[HN Gopher] Fixing the Logitech MX Ergo Trackball Mouse Buttons
___________________________________________________________________
Fixing the Logitech MX Ergo Trackball Mouse Buttons
Author : secure
Score : 48 points
Date : 2021-12-05 12:33 UTC (10 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (michael.stapelberg.ch)
(TXT) w3m dump (michael.stapelberg.ch)
| jh37 wrote:
| The super easy fix for these buttons is to take the unit apart
| and then spray the buttons with WD-40. Works every time.
| klyrs wrote:
| > One interesting side note: I noticed that when wearing noise
| canceling headphones, it was very hard to tell the worn-out Omron
| mouse buttons from the Kailh mouse buttons. The difference really
| is mostly in the sound, not in the feel when pressing the button
| down!
|
| I truly do not understand why people seem to like loud switches
| so much. I want my input devices to be inaudible. Am I in such a
| minority?
| sirn wrote:
| I'm also using the MX Ergo, but I replaced D2FC-F (made in China)
| with D2F-01F (made in Japan). So far, it has been working great,
| and I love how it feels compared to the stock switch. The video
| linked in the article also mentioned (in the description) that
| D2F-01F may last longer electrically since it's micro-load rated
| (1mA instead of 100mA), so I guess I'm safe for a while (although
| it's only rated 1M mechanically).
| rob74 wrote:
| > _The replacement mouse buttons I'm using are Kailh GM 8.0 from
| the Kailh Official Store on AliExpress, which are advertised as
| "ultra high life"._
|
| Now, I know "ultra long life", but what is "ultra high life"?
| Sounds more like "live fast, die young, leave a beautiful body"
| to me - but I'm not sure how that applies to microswitches...
| protomyth wrote:
| I was to ticked when my last wired 550 went bad. The Max Ergo
| just feels cheaper. I guess when it breaks, I'll try this.
|
| I really wish someone else did a thumb trackball. The center ones
| don't work for me.
| ars wrote:
| Anyone have a recommendation for a tilt-wheel mouse, that also
| does a good job with middle click? A lot of reviews said it's
| hard to have both.
| bloopernova wrote:
| Shout out to Ploopy trackballs. I have one of their mice and love
| it to bits.
|
| https://ploopy.co/
|
| QMK and high quality switches/buttons, easily disassembled and
| cleaned.
| klyrs wrote:
| Ooh, they've got a thumb-ball now!
|
| edit
|
| > Because this trackball has roller bearings, it's noticeably
| louder that other trackballs. It makes a sort of scratchy
| grinding noise when the ball is moved. It's a noise that you
| will notice during use.
|
| _sigh_
| boomskats wrote:
| I remember Michael talking about this on Twitter a couple of
| months ago. Good to know that these Kailhs are a worthy third
| alternative to the 'Japanese vs Chinese Omron' switch debate.
| ghastmaster wrote:
| For those of you who are not able to solder, this classic article
| from 2005 has guided me through several logitech repairs of the
| switches over the years:
|
| https://www.overclockers.com/mouse-clicking-troubles-diy-rep...
|
| As the presenter in the video states, it may be too tedious,
| warranting the quick solder job if you have the skills and tools.
| Ciantic wrote:
| I have four G604 mouses. On three of them middle button broke
| about 6 - 9 months in use. I got two mouses "for free", as I was
| not required to send the old ones back and they just sent me new
| ones from warranty.
|
| It's remarkable how many different kind of switches even within
| the same model they have. I think only two of the four have same
| feel to the switches. Some have stronger actuation force, and
| some are nearly noiseless.
|
| I have opened up few of the mouses and the switches are even
| different color, one had white and one had black switches. I will
| definitely look up these third party switches, if they are more
| consistent in quality than what ever the logitech puts in these.
| elorant wrote:
| I'm using a Logitech Marble for ten years straight. Damn thing
| works like a charm.
| dboreham wrote:
| They changed supplier for microswitches some years ago, to one
| that makes switches with short lifetime. Presumably someone got
| a nice bonus.
| superjan wrote:
| Nice to know repair is still possible in this generation of the
| product. I repaired a trackman marble the same way some 10 years
| ago. It's nevertheless sad that the design is flawed like that.
