Weird mouse behaviour
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I seem to be getting into a habit of putting non-coding related questions here, but still.
So, I have a wireless optical mouse. It's very good, works beautifully, very sensitive and accurate. Recently I bought some new rechargeable batteries as the old ones were getting, well, old. For some reason, when I use these new batteries the cursor moves on it's own. Not even predictably, sometimes it works fine, sometimes it jumps all over the place. Even when the mouse isn't moving. The cursor will stay stationary for a bit, then start jumping around the screen. This has continue through several uses and recharges and even seems to be getting worse. Other batteries, whether rechargeable or not, work fine with it.
I can't for the life of me think of a property of batteries that could cause this behaviour. Anyone got any ideas?
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@Malenfant said:
I can't for the life of me think of a property of batteries that could cause this behaviour. Anyone got any ideas?
I'm betting those new rechargable batteries are delivering a different voltage (1.35v?) whilst others are pushing 1.5v. It's not enough to notice when used in torches, radios or remote controls but some other devices may be more voltage-sensitive that they experience odd behaviour when faced within sufficient pump.
I had a digital camera that experienced similar issues. Some rechargables would work fine, others would work for a few mins then flash up "power low" (we ended up dividing our sets into "camera-suitable" and "others"). Even Duracell would show "power low" quite early on, yet some no-name batteries would work fine. It was a bit hit and miss, but this camera seemed quite sensitive to batteries not standing up to their full height.
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But this isn't giving a low power warning. The power level is showing as fine. It is sending incorrect signals to the sensor. The laser doesn't seem to be any dimmer, and I can't imagine that would have the effect described anyway. When batteries are running out it just responds less. What aspect of low power, or even higher than expected power, could cause erroneous information to be sent to the sensor?
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Wireless mouses are the devil. Your mouse is possessed. By the devil. The devil of electricity!!!
Seriously though, I'd suspect radio interference. What else have you changed other than the batteries? But your mouse is a DEVIL!
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I've changed nothing else. When I take this one set of batteries out and put others in it works perfectly again. I know the solution is to stop using those batteries, and I have, I'm just curious about what causes this behaviour.
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@Malenfant said:
I've changed nothing else. When I take this one set of batteries out and put others in it works perfectly again. I know the solution is to stop using those batteries, and I have, I'm just curious about what causes this behaviour.
Failure to provide a sustained voltage is still the most likely cause. It's almost impossible to notice the minute changes in light sources that can still cause havoc for advanced electrical components.
Alternatively your batteries may be badly shielded and their magnetic field may be interfering with the signal from the mouse's transmitter. This is a very, very long shot, mind you. It is theoretically possible, but extremely unlikely to ever occur.
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@Malenfant said:
What aspect of low power, or even higher than expected power, could cause erroneous information to be sent to the sensor?
No idea, except that I've encountered similar symptoms that you've described and it seemed to be only specific brands responsible so I put it down to the voltage not being "good enough" for my fussy kit.
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It's probing time.
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Rechargeable batteries are typically 1.2V not 1.5V, which is a pretty massive difference for a device expecting 3V.
So I would suspect that it's the batteries (not least cos it's the most obvious cause).
Easily tested by swapping for a pair of non-rechargeable 1.5v batteries, I'd have thought?
