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Baffled - wireless optical mouse mystery ??!!

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Old 28 February 2009, 06:18 PM
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jono300
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Default Baffled - wireless optical mouse mystery ??!!

Anyone able to work this one out for me ??

purchased a small wireless optical mouse for use with my new Acer aspire one netbook, smart little thing, runs off two AAA batteries and neat little design ion that the actual wireless usb dongle that fits within the pc stows away in the actual body off the mouse when not in use and this in itself is what turns the mouse on / off ie. if the usb dongle is removed from the mouse the mouise lights up and is ready to use, replace the dongle light goes off and the mouse is no longer powered up - got it ??!!!

anyway first night I got the mouse I put in a fresh set of batteries, used it for around 10 minutes and then turned it off, tried it a few days later and was somewhat surprised to find the batteries appeared to be flat as the mouse no longer powered up, thought this very strange but replaced the batteries thinking it was possibly just a duff set, same thing happened again , this time put in a set off Duracell ones and without actually using the mouse noticed upon trying to switch it on a few days later the batteries were flat !!!!

now as I say when the usb dongle is replaced back in the mouse there is no lights showing on teh mouse etc ie it is totally off so how come it is going thru a set off batteries within just a few days when as far as I can see it is not even powered ??!!

totally baffled by this one, anyone any ideas ??
Old 28 February 2009, 07:00 PM
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Ant
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thats weird i had some duracells in mine and lasted a year and i couldt turbn the mouse off neither
Old 28 February 2009, 07:01 PM
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Well I've got a similar mini mouse where the USB dongle stores into the mouse itself, but it does not power off the mouse when the USB dongle is stored. Also the mouse activity LED is off. So maybe yours is actually still on? Only one way to find out, remove the batteries when not in use.
Old 28 February 2009, 07:29 PM
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jono300
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Originally Posted by bioforger
Well I've got a similar mini mouse where the USB dongle stores into the mouse itself, but it does not power off the mouse when the USB dongle is stored. Also the mouse activity LED is off. So maybe yours is actually still on? Only one way to find out, remove the batteries when not in use.

Are you saying yours does not power off when the usb dongle is stored ?? as I say there is no light at all when the usb plug is stored eithr on top or below the mouse so as I say cant for the life off me work out what is drawing the actual power ??!!

removing the batteries each time is not really a practical option, only cost me a fiver or so off ebay buts its a pity because its actually a neat little thing that works well when there is battery life !!

anyone else come up with anything ??
Old 28 February 2009, 07:45 PM
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Correct it's still powered when the dongle is stored. And yes mine also shows no light. I only know this as it says so in the little manual that came with it. So I have no choice but to remove the batteries when not using my lappy.
Old 28 February 2009, 07:56 PM
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jono300
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Okay thanks mate, sorry picked u up wrong in your original post but at least I am not alone in having this particular problem then !!

must have thrown the instructions out after I had initially set up the mouse but you say it mentions this in the manual itself about it being powered when not in use - does it actually mention re. removing the batteies when not in use ??

did not mention that in the original advert !!! well as I say whatever it is its draining a set off fresh duracell batteries without it even being powered up and no light at the optical sensor either so its still a mystery why its draining so much power in so little time ??

anyway thanks for letting me know, will try think off a way to cut battery power without actually having to physically remove the batteries each time its not in use ??
Old 28 February 2009, 08:10 PM
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bioforger
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No it didn't mention removing the batts. I just used common sense But thinking about it, the batts shouldn't run out even in constant use over 3 days really. Maybe it's just faulty.
Old 28 February 2009, 08:41 PM
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Thats what I was thinking myself mate, have you timed just how long your mouse will last for without the batteries removed and without actually using the mouse with the pc itself ??

not sure if your is exactly the same but I suppose I could just slide the top case off enough so that the batteries are not actually making physical contact with the terminals, not ideal but suppose it works 100% in all other ways so may well be worth just using it this way until I splash out on a proper wireless mouse !!
Old 28 February 2009, 08:51 PM
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Nope sorry. This is mine, the top also slides off for the batt contact.

Old 28 February 2009, 08:59 PM
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Okay thanks for the pic, looks virtually identical to the one I have here except mine is a different top colour.

cheers
Old 28 February 2009, 11:43 PM
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Dr.No
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Microsoft or Logitech for mice, and keyboards, anything else is a false economy IMHO...

I've got a laptop mouse, from Microsoft, that does what you want - USB dongle fits into the bottom of the mouse and presses a small switch which turns it off. It works perfectly and I lose them more frequently than I have to change the batteries - current set are around a year old and going strong still. It was around £25, so not big money... but worth it.

DN
Old 01 March 2009, 11:03 PM
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ALi-B
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I bought a mini mouse from Gizoo that appears to be doing this (although this is a rechargeable mouse that comes with Ni-MH batteries as standard). it appeared to flatten them within 2 weeks of occasional uses; My desktop mice (A4 tech R7s) also using NiMH cells last for months with constant daily use.

I thought it was the dongle release button getting pressed whilst it was stowed in the bag, as its quite easy to catch. When the dongle is released , it powers on the mouse. I've since "modded" it by getting the dremel on the release catch, so it sits flush with the cover, so the dongle be inadvertantly released. I only did it last week, so we will how long it lasts.

If that doesn't work, I'll have to take it apart again and see how the internal microswitch is wired; if its not disconnecting the batteries, then I might have to make some more modifications.

Its not the end of the world, as it has a power adapter that plugs in the usb so works like a wired mouse when its flat.

Last edited by ALi-B; 01 March 2009 at 11:06 PM.
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