button assemblies for them in a range of colours, Red, Silver, and yellow. Good for colour coordinating if you have a CD32 setup, A1200 kickstarter case, Vampire V4, PC, Pi etc.

I was a little apprehensive at first changing the buttons but it turned out to be a very simple 3 minute job:

1. Remove two screws and open mouse. (Taking care not to tug too hard on attached ribbon for the scroll-sensor.
2. Remove scroll-sensor ribbon. (chunky pin connector type so easily done )
3. Remove old Mouse button assembly.
4. Replace new Mouse button assembly. (Just clips into place)
5. Reattach scroll-sensor ribbon.
6. Put back two screws.

https://sordan.ie/search/?q=tank+mouse

[stairmand]

Originally Posted by Boing-Ball

Good to know.. But my mouse is still on the no go for scrolling

Yup, scroll on mine is now totally unusable. Shame, as it was something I really wanted. May open it later and check the ribbon is seated correctly, there does seem to be a very high failure rate for the scrolling and sadly no feedback in regards to causes/fixes.

[alexh]

Have you reported it to them directly? There is a 2 year mandatory warranty on all electrical goods sold within the EU. Request an RMA and get a replacement.

[Akiko]

Originally Posted by stairmand

Yup, scroll on mine is now totally unusable. Shame, as it was something I really wanted. May open it later and check the ribbon is seated correctly, there does seem to be a very high failure rate for the scrolling and sadly no feedback in regards to causes/fixes.

The scrolling works perfect on mine, but I did notice when I opened my mouse that the ribbon connector wasn't quite in the whole way, so it's definitely worth checking.

If the mouse scrolling is also not working in bluetooth mode with something like Windows or macOS then it's certainly a hardware issue. As highlighted in the previous post this is a new product that's under warranty, so hopefully those affected will be getting in touch with their vendor for a resolution and sharing the outcome here.

[ProfPlum]

May I ask, is anyone using the Tank Mouse with a megachip?

I have a Vampire 500 v2+ and a megachip. Scrolling is a bit 'jumpy'.
This is true both with the supplied usb adapter and an HID2Ami adapter & driver.

I am suspecting it's the megachip - I don't really want to replace it with a 1 mb Agnus as I don't like playing around with the socket - and there is potential for Agnus damage.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by ProfPlum

I am suspecting it's the megachip

Extremely unlikely. It's most likely to be the Vampire

[McMiggy]

When I connect the adapter directly to my A4000T scrolling works fine, but when I use my AlfaData mouse/joystick autoswitcher the scrolling no longer works.
For scrolling I use the TankMouse driver on Aminet.

Anybody any ideas?

[DanyPPC]

Originally Posted by McMiggy

When I connect the adapter directly to my A4000T scrolling works fine, but when I use my AlfaData mouse/joystick autoswitcher the scrolling no longer works.
For scrolling I use the TankMouse driver on Aminet.

Anybody any ideas?

Not all DB9 pins are connected with aldadata adapter.
I know this because if you connect a CD32 pad, it works only as a 2 button pad.

[McMiggy]

Originally Posted by DanyPPC

Not all DB9 pins are connected with aldadata adapter.
I know this because if you connect a CD32 pad, it works only as a 2 button pad.

As far as I can see all the 9 threads have a connection on the pcb.
Probably not all of them are used in the switching.

I wonder if there is a workaround for this or are there other switches that don't have this issue?

[sq7bti]

Originally Posted by McMiggy

For scrolling I use the TankMouse driver on Aminet.

Anybody any ideas?

Wheel protocol uses MMB line for triggering, hence it requires bidirectional connection between host and device (mouse/adapter). If your switch forces (via multiplexer) unidirectional communication on that line, it will not work.


Responses from TankMouse adapter goes through RMB and quadrature lines, so another reason for failure would be timing, as the TankMouse.driver requires timely response. Therefore, response pulse shape deformation could be a second reason to fail.

[McMiggy]

Originally Posted by sq7bti

Wheel protocol uses MMB line for triggering, hence it requires bidirectional connection between host and device (mouse/adapter). If your switch forces (via multiplexer) unidirectional communication on that line, it will not work.

Responses from TankMouse adapter goes through RMB and quadrature lines, so another reason for failure would be timing, as the TankMouse.driver requires timely response. Therefore, response pulse shape deformation could be a second reason to fail.

I'm too much of a n00b to know how my switch operates, but I understand from your response it's makes it impossible to process the data needed for scrolling.
So I guess there is no solution with this switch. Are there any switches which don't have this issue?
For example I found this simple one on ebay.

[aZtOcKdOg]

Originally Posted by Akiko

For those interested in customising the Tank Mouse, Sordan also sell replacement mouse button assemblies for them in a range of colours, Red, Silver, and yellow. Good for colour coordinating if you have a CD32 setup, A1200 kickstarter case, Vampire V4, PC, Pi etc.

I was a little apprehensive at first changing the buttons but it turned out to be a very simple 3 minute job:

1. Remove two screws and open mouse. (Taking care not to tug too hard on attached ribbon for the scroll-sensor.
2. Remove scroll-sensor ribbon. (chunky pin connector type so easily done )
3. Remove old Mouse button assembly.
4. Replace new Mouse button assembly. (Just clips into place)
5. Reattach scroll-sensor ribbon.
6. Put back two screws.

https://sordan.ie/search/?q=tank+mouse

Awesome… I also grabbed this combo and ready to go… thanks for sharing your walkthru / experience!

Do you like the smoother feel of the red compared to the soft satin feel of the black btns? I like the satin feel of the body…

[mahen]

FYI I use it with the KMTech autoswitcher and the wheel does work properly. (it does not support CD32 pads either BTW)

[McMiggy]

Originally Posted by torturedutopian

FYI I use it with the KMTech autoswitcher and the wheel does work properly. (it does not support CD32 pads either BTW)

Thanks for the info, seems like a good solution!

[Karlos]

As cool as this is, am I the only one that preferred the A600/A1200 mouse?

[CCRider]

Originally Posted by Karlos

As cool as this is, am I the only one that preferred the A600/A1200 mouse?

Count me two.

[Pyromania]

I bought two Tank Mouses but the A3000 mouse is still one of my favorites. Also, the beetle mouse was quite nice at the time.

[McMiggy]

Originally Posted by McMiggy

... Are there any switches which don't have this issue?
For example I found this simple one on ebay.

For those who wondered: the switch I found on ebay from amiga-design is not the solution for the scrolling problem. I tested it, it's not working.

[cloverskull]

I received mine some time ago and actually just opened the box today. I noticed there is no wireless receiver in my box, but the kickstarter page says there should be one and all I would need is a USB->DB9 adapter (which I have). Has anyone else received these without the wireless receiver?