On 03/07/2012 21:32, Jo-Anne wrote:
> Using WinXP and Contour USB optical mouse. Today, several times the cursor
> didn't move when I moved the mouse; then it would start up again. Finally,
> Windows informed me that a USB device was malfunctioning and I should try
> another port or another device. I plugged in another mouse, and it's working
> fine. The Contour mouse is expensive to replace (around $110), so it's a
> good thing I had an extra one in my office. My question: Are optical mice
> fixable, or should I just toss it?
>
> Thank you!
>
> Jo-Anne
>
>


The short answer is optical mice are NOT fixable. However, you paid
$110 for a mouse so it must be some extra special one. What exactly
does it do that my $3.99 mice can't do?

I always but cheaper ones so that if they are broken or "walked away"
from my desk then I won't have sleepless nights.

--
Good Guy
Website: http://mytaxsite.co.uk
Website: http://html-css.co.uk
Forums: http://mytaxsite.boardhost.com
Email: http://mytaxsite.co.uk/contact-us

"Good Guy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:jt2lel$fs8$(E-Mail Removed)...
> On 03/07/2012 21:32, Jo-Anne wrote:
>> Using WinXP and Contour USB optical mouse. Today, several times the
>> cursor
>> didn't move when I moved the mouse; then it would start up again.
>> Finally,
>> Windows informed me that a USB device was malfunctioning and I should try
>> another port or another device. I plugged in another mouse, and it's
>> working
>> fine. The Contour mouse is expensive to replace (around $110), so it's a
>> good thing I had an extra one in my office. My question: Are optical mice
>> fixable, or should I just toss it?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Jo-Anne
>>
> The short answer is optical mice are NOT fixable. However, you paid $110
> for a mouse so it must be some extra special one. What exactly does it do
> that my $3.99 mice can't do?
>
> I always but cheaper ones so that if they are broken or "walked away" from
> my desk then I won't have sleepless nights.
> --
> Good Guy
> Website: http://mytaxsite.co.uk
> Website: http://html-css.co.uk
> Forums: http://mytaxsite.boardhost.com
> Email: http://mytaxsite.co.uk/contact-us
>

It comes in several sizes, in versions for the left hand as well as the
right, has three real buttons as well as a scroll wheel, has a thumb rest,
is super-comfortable to use (I can use it for hours without my hand or arm
getting tired), and has worked well for several years. I like it so much
that if my newer one breaks (I bought two at the same time--for much less
than the current price), I'll fork out the money for another. Since I don't
work in an office with other people, I don't have to worry about my
expensive mouse walking away.

You can learn about this mouse at
http://ergo.contour-design.com/products/contour-mouse, but only by trying it
would you know if it's the best mouse for your hand--and I don't know of any
retailer that carries it (probably because it's so expensive). I tried a lot
of different mice at various stores and couldn't find any that were anywhere
near as comfortable as this one for me. The little Logitech mouse I use with
my netbook when I travel is downright UNcomfortable.

