How to modify your wireless mouse to power it with cable!

So i recently got myself an old R.A.T 9 CYBORG gaming mouse from Mad Catz. I got it from a friend who wanted to throw it away because he couldn't get new battery back. I thought like what a waste and so i tried to power it in an other way.

The R.A.T 9 gaming mouse is pretty cool. You can adjust every detail, so the mouse fits perfect in your hand. The Software is nice too. The only horrible thing are these stupid batteries. They are always empty when you need them most.

First I cosidered to use a new Battery Pack (one of those which are used in model aircrafts, one with more charge) but it would be a lot of work to charge the battery as soon as it is empty... i would have to built a new charging station too....

Nahh, i am to lazy for that..

One my PC where enough free USB hubs so i decided to put a cable to my mouse.



This should be a guid on how to put a cable on your wireless mouse.
It should work for every typ of mouse.


The result will look like this:

Step 1: the Theory

The most modern wireless mice wll use a LiPo or at least a LiIon battery. These batteries are labeled with 3.7V. So i tried to reach this Voltage with an voltage regulator like the LM317 (you will find a tutorial for this later in an other Post).

Unfortnately this didn't work and so i tried it again with an higher voltage. Like you maybe know they batteries are charged with the constant current, constant voltage process which uses 4.2V.

After changing the resistors of the regulator circuit ist did work, but showed in the Software just 1% power left... I used the mouse for a while and a month later it happend that the mouse turned off. It was again a problem of the supply....

So i tried somthing little bit risky. I bypassed the ragualtor an but the 5V from the USB hub directly to the mouse and hallelujah it worked.

The software told me that the mouse has 100% "charge" and everything works fine.
I now use the mouse for a year without any trouble.

Don't forget that the cable is JUST for supplying the mouse. The data still goes through the receiver.

If you try this guide be aware of the fact that the 5V supply could damage your mouse.
Try it just for a few seconds and keep an eye one the Circuit.
If anything gets warm the 5V are too much.

Step 2: the Disassembling

Be sure to remove the battery pack from the mouse!

Thirst of all you have to disassemble the mouse.

You can either use my guid below or wathc this video for the disassembling.

Video

There are 3 screws on the bottom. They maybe have a different length so be sure to remember which fits in the right hole.

After that you can remove the top.
Be careful, becouse there are small plastic parts which break easily.
After that step you should see the circuits.

Now it's time to remove the thumb wheel. You just have to unscrew the two and then move the black plastic part to the side.

You now can lift the first circuit board to get access to the second one.

Orange Box: this will look different at your mouse. The reason is because i had to drill a hole in ther so there to connect  the wires to the voltage regulator i wanted to use. In this soloution you will not need to drill this hole.Red Box: here you can see the the connector for the power supply.

1. The wire with the red stripe on it is for the positiv power. 
2. The middle one is for the temperature control of the battery.  
3. The third is the mass.

Step 3: Drilling the Holes


This step is very easy because you just have to drill on hole.
Place it somewhere on top of the mouse so it can't interrupt you while playing video games... *huh*...work i mean.
Also make sure the cable has anough space to fit to where you need it.
You can see that i had to make some extra space on the right side of the bouse button.

Step 3: Connecting

Because we supply it with 5V directly from the USB hub (look at Theory) we just have to connect to wires with a soldering iron. There are many way to do so.

Either solder them just together. But don't forget to use a shringing tube. Else you get a short circuit and could destroy your computer.
Or use a small piece of breadboard and cut of the rest so the wires can't touch each other.

USB Cable:

1. Red: 5V
2. Green: Data (could also have an other colour)
3. Grey: Data (could also have an other colour)
4. Black: Mass

Power connector (like mentioned before):

1. The wire with the red stripe on it is for the positiv power. 
2. The middle one is for the temperature control of the battery.  
3. The third is the mass.

You just have to connect both supplies.

The red wire and the one thith the red stripe.

And the Black with the mass from the connector.

The wire in the middle stays unconnected, so you can cut off a bit. Same for the data ones.

Step 4: Trying and put everything together

Now you can plug it in.

Make sure to watch the Software so you'r aware of the "charge"
and don't forget to have a eye on the circuit of your mouse.
Plug it out immediatly if something gets warm!!!

If everything works fine, than you can put everything together and use your new, battery free, gaming mouse.

I hope you enjoyed and that this post was useful for you.