Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on Windows.

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takedownca
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Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:49 pm

Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by takedownca »

It seems like the sensors on my SpaceMouse are all hosed. I tried calibrating, restarting windows, reinstalling the driver, but nothing works. Below are the results of sensor feedback I get in the Trainer. Sorry about the low resolution, but the forum limits file size and the number of files. FYI I'm on version 10.6.4 on Win7. Is my SpaceMouse just dead in the water?
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Trainer Grid.png
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luping
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by luping »

Try WD-40 Specialist Electrical Contact Cleaner Spray.
takedownca
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Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:49 pm

Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by takedownca »

And just spray it under/around the puck?
takedownca
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by takedownca »

Do I need to disassemble anything to get to the contacts?
luping
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by luping »

takedownca wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 6:57 pm Do I need to disassemble anything to get to the contacts?
No.
luping
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by luping »

takedownca wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 6:56 pm And just spray it under/around the puck?
Some guy in this forum used alcohol to clean his 3D mouse, and get his 3D mouse back to normalcy.
takedownca
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by takedownca »

Update: SpaceMouse is all fixed up. The suggestion to clean without disassembly was misguided. This was definitely an issue with dirty optical sensors, and you can't clean the sensors without disassembling. In hindsight I probably could have gotten away with just removing the puck and leaving the rest of the device alone. At least on this model there are screws under the circular cap that allow you to remove the puck, but I didn't know that till after the fact. Once the main sensor assembly (2 boards connected by springs and covered by a shroud) is exposed, it was just a matter of cleaning the sensors' surface with a qtip and isopropyl. Good as new!

https://www.3dconnexion.com/forum/downl ... iew&id=869
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luping
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by luping »

takedownca wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 12:01 pm Update: SpaceMouse is all fixed up. The suggestion to clean without disassembly was misguided. This was definitely an issue with dirty optical sensors, and you can't clean the sensors without disassembling. In hindsight I probably could have gotten away with just removing the puck and leaving the rest of the device alone. At least on this model there are screws under the circular cap that allow you to remove the puck, but I didn't know that till after the fact. Once the main sensor assembly (2 boards connected by springs and covered by a shroud) is exposed, it was just a matter of cleaning the sensors' surface with a qtip and isopropyl. Good as new!

https://www.3dconnexion.com/forum/downl ... iew&id=869
Oh, nice, you've got your SMP back to life.
The bad thing is that it just shows this device uses low lifespan membrane keyboard, not high lifespan mechanical keyboard with durable key switches. So this product is designed and purpose built with short lifespan in mind.
takedownca
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by takedownca »

luping wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 5:32 pm Oh, nice, you've got your SMP back to life.
The bad thing is that it just shows this device uses low lifespan membrane keyboard, not high lifespan mechanical keyboard with durable key switches. So this product is designed and purpose built with short lifespan in mind.
I noticed that, too. But in the grand scheme of things the "keyboard" buttons don't get nearly as much use ass the main XYZ sensor. I'd be very surprised if the keyboard buttons wore down before any of the other components. My biggest complaint has been low quality rubber coating with always gets sticky and will eventually need to be wiped off with alcohol or WD-40. Next highest complaint that they end-of-life the older models. I have a couple old SpacePilots that are just fine physically, but the last compatible driver update was 7 years ago (no Win10 support). Like every other company out there, it's not profitable to make products that last forever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
luping
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by luping »

takedownca wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 5:40 pm
luping wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 5:32 pm Oh, nice, you've got your SMP back to life.
The bad thing is that it just shows this device uses low lifespan membrane keyboard, not high lifespan mechanical keyboard with durable key switches. So this product is designed and purpose built with short lifespan in mind.
I noticed that, too. But in the grand scheme of things the "keyboard" buttons don't get nearly as much use ass the main XYZ sensor. I'd be very surprised if the keyboard buttons wore down before any of the other components. My biggest complaint has been low quality rubber coating with always gets sticky and will eventually need to be wiped off with alcohol or WD-40. Next highest complaint that they end-of-life the older models. I have a couple old SpacePilots that are just fine physically, but the last compatible driver update was 7 years ago (no Win10 support). Like every other company out there, it's not profitable to make products that last forever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That's what I thought. By the way, it's not so hard to remove the rubber spray coating.
Kyphor
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Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:08 am

Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by Kyphor »

So, I am having issues with the palm pad portion (not the knob) of my SpaceMouse Pro turning into a sticky mess. Do you think it is possible (or wise) to attempt removing the rubber as-is? The alternative--and what brought me to this thread--is disassembling the mouse to remove the rubber coating. I figure the latter option would be much cleaner, but much more time consuming.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
UtaSH
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Re: Sensors Busted on SpaceMouse Pro?

Post by UtaSH »

See here.
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