Noob Connector Question...

[Arrival]

I broke the connector on my mouse that is the internal end of the USB cable. It's a little 4 pin female connector that plugs into an onboard male connector (i guess that's the correct way to explain it). I've had this mouse for years and don't want to get rid of it. Can anyone tell me what the connector is called and where I could get one?

Thanks!

P.S. flame me all you want lol - I know I'm a noobie at this stuff.

 

[dknguyen]

Aren't they jsut called male and female Type-A USB connectors? I think you can get them from Digikey or Mouser or anywhere really. Shipping might cost you $15 though- the cost a of a new mouse in some cases.

I always get confused when talking about male/female connectors. I always forget if it's the contact itself that makes the connector male/female, or if it's the connector shroud itself.

 

[Arrival]

No not the PS2 connector - this is internal... it's the connector that plugs into the 4 pin male connection on the PC board inside the mouse (you have to disassemble the mouse to get to it). It then follows out the end of the mouse and ends in a USB connection that pugs into the USB port on the computer.

 

[crutschow]

I always get confused when talking about male/female connectors. I always forget if it's the contact itself that makes the connector male/female, or if it's the connector shroud itself.

It's the contacts. Pins are male. Sockets are female. The shroud type is irrelevant.

 

[dknguyen]

No not the PS2 connector - this is internal... it's the connector that plugs into the 4 pin male connection on the PC board inside the mouse (you have to disassemble the mouse to get to it). It then follows out the end of the mouse and ends in a USB connection that pugs into the USB port on the computer.

My post was edited. I've never bothered to actually looked into a USB connector to see the 4 pins. But you are talking about the internal connector, eh? Care to post a photo? It's quite possible different mice use different connectors and there are thousands of possible ones so it's hard to tell without a photo.

 

[Blueteeth]

I would just remove the connector on the board and soder the wires direct. Failing that...I *think* I know the ones you mean. They're molex 1.25mm pitch.

**broken link removed**

At least thats what I found in my mouse when I just took a screwdriver to it

I would check ebay, theres plenty of USB cables there with other connections on them for replacements. Alternatively, if you love your mouse as much as you say you do, buy another one, cheapo USB, that will probably have a similar cable assembly. But yeah, as the others have said, photo's would be nice.

Blueteeth

 

[Arrival]

I would just remove the connector on the board and soder the wires direct. Failing that...I *think* I know the ones you mean. They're molex 1.25mm pitch.

**broken link removed**

At least thats what I found in my mouse when I just took a screwdriver to it

I would check ebay, theres plenty of USB cables there with other connections on them for replacements. Alternatively, if you love your mouse as much as you say you do, buy another one, cheapo USB, that will probably have a similar cable assembly. But yeah, as the others have said, photo's would be nice.

Blueteeth

I think you got it with the molex - but i'll post a picture soon to be sure... My mouse is a Microsoft Intelli-Mouse Exploer - version 1.0 - I believe it was the first optical mouse out - I have another version of the same mouse but I don't like it as much lol.

 

[Boncuk]

Cheap mice have the cable soldered directly to the PCB. The better quality mice use pin headers to connect to the USB or PS/2 cable.

The pin headers vary a great deal depending on the manufacturer. (pitch from 0.5 to 1.5mm)

If the female (plug) is broken it doesn't make much sense to replace it for the reason that they must be crimped airtight, which cannot be done with simple plyers. (sorry if that is misspelled, I don't know better) In that case the copper wire inside the crimped connector will corrode and lose contact with the same effect as a broken plug.

To repair the device desolder the male pin header (on the mouse PCB) and neatly solder the cable in place. Use some hot glue to fix the cable when the work is done and the mouse has been tested.

To dknguyen: Very nice and indeed entertaining atavars. Give us more please.

Hans