Jo-Anne

"Paul" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:jsvrob$3uh$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>> Using WinXP and Contour USB optical mouse. Today, several times the
>> cursor didn't move when I moved the mouse; then it would start up again.
>> Finally, Windows informed me that a USB device was malfunctioning and I
>> should try another port or another device. I plugged in another mouse,
>> and it's working fine. The Contour mouse is expensive to replace (around
>> $110), so it's a good thing I had an extra one in my office. My question:
>> Are optical mice fixable, or should I just toss it?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Jo-Anne
>
> As a "broken wire specialist" :-) I would remove the screws
> from the mouse, and examine the condition of the wires where they
> connect to the mouse PCB. Sometimes the broken wire, is in
> an insulated section of the wire (like where the wire passes
> through the mouse casing).
>
> To repair broken wires, you undo the "knot" in the wire, which
> functions as strain relief, cut about three inches of wire off the end,
> strip and prep the wire ends and connect them to the mouse PCB. This
> procedure can be repeated until the wire is quite short. Replace the
> knot as well, so the mouse continues to have strain relief. Some
> mice have plastic posts, and a torturous path the wire feeds
> through, which performs the same function as a knot in the wire.
> The strain relief, prevents exterior stress, from getting to
> pull the wires away from the PCB.
>
> (This is almost as much fun, as fixing the wiring in a Weed Wacker.
> Which I have also done.)
>
> Take note of the wire colors, and make a diagram of wire color
> versus which hole in the PCB they go into.
>
> Occasionally, an optical mouse has a failure in the optical sensor.
> I have no idea how you diagnose things at that level of detail.
> As I'm a "broken wire specialist".
>
> The sensor is actually more complicated than you'd think. I think
> it has a matrix of detection elements. And the sensor chip may
> do some kind of analysis to determine movement. It's more than
> a simple photodetector. When you look inside, you'll see a
> plastic lens assembly, over top of the sensor chip.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_mouse
>
> "Optical mice capture one thousand successive images or more per
> second. Depending on how fast the mouse is moving, each image will
> be offset from the previous one by a fraction of a pixel or as many
> as several pixels. Optical mice mathematically process these images
> using cross correlation to calculate how much each successive image
> is offset from the previous one.
>
> An optical mouse might use an image sensor having an 18 × 18 pixel
> array of monochromatic pixels. Its sensor would normally share the
> same ASIC as that used for storing and processing the images. One
> refinement would be accelerating the correlation process by using
> information from previous motions, and another refinement would be
> preventing deadbands when moving slowly by adding interpolation or
> frame-skipping."
>
> It can probably still function, with dirt on the lens. But a
> completely dead sensor, is a completely dead sensor.
>
> Check your wires first. Using an ohmmeter, you can buzz from
> USB connector to the pad on the PCB, and prove each wire on the
> mouse is intact. It can be difficult to detect a wire which
> is intermittent, and get it to open circuit at the same time
> as you're measuring it.
>
> The idea is, if you're lucky, removing the screws and doing
> a visual inspection, tells you all you need to know. If you're
> really lucky, the wire will visually tell you, the break is
> inside a certain section. But sometimes, you just have to
> "give it a trim" and snip off the three inches of wire and
> re-terminate.
>
> And it's pretty hard to repair something like this, without
> tools such as your "trusty" soldering iron. The burn mark on
> my finger is just about healed now. I only lost a little bit
> of nerve sensitivity.
>
> HTH,
> Paul

You were right, Paul--it's a broken wire. Unfortunately, the mouse may be
TOO well made. There are five wires in a cord or sleeve (not sure what to
call it); and at the mouse end, besides their being taped together and to
the sleeve, each wire is crimped into a separate hole in a plastic piece. I
suspect they'd all have to be carefully taken out of that piece, cut far
enough back to get past the break in the one wire, wherever it is, and then
recrimped (assuming the plastic piece survives). Moreover, there's a plastic
"buffering" piece on the outside of the sleeve at the entryway to the mouse,
and it doesn't come off. I'm very tempted to write to the company to ask if
it can sell me another cord...

Jo-Anne

"VanguardLH" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:jt0ri1$2tj$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
>> my husband is going to try to take the mouse apart (tricky, since
>> there are no obvious screws).
>
> They're under the slider feet. Once you peel them off, you'll need
> something to glue them back on. I have seen the teflon mouse feet for
> sale but you'll probably have to trim them to fit the recess in the
> mouse base.


They (three of them) were indeed under the slider feet, Vanguard. Thank you!
As I just posted to Paul, one of five wires is broken, but given the setup
of the cord or sleeve it might be impossible to fix it.

