Thumbs up for good battery design! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 07:21:07 pm
content: My Microsoft Wireless Mouse 5000 just stopped working. It's been running on the original batteries that came with it from new (a pair of Energizer AA alkalines). I measured the batteries and both read 0.885 V. Can't say fairer than that I think.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 07:27:27 pm
content: You measured the batteries on it , or in your hands ?

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 07:40:07 pm
content: I measured the batteries moments after I removed them, which was moments after the mouse stopped working. The voltage now has recovered to 0.935, so I think 0.88 V is about where the low voltage cut off was set.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 09:08:41 pm
content: well I doubt micro$oft actually make the mouse. I have a logitec mouse that cost me the beauty of £30 with a speced battery life of 1 year, 2 years and I'm still on the originals

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 09:38:34 pm
content: Due my identity as industrial electrician I have the tendency to love cables, no wireless mouse here ..Mostly because I do lots of gaming.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 09:48:54 pm
content: Rechargeable batteries eliminate the bother of replacing dead batteries. And cables on mouses annoy the heck out of me...

author: SgtRock
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 09:52:47 pm
content: Greetings EEVBees:--I end up having to fix a lot of things for my friends. Often because they have left it in the car with old batteries in it. Which brand of battery is the least likely to leak?--Back in the days of the mechanical mouse, I wanted to patent one with two spheroids."Three weeks in the lab will save you a day in the library every time" Stanley Williams, HP LabsBest RegardsClear Ether

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 10:21:30 pm
content: Quote from: SgtRock on September 17, 2011, 09:52:47 pmIndeed leaking batteries are a major pain.QuoteAny battery that is not an alkaline battery. Alkaline batteries are timed self-destruct devices. It is not a question of if they leak, but when.Your options are:Energizer lithium batteriesRechargeable NiMH batteries (but select carefully--you can't go wrong with Eneloops; you can go very wrong with some others)Oddly enough, the cheap "heavy duty" zinc chloride cells may work out in low power devices like clocks and remotes. Although thesecanleak, they seem to do so very rarely.

author: PetrosA
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 11:19:52 pm
content: Quote from: SgtRock on September 17, 2011, 09:52:47 pmMy first mouse, which still works like a dream, was a Keytronic with two spring-loaded rubber disks on the bottom. It works in any position. The only reason I got something newer was because I wanted a scroll wheel. Otherwise, I'd still be using it 12 years later

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2011, 11:40:08 pm
content: Quote from: SgtRock on September 17, 2011, 09:52:47 pmSpheroids (imperfect spheres) would not be any good. Mouse balls must be perfect spheres or the mouse will not work. Spheroids may work well on planetary bodies (like Jane Fonda for example), but they don't work on mouses. Mouses need perfectly spherical balls.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2011, 12:03:37 am
content: Quote from: PetrosA on September 17, 2011, 11:19:52 pmThanks man, because of you, I remembered to feed my dinosaur that I hide in my garage LOLA know teasing , about indicating of how old you are in the Army (period of serving), was the question of what specialization did you had in the army ?I was an operator of dinosaurs !!

author: SgtRock
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 18, 2011, 12:05:54 am
content: Dear IanB:--You are absolutely correct, again. I guess I would have to make the X and Y of the spheroids only differ by one Planck Length so that they would still roll fairly well, and our mousy would still be, ahem, full featured. Thanks for the battery tips."Three weeks in the lab will save you a day in the library every time" Stanley Williams, HP LabsBest RegardsClear Ether

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2011, 10:24:31 am
content: I use a house brand "Inland" $20 wireless mouse+ keyboard to run my TV PC. Same thing, as with many eevblog teardowns you have the option to judge a book by its contents, not its cover so look inside .. you needn't buy a brand name. I still have wired laser mice, no maintenance compared to mechanical mice. The main thing with nameless products is the ergonomics and quality of the plastic, but electronics its on par. Even more frugal, it uses a single AAA battery for the mouse and keyboard, I get over a year between changes.http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0305823

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2011, 08:03:06 pm
content: I used to use a wireless mouse at work but it lasted barely over a month before the batteries ran out so I dumped it for a wired mouse. I don't see the point in a wireless mouse unless you desk is a long way from the PC.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2011, 08:28:14 pm
content: Quote from: Hero999 on September 18, 2011, 08:03:06 pmWith the newer mice the batteries should last two or three months at least. They go into a standby mode when they are not moving so they have minimal power consumption.I find the cable really annoying with corded mice. It snags, it gets in the way, and it impedes free movement.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2011, 09:15:30 pm
content: The mouse was less than a year old.If depends on how long you use your computer for and what you're doing with it. At work I use CAD most of the time which is very mouse intensive so doing that for 39 hours a week is going to flatten the battery. On the other hand, the wirelsss keyboard is still on its first set of batteries 9 months later.How much do you move your mouse? Maybe you should increase the pointer speed. I don't need to move the mouse far enough for the cable to cause a problem,