| digitallyfree wrote:
| This is not just for trackballs - I've replaced the switches on
| my Corsair M95 (around 8 years old) twice already. And on the
| cheap Dell laser mouse I'm using now I had to swap the left click
| switch only after a year or so. Since most mice use the same
| Omron D2F switches I just keep a bag of spares at home.
| ivank wrote:
| Without any soldering equipment to replace the entire switch,
| click/hold issues on mice can still be fixed: one can open up the
| Omron switch and replace just the spring, using a donor spring
| from a new switch or some unused mouse lying around.
| https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/29955/how-do...
| bcl wrote:
| I've had to do the same thing with pretty much all of my Logitech
| trackballs - https://www.brianlane.com/post/fixing-a-few-
| logitech-trackba...
|
| They do last for quite a while, but eventually one of the
| switches will go intermittent, depending on how much minecraft
| the user has been playing...
| valiant-comma wrote:
| Prompted some memories of using another trackball. Back in maybe
| the late 80's/early 90's the Microsoft Ballpoint Mouse[1] was my
| preferred pointing device. It didn't require a smooth surface
| like a normal mouse, was very portable, and attached to the side
| of basically any laptop.
|
| However, it included a pressure collar of sorts, which increased
| the ratio of static vs. kinetic coefficient of sliding friction.
| Basically any time you started to move the mouse the pointer
| would jump. Fine movement was very difficult.
|
| The solution was to unscrew the retainer ring, remove the
| pressure collar, and reassemble. Problem solved; after that it
| was a joy to use.
|
| [1]
| https://www.microsoft.com/buxtoncollection/detail.aspx?id=22...
| timdeve wrote:
| The quality of the switches in logitech product in the past few
| years has become laughable. I am currently using a 8 years old
| 502 because the newer one I got broke after nine months...
| Gracana wrote:
| I went through multiple Logitech Anywhere MX mice (two at work,
| one at home) because the switches they use have a short throw
| and the part of the top shell that pushes on them is a small
| sliver that gets indented over time. Once the indent is large
| enough, it's impossible to keep the switch depressed. libinput
| can help deal with switch bounce, but it doesn't help with
| momentary releases that screw up click-and-drag operations.
|
| Now at work I use a cheap Dell wired mouse that works
| perfectly, and at home I have a Razer Deathadder Elite (or is
| it the pro X ultimate creator edition RGB plus max turbo..),
| and aside from being a little goofy-gamer-y, it works great
| too.
| gedy wrote:
| As a trackball user for 25 years, am pretty happy with Elecom:
|
| https://elecomus.com/web/product-category/trackball-mouse/
| roosgit wrote:
| Somewhat related, a few weeks ago I managed to fix a Microsoft
| Sculpt Ergonomic mouse which I've been using for about 3 years.
|
| I would have to click a few times before it would register one
| click. Very annoying. Just like in this post, the problem was the
| switches. But in my case, the switches were micro switches. Not
| knowing where to order the correct parts and having no soldering
| skills, I decided to pry open the micro switch. Luckily it was
| possible.
|
| Taking the metal cap off, inside the switch there was a rubber
| membrane and a flexible metal disk. The disk was similar to a jar
| lid. The edges would touch the circuit board, and pushing the
| center of the metal disk, it would make it touch some conductive
| part of the board and it would "close the circuit".
|
| The problem was that the flexible metal disk inside the micro
| switch was dirty. Oxidized, probably. I cleaned it, put the
| switch back together and the mouse works perfectly.
| jnellis wrote:
| You've just described how to diagnose and repair an Atari 2600
| joystick from the early 80's.
| convolvatron wrote:
| can confirm that this is a pretty nice trackball, except yeah,
| I've had to take it apart and fiddle with the switches and was
| about to buy a new one. thanks for the pointer to the replacement
| switches.
| jagger27 wrote:
| I modified my Logitech G305 with Kailh silent switches[0] and it
| has been lovely. It's also super empowering to know that I can
| easily repair and even improve these devices if and when the
| switches fail. I've probably thrown out half a dozen mice in the
| last ten years because of failed microswitches when the rest of
| the hardware was fine.
|
| [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV2BWK6v2-0
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2021-12-05 23:02 UTC)