Jo-Anne

Jo-Anne wrote:

> "Paul" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:jsvrob$3uh$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>> Using WinXP and Contour USB optical mouse. Today, several times the
>>> cursor didn't move when I moved the mouse; then it would start up again.
>>> Finally, Windows informed me that a USB device was malfunctioning and I
>>> should try another port or another device. I plugged in another mouse,
>>> and it's working fine. The Contour mouse is expensive to replace (around
>>> $110), so it's a good thing I had an extra one in my office. My question:
>>> Are optical mice fixable, or should I just toss it?
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>>
>>> Jo-Anne
>>
>> As a "broken wire specialist" :-) I would remove the screws
>> from the mouse, and examine the condition of the wires where they
>> connect to the mouse PCB. Sometimes the broken wire, is in
>> an insulated section of the wire (like where the wire passes
>> through the mouse casing).
>>
>> To repair broken wires, you undo the "knot" in the wire, which
>> functions as strain relief, cut about three inches of wire off the end,
>> strip and prep the wire ends and connect them to the mouse PCB. This
>> procedure can be repeated until the wire is quite short. Replace the
>> knot as well, so the mouse continues to have strain relief. Some
>> mice have plastic posts, and a torturous path the wire feeds
>> through, which performs the same function as a knot in the wire.
>> The strain relief, prevents exterior stress, from getting to
>> pull the wires away from the PCB.
>>
>> (This is almost as much fun, as fixing the wiring in a Weed Wacker.
>> Which I have also done.)
>>
>> Take note of the wire colors, and make a diagram of wire color
>> versus which hole in the PCB they go into.
>>
>> Occasionally, an optical mouse has a failure in the optical sensor.
>> I have no idea how you diagnose things at that level of detail.
>> As I'm a "broken wire specialist".
>>
>> The sensor is actually more complicated than you'd think. I think
>> it has a matrix of detection elements. And the sensor chip may
>> do some kind of analysis to determine movement. It's more than
>> a simple photodetector. When you look inside, you'll see a
>> plastic lens assembly, over top of the sensor chip.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_mouse
>>
>> "Optical mice capture one thousand successive images or more per
>> second. Depending on how fast the mouse is moving, each image will
>> be offset from the previous one by a fraction of a pixel or as many
>> as several pixels. Optical mice mathematically process these images
>> using cross correlation to calculate how much each successive image
>> is offset from the previous one.
>>
>> An optical mouse might use an image sensor having an 18 × 18 pixel
>> array of monochromatic pixels. Its sensor would normally share the
>> same ASIC as that used for storing and processing the images. One
>> refinement would be accelerating the correlation process by using
>> information from previous motions, and another refinement would be
>> preventing deadbands when moving slowly by adding interpolation or
>> frame-skipping."
>>
>> It can probably still function, with dirt on the lens. But a
>> completely dead sensor, is a completely dead sensor.
>>
>> Check your wires first. Using an ohmmeter, you can buzz from
>> USB connector to the pad on the PCB, and prove each wire on the
>> mouse is intact. It can be difficult to detect a wire which
>> is intermittent, and get it to open circuit at the same time
>> as you're measuring it.
>>
>> The idea is, if you're lucky, removing the screws and doing
>> a visual inspection, tells you all you need to know. If you're
>> really lucky, the wire will visually tell you, the break is
>> inside a certain section. But sometimes, you just have to
>> "give it a trim" and snip off the three inches of wire and
>> re-terminate.
>>
>> And it's pretty hard to repair something like this, without
>> tools such as your "trusty" soldering iron. The burn mark on
>> my finger is just about healed now. I only lost a little bit
>> of nerve sensitivity.
>>
>> HTH,
>> Paul
>
> You were right, Paul--it's a broken wire. Unfortunately, the mouse may be
> TOO well made. There are five wires in a cord or sleeve (not sure what to
> call it); and at the mouse end, besides their being taped together and to
> the sleeve, each wire is crimped into a separate hole in a plastic piece. I
> suspect they'd all have to be carefully taken out of that piece, cut far
> enough back to get past the break in the one wire, wherever it is, and then
> recrimped (assuming the plastic piece survives). Moreover, there's a plastic
> "buffering" piece on the outside of the sleeve at the entryway to the mouse,
> and it doesn't come off. I'm very tempted to write to the company to ask if
> it can sell me another cord...
>
> Jo-Anne

A picture posted online somewhere and given a link here would better
help for others to know what you're trying to describe.

