Best way to replace a mouse for A600

[foob]

Something i didnt mention in my other thread about issues that my a600 come with, is that my mouse appears to be "a little screwy". Its doesnt seem to want to move down and to the right right very easily, and the left click is almost non existant. Now, this is fair enough, given the machines are as old as they are and ive never had a ball mouse last me 20 years, but i am going to need to replace it, and the only ones i can find on ebay are used ones which look as old as the one i have, and simply don't trust.

Given its a serial mouse, is there any way to pick up a cheapish compatible mouse thats almost guaranteed to work fine? For example, i'm thinking along the lines of how you can use a Sega control pad instead of something official, as its 9-pin serial connector is cross compatible. a little cheat, if you will.

[roy bates]

open up the mouse ball slot in the bottom of the mouse and have a look at the rollers inside there should be 3 rollers and there probably caked in...well lets just say crap.

just clean the rollers and the ball,pop the ball abck in and see how you get on.

as for the mouse button well.. theres not alot you can do with these if its a commodore one(its probably not microswitched)

[Photon]

If you want an improved replacement for a ball mouse, you get a mouse->PS/2 interface at Amigakit, and then f.ex. a Microsft Wheel Mouse Optical.

(With Logitech, you get strange acceleration, and with laser, you get much too high resolution to be usable. Not all brands come with compatible USB->PS/2 adapters)

Amigakit also sells an Amiga-branded mouse, which is a ball mouse, slightly better than the original Amiga mouse. If you don't mind a ball mouse or don't use DPaint a lot, this is quite ok.

[foob]

Unfortunately for me, this solution is way too expensive. On Amigakit, the adapter alone is £23, ignoring any further costs for the specific mouse i may have to get. Even if i had the money for it i'd still be wary of spending £23 on an adapter involving a serial connection, it just seems wrong.

Are there any serial mice around nowadays that are a600 compatible?

[s2325]

Try to change ball only or wash it. You can see that ball will change color from dark gray to almost white Not all balls have same size.

[demolition]

Originally Posted by foob

Unfortunately for me, this solution is way too expensive. On Amigakit, the adapter alone is £23, ignoring any further costs for the specific mouse i may have to get. Even if i had the money for it i'd still be wary of spending £23 on an adapter involving a serial connection, it just seems wrong.

Are there any serial mice around nowadays that are a600 compatible?

The Amiga mouse port is not a serial port, so they are not compatible, despite the identical connector.

If you are able to do a little electronics, you can make your own adapter quite cheap. I assembled one and put it inside an optical mouse, and now it is an Amiga mouse: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=66330

I also think that Kipper2k is working on a cheaper one for sale, but I am not sure when that will be available.

[foob]

would you be open to the prospect of building a mouse for me? i'd assume with the price of the mouse included its still going to be way cheaper than buying a converter from amigakit and a suitable mouse to convert on top of that, even if you keep a few quid for yourself?

[demolition]

I would if I could, but the main problem is that I took the cable from an old broken joystick that I had and without the cable I unfortunately cannot make another one. A normal serial cable will not fit into the side of the A600.

[cosmicfrog]

er would`t it be easier to ask if some one has got a spare mouse to give to you or maybe sell you for less than £10 inc postage

[s2325]

You can buy Amiga mouse here http://www.efunzine.com/efnz.php?a=k...514297be8ce739 for ~8 EUR or adapters http://www.efunzine.com/efnz.php?a=k...514297be8ce739
nowy = new, uzywany = used
http://www.money.pl/pieniadze/kalkulator/

[Mrs Beanbag]

Originally Posted by roy bates

as for the mouse button well.. theres not alot you can do with these if its a commodore one(its probably not microswitched)

Actually it's surprising how much you can improve things just by taping a piece of card onto the underside of the button.

[foob]

Originally Posted by Mrs Beanbag

Actually it's surprising how much you can improve things just by taping a piece of card onto the underside of the button.

just as a note against this, it is infact a commodore branded one (although i don't know enough about my A600 to know if its the original one supplied with the machine) and mechanically, it feels normal. it just doesn't respond to the click.

i can take a photo of the mouse if you like, as well as removing the ball and photoing in there too if it helps (although i doubt its worth all this trouble for a simple mouse)

EDIT:

Originally Posted by s2325

You can buy Amiga mouse here http://www.efunzine.com/efnz.php?a=k...514297be8ce739 for ~8 EUR or adapters http://www.efunzine.com/efnz.php?a=k...514297be8ce739
nowy = new, uzywany = used
http://www.money.pl/pieniadze/kalkulator/

Also, can that site be vouched for? as in, what quality am i likely to expect from a used mouse? As in, is it a kinda "Some dude just gave me it and its never been tested" kinda used or is it a "Its mint but because its out of its packaging i have to label it as used on a technicality" kind used?

[roy bates]

Originally Posted by Mrs Beanbag

Actually it's surprising how much you can improve things just by taping a piece of card onto the underside of the button.

thats actually not a bad idea as the commodore ones had cheapo diaghram switches,it may just infact work for a bit after.




@foob


sure,post a pic.

it'll say on the bottom if its a commodore one or not,but then again there where alot of cheapo ones made for the amiga back then.

[s2325]

I have used CD32 from that shop, small scratches on case and nothing more. I think it's good shop but some items are too expensive (Minimig, CD32 original joypad) and news were not updated for long time, I don't know why.

[foob]

http://imgur.com/a/DdlC1#0

those are the best i could grab with crappy phone camera

[s2325]

Just remove this visible dirt from rollers as roy bates wrote. Mouse will work as new. Do not press these rollers too hard - they will jump out.

[roy bates]

yep,see the dirt on the rollers?


just simply clean the dirt off those,and off the other two you cant see in the pic and see if it works better.

you can use an old toothbrush(yes you read it write)and just move it on the roller from left to right.

the ball is easy to clean just warm water with soap dry off ,job done

its deffinitley a commodore cheapo mouse the switches are diaghram type,not easy to fix.but ive heard that peaple have managed to do it to some extent.

[foob]

well, i managed to clean off the rollers, although i had to use a nail file edge to scrape some of it off its that caked on and hardened. i suspect this poor A600 hasnt had a careful owner in its past.

Although they still look dirty as hell, they roll fine now, which is one hurdle down. Any advice on how to mend the left-click? now that ive been able to use the mouse a little bit, ive been able to determine that the left click does work 70% of the time, if extreme force is applied to the button. and by extreme force i mean it requires two fingers to provide enough force for an attempt at a click.

[s2325]

It will require more and more force until no response. Maybe wait for some advice.

[roy bates]

ok,get a no:1 posidrive screwdriver open the mouse.

next take a look at the switch in question,it "should" be held down with what looks like selotape(no im not joking)thats holding the top of the diaghram to the bottom.


if your brave you could undo the celotape and have a look at the diaghram which looks like a dome,you could try to press this out to a dome shape intil it clicks.(it might of gotton flattened to a point where it no longer operates.

trust me this is for the brave a patient,and maybe even a bit of luck.


but....before you go ahead try to press the button while the mouse is open by pressing the diaghram top.if by chance it works this way then theres a posibility that the nipple under the button press on(its a lever)is worn a may need padding out.


thats the best i can offer maybe some others have ideas.