"VanguardLH" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:jt3a40$61e$(E-Mail Removed)...
<<snip>>

>> You were right, Paul--it's a broken wire. Unfortunately, the mouse may be
>> TOO well made. There are five wires in a cord or sleeve (not sure what to
>> call it); and at the mouse end, besides their being taped together and to
>> the sleeve, each wire is crimped into a separate hole in a plastic piece.
>> I
>> suspect they'd all have to be carefully taken out of that piece, cut far
>> enough back to get past the break in the one wire, wherever it is, and
>> then
>> recrimped (assuming the plastic piece survives). Moreover, there's a
>> plastic
>> "buffering" piece on the outside of the sleeve at the entryway to the
>> mouse,
>> and it doesn't come off. I'm very tempted to write to the company to ask
>> if
>> it can sell me another cord...
>>
>> Jo-Anne
>
> A picture posted online somewhere and given a link here would better
> help for others to know what you're trying to describe.


I had a hard time getting close enough with my camera to do a clear shot,
but I tried. The result is here:

http://tinypic.com/r/v418ph/6

Jo-Anne

Jo-Anne wrote:
> "VanguardLH" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:jt3a40$61e$(E-Mail Removed)...
> <<snip>>
>
>>> You were right, Paul--it's a broken wire. Unfortunately, the mouse may be
>>> TOO well made. There are five wires in a cord or sleeve (not sure what to
>>> call it); and at the mouse end, besides their being taped together and to
>>> the sleeve, each wire is crimped into a separate hole in a plastic piece.
>>> I
>>> suspect they'd all have to be carefully taken out of that piece, cut far
>>> enough back to get past the break in the one wire, wherever it is, and
>>> then
>>> recrimped (assuming the plastic piece survives). Moreover, there's a
>>> plastic
>>> "buffering" piece on the outside of the sleeve at the entryway to the
>>> mouse,
>>> and it doesn't come off. I'm very tempted to write to the company to ask
>>> if
>>> it can sell me another cord...
>>>
>>> Jo-Anne
>> A picture posted online somewhere and given a link here would better
>> help for others to know what you're trying to describe.
>
>
> I had a hard time getting close enough with my camera to do a clear shot,
> but I tried. The result is here:
>
> http://tinypic.com/r/v418ph/6
>
> Jo-Anne

http://oi45.tinypic.com/v418ph.jpg

Does the plastic grommet on the left, split into two pieces ?

Sometimes, items like that consist of two parts. They squash the wire
to prevent it from moving through the grommet.

As for the thing on the right, that's not going to be a lot of fun.
Four of the connections would be ordinary wires. The fifth is
"shield", and could be made from twisted braid off the shield.

I can't really tell what kind of connector that is on the end.

If the pins could be backed out of the shell, that would solve
one part of the puzzle. Some shells have a "tab per pin", and
releasing the tab with a hobby knife, allows the wire and pin
to be extracted. The pin will have a "spike" on the side of it,
which catches in the tab, to hold it secure. Things like that
are intended to be "one way" insert. If the thing the pin
lodges in, can be released, then the pin can be backed out.

Once the pin is out, the pin itself probably can't be recycled.
As you say, a "crimp" of the pin onto the wire, tends to bend the
crimp hooks all to bits. Opening the hooks and closing them
again, just isn't practical (they snap off). And then, finding
replacement crimp pins, is the challenge.

There are a ton of different crimp pins out there, so matching
what you've got, would not be trivial.

You can unsolder the mating connector from the Contour PCB.
Then solder the wire, right to the PCB. That may be the
most practical solution. It really depends, on what you envisage
as the assembly order, and whether the cable arrangement can
be set up, before the soldering begins.

But the first step remains, whether that grommet splits in two
or not. If it does, you pry it apart, move it up the wire
several inches, and it will "reclamp" itself when it's forced
through the hole in the casing. I think my electric kettle
may use something like that, to clamp the wire.

This picture is not the same as yours. It's intended to show
what a two part strain relief looks like. The two halves
close around the wire. The device "clamps" as it is forced
through a too-small hole in a chassis. The wire is forced to
go through a path which isn't straight, which prevents it
from moving. It applies enough force, that the wire underneath
probably cannot be "clamped" a second time, and fresh wire
should be pulled into position where it will "clamp".

http://www.atmgurus.com/estore/image...2617-00031.jpg

All in all, a challenging project. Working with strain
reliefs, does involve a bit of cursing and swearing.
Tools tend to slide off them.

You also have the option, of starting with a USB cable, chopping
an end off it, then solder the wires to the mouse PCB. And then
doing your best, to make your own strain relief solution. I've
never been 100% successful at making home strain reliefs. They've
all resulted in wire breakage later.

*******

A cheesy kind of repair, is to move the grommet/strain relief up
the cable a bit, and bring the broken wire *inside* the mouse
casing. Then, fiddle with the wire, such that the broken parts
touch, when the mouse is reassembled. As long as the strain
relief is *really good* at preventing tugging, the broken
wire bits may stay in close proximity to one another.
Obviously, this isn't a proper repair, but it's an intermediate
solution to dealing with the connector and wire dress problem.
This would be the kind of solution, someone adverse to soldering
might try. (Someone whose burnt finger is just about healed.)

Paul

Paul wrote:

> If the pins could be backed out of the shell, that would solve
> one part of the puzzle. Some shells have a "tab per pin", and
> releasing the tab with a hobby knife, allows the wire and pin
> to be extracted. The pin will have a "spike" on the side of it,
> which catches in the tab, to hold it secure. Things like that
> are intended to be "one way" insert. If the thing the pin
> lodges in, can be released, then the pin can be backed out.

I find a small sewing needle works to depress the locking finger. It's
metal is stronger than just a pin. However, once the pin is out of the
connector shell, it is improbable the wire can be removed from the
crimped pin without damaging the pin. The metal becomes weak and breaks
when you try to uncrimp the part holding the wire. Soldering would
require a very small tipped iron and the soldered joint would have to be
small enough so it fits into the connector's hole into which the pin
slides.

> You can unsolder the mating connector from the Contour PCB.
> Then solder the wire, right to the PCB. That may be the
> most practical solution. It really depends, on what you envisage
> as the assembly order, and whether the cable arrangement can
> be set up, before the soldering begins.

I suspect even easier would be to cut off the connector on the wire
bundle and solder each wird underneath the PCB - if the wires are long
enough. Rather than try to remove the PCB connector and solder there,
just solder onto the other side.

The black part is just heat shrink tubing that could be cut away. The
strain relief (plastic blob) around the cable may be molded and not
reusable. If this is the case, you want that use custom strain relief
(you find anything else that works with that mouse shell). If it's a
molded blob on the cable, and because you must use it to prevent the
soldered wires from getting yanked on at their solder connection,
lengthening the wires is needed. Solder a short length of wire onto
each existing cable wire. The old and new wires are braided so unbraid
them to straighten, mesh the ends together, twist a little, and solder
the wires inline with each other. You end up with a short length of
bare meshed wires. Slide over some heatshrink tubing just a bit larger
than the soldered wires and heat to shrink. Now the wires will be long
enough to route to the other side of the PCB to solder them there.

Unless it looked easy to get the pin out, remove the wire from the pin,
solder on new part of the old wire (trim it back), and the soldered job
still fits into the connector, I'd just give up on reusing the
connector. Solder wire stubbies onto the solder pads on the other side
of the connector (you could remove the connector using a solder sucker
or wick but removal might not be needed) and run them around the PCB to
solder them to trimmed old wire(s). Be sure to slide the heatshrink
over the stub or old wire before soldering so it's available over the
wire to slide over the solder joint to heat and seal it.

"Paul" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:jt4jbh$sdq$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>> "VanguardLH" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:jt3a40$61e$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> <<snip>>
>>
>>>> You were right, Paul--it's a broken wire. Unfortunately, the mouse may
>>>> be
>>>> TOO well made. There are five wires in a cord or sleeve (not sure what
>>>> to
>>>> call it); and at the mouse end, besides their being taped together and
>>>> to
>>>> the sleeve, each wire is crimped into a separate hole in a plastic
>>>> piece. I
>>>> suspect they'd all have to be carefully taken out of that piece, cut
>>>> far
>>>> enough back to get past the break in the one wire, wherever it is, and
>>>> then
>>>> recrimped (assuming the plastic piece survives). Moreover, there's a
>>>> plastic
>>>> "buffering" piece on the outside of the sleeve at the entryway to the
>>>> mouse,
>>>> and it doesn't come off. I'm very tempted to write to the company to
>>>> ask if
>>>> it can sell me another cord...
>>>>
>>>> Jo-Anne
>>> A picture posted online somewhere and given a link here would better
>>> help for others to know what you're trying to describe.
>>
>>
>> I had a hard time getting close enough with my camera to do a clear shot,
>> but I tried. The result is here:
>>
>> http://tinypic.com/r/v418ph/6
>>
>> Jo-Anne
>
> http://oi45.tinypic.com/v418ph.jpg
>
> Does the plastic grommet on the left, split into two pieces ?
>
> Sometimes, items like that consist of two parts. They squash the wire
> to prevent it from moving through the grommet.
>
> As for the thing on the right, that's not going to be a lot of fun.
> Four of the connections would be ordinary wires. The fifth is
> "shield", and could be made from twisted braid off the shield.
>
> I can't really tell what kind of connector that is on the end.
>
> If the pins could be backed out of the shell, that would solve
> one part of the puzzle. Some shells have a "tab per pin", and
> releasing the tab with a hobby knife, allows the wire and pin
> to be extracted. The pin will have a "spike" on the side of it,
> which catches in the tab, to hold it secure. Things like that
> are intended to be "one way" insert. If the thing the pin
> lodges in, can be released, then the pin can be backed out.
>
> Once the pin is out, the pin itself probably can't be recycled.
> As you say, a "crimp" of the pin onto the wire, tends to bend the
> crimp hooks all to bits. Opening the hooks and closing them
> again, just isn't practical (they snap off). And then, finding
> replacement crimp pins, is the challenge.
>
> There are a ton of different crimp pins out there, so matching
> what you've got, would not be trivial.
>
> You can unsolder the mating connector from the Contour PCB.
> Then solder the wire, right to the PCB. That may be the
> most practical solution. It really depends, on what you envisage
> as the assembly order, and whether the cable arrangement can
> be set up, before the soldering begins.
>
> But the first step remains, whether that grommet splits in two
> or not. If it does, you pry it apart, move it up the wire
> several inches, and it will "reclamp" itself when it's forced
> through the hole in the casing. I think my electric kettle
> may use something like that, to clamp the wire.
>
> This picture is not the same as yours. It's intended to show
> what a two part strain relief looks like. The two halves
> close around the wire. The device "clamps" as it is forced
> through a too-small hole in a chassis. The wire is forced to
> go through a path which isn't straight, which prevents it
> from moving. It applies enough force, that the wire underneath
> probably cannot be "clamped" a second time, and fresh wire
> should be pulled into position where it will "clamp".
>
> http://www.atmgurus.com/estore/image...2617-00031.jpg
>
> All in all, a challenging project. Working with strain
> reliefs, does involve a bit of cursing and swearing.
> Tools tend to slide off them.
>
> You also have the option, of starting with a USB cable, chopping
> an end off it, then solder the wires to the mouse PCB. And then
> doing your best, to make your own strain relief solution. I've
> never been 100% successful at making home strain reliefs. They've
> all resulted in wire breakage later.
>
> *******
>
> A cheesy kind of repair, is to move the grommet/strain relief up
> the cable a bit, and bring the broken wire *inside* the mouse
> casing. Then, fiddle with the wire, such that the broken parts
> touch, when the mouse is reassembled. As long as the strain
> relief is *really good* at preventing tugging, the broken
> wire bits may stay in close proximity to one another.
> Obviously, this isn't a proper repair, but it's an intermediate
> solution to dealing with the connector and wire dress problem.
> This would be the kind of solution, someone adverse to soldering
> might try. (Someone whose burnt finger is just about healed.)
>
> Paul


Thank you for the detailed info, Paul! My husband is now trying to decide
how or whether to do this repair...

Jo-Anne

"VanguardLH" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:jt522h$hsd$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Paul wrote:
>
>> If the pins could be backed out of the shell, that would solve
>> one part of the puzzle. Some shells have a "tab per pin", and
>> releasing the tab with a hobby knife, allows the wire and pin
>> to be extracted. The pin will have a "spike" on the side of it,
>> which catches in the tab, to hold it secure. Things like that
>> are intended to be "one way" insert. If the thing the pin
>> lodges in, can be released, then the pin can be backed out.
>
> I find a small sewing needle works to depress the locking finger. It's
> metal is stronger than just a pin. However, once the pin is out of the
> connector shell, it is improbable the wire can be removed from the
> crimped pin without damaging the pin. The metal becomes weak and breaks
> when you try to uncrimp the part holding the wire. Soldering would
> require a very small tipped iron and the soldered joint would have to be
> small enough so it fits into the connector's hole into which the pin
> slides.
>
>> You can unsolder the mating connector from the Contour PCB.
>> Then solder the wire, right to the PCB. That may be the
>> most practical solution. It really depends, on what you envisage
>> as the assembly order, and whether the cable arrangement can
>> be set up, before the soldering begins.
>
> I suspect even easier would be to cut off the connector on the wire
> bundle and solder each wird underneath the PCB - if the wires are long
> enough. Rather than try to remove the PCB connector and solder there,
> just solder onto the other side.
>
> The black part is just heat shrink tubing that could be cut away. The
> strain relief (plastic blob) around the cable may be molded and not
> reusable. If this is the case, you want that use custom strain relief
> (you find anything else that works with that mouse shell). If it's a
> molded blob on the cable, and because you must use it to prevent the
> soldered wires from getting yanked on at their solder connection,
> lengthening the wires is needed. Solder a short length of wire onto
> each existing cable wire. The old and new wires are braided so unbraid
> them to straighten, mesh the ends together, twist a little, and solder
> the wires inline with each other. You end up with a short length of
> bare meshed wires. Slide over some heatshrink tubing just a bit larger
> than the soldered wires and heat to shrink. Now the wires will be long
> enough to route to the other side of the PCB to solder them there.
>
> Unless it looked easy to get the pin out, remove the wire from the pin,
> solder on new part of the old wire (trim it back), and the soldered job
> still fits into the connector, I'd just give up on reusing the
> connector. Solder wire stubbies onto the solder pads on the other side
> of the connector (you could remove the connector using a solder sucker
> or wick but removal might not be needed) and run them around the PCB to
> solder them to trimmed old wire(s). Be sure to slide the heatshrink
> over the stub or old wire before soldering so it's available over the
> wire to slide over the solder joint to heat and seal it.
>


Thank you, Vanguard! I've passed this info on to him. I'm not sure if he's
going to try the repair...

Jo-Anne