ADB Wedge Mouse Variants

[dcr]

Does anyone know of a site that identifies all the variants of the wedge design Apple desktop mouse?

In looking through my own and also online, I've found four variants.  The tops appear identical but the bottoms are different.

What I suspect perhaps to be the first version has a bottom similar to the pre-ADB mice used on the Mac 128k through Mac Plus.  The removable mouse ball cover is black (or dark gray) in color and twists to remove.  I've only seen one of these and it was marked as "Made in USA."

The next variety is the same except the mouse ball color is the same as the mouse color--not black.  I've only seen a couple of these and those were also marked as being made in USA.

Another variety has a mouse ball cover that matches the mouse color but doesn't twist.  Instead, you push it toward the bottom of the mouse to unlock and remove it.  The few I've seen of this variant were also marked as "Made in USA."

The fourth variety appears to be the most common.  This one has the twist cover that matches the mouse color, but is not fully round, having cut outs on the sides.  These were made in Malaysia or Taiwan.  I think I've also seen some of these marked as having been manufactured in the US.

Anyone know of a resource with the history of these?  Preferably something with a timeline.  I'm thinking the general timeline maybe the order I've listed them here but I've not seen any that list a date of manufacture.

 

[dcr]

 What I suspect perhaps to be the first version has a bottom similar to the pre-ADB mice used on the Mac 128k through Mac Plus.  The removable mouse ball cover is black (or dark gray) in color and twists to remove.  I've only seen one of these and it was marked as "Made in USA."

From mice I've seen, this version is identified as model #A9M0331.

The next variety is the same except the mouse ball color is the same as the mouse color--not black.  I've only seen a couple of these and those were also marked as being made in USA.

That should have read "mouse ball cover" not "mouse ball color."  I have now seen two of these variants.  The first is identified as model #A9M0331 and is marked as "Made in USA."  The second is identified as a G5431 and is marked as "Made in Malaysia."


 

Another variety has a mouse ball cover that matches the mouse color but doesn't twist.  Instead, you push it toward the bottom of the mouse to unlock and remove it.  The few I've seen of this variant were also marked as "Made in USA." 

I've seen a handful of this style and they have been marked as "Made in USA" and are identified as G5431 E119730 LR67730.

The fourth variety appears to be the most common.  This one has the twist cover that matches the mouse color, but is not fully round, having cut outs on the sides.  These were made in Malaysia or Taiwan.  I think I've also seen some of these marked as having been manufactured in the US. 

I may have been wrong.  I haven't been able to find an example of these made in Malaysia.  The ones I've seen have been marked "Made in Taiwan" and carry the number G5431 E89826T LR66731 or just G5431 by itself.

 

[james_w]

I've noticed similar, but I've not yet been through all my mice to check the differences. I wonder if there's more than four?!

 

[Scott Baret]

The ones I have seen are as follows:

USA MODELS

Dark unscrewable retaining ring, darker ball, very click-y clicker. Seems to have shipped with the first batch of IIGS models.

Light unscrewable retaining ring, beige ball, same click-y clicker. Common with the early SE and II. My 1988 manufacture SE came with one for reference.

NOTE: Neither of these used Apple's traditional serial number scheme. It's hard to date them, but the 1988 date above seems a good indicator of when these were the only player on the block. My guess is they were discontinued at some point in early 1989.

TAIWAN MODEL

Black ball, lighter in mass and overall size, retaining ring doesn't unscrew like the other models. Clicker isn't as click-y. Seems to have been produced from 1989 until the end of the lifecycle of this mouse. I have seen this model with later 1989 SEs up through 1992-manufacture Classic IIs. This one seems to be the most common with 1989-1993 compacts; some LCs got these as well. These were the most common mouse with Macs which shipped from 1989-1992; within my mini-lab, most of my square ADBs are this type.

MALAYSIA MODEL

Light unscrewable retaining ring, beige ball (similar in mass to USA models). Clicker is completely different. These seem to have begun production at some point in late 1990 or early 1991 and are far less common than the other mice. My LC, a late 1991 manufacture, shipped with one. I have seen these mostly on LC and IIsi models. (I'm not sure what the Quadras came with). 

A FEW OTHER NOTES

Both Taiwanese and Malaysian mice were shipping at the same time. In fact, the Macintosh LC user manual describes how to take apart and clean BOTH types of mice.

I have seen (and may still own, I'll have to check my spare parts box) a Taiwan model marked as "Apple DeskTop Bus Mouse" (note the capital "T"). It had a 1989 date and came with an SE.

I also have seen (and also may still have this one laying around) a Taiwan model with a longer ADB plug on the end, similar to the cable which came with the Apple Extended Keyboard II. It came with a PowerBook I picked up years ago and was likely purchased directly from Apple rather than ship with a Mac (since it was inside the PowerBook case). I believe the manufacture date on this was also 1989, which would make it NOS for its day since the PB in that case was a 170 (long since sold).

The Taiwanese models tend to wear out faster. I have one right now that needs a thorough overhaul.

The ADB II models also have several variants. I believe Taiwan and Malaysia got similar models with balls (I'll have to check on those to be sure; I don't have nearly as many of them) plus I know China was also producing ADB mice by 1995. Apple's later ADB keyboards, notably the Apple Keyboard II and AppleDesign Keyboard, also came in many variants by country and style.

QUESTION FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO ANSWER IT

All of my 1993 manufacture Macs that I have either owned or currently own came with the ADB II. This includes any LC III, Color Classic, Centris, LC 520, etc. Does anyone know if the models in production prior to February 1993, when the ADB II rolled out, and continued for a while longer got shipped with an old-stock ADB I? This would be the IIvx, Classic II, Performa 200/400/600, and Quadra 950 (I'm guessing they got them eventually since they were on the market for several years thereafter).

Boxes for the newer Macs advertised a "new, more comfortable mouse" (the CC box says this on the sticker).

 

[unity]

Uggg... mice.

Apple LOVES to change their mice. Sure, they may look the same but as noted, there any many differences. Even the original Mac mouse has several versions. In fact, the top and bottom half may not even mate up properly. The changes are often subtle until you notice them.

I have a spreadsheet that actually tracks the changes of the original mouse by build date. So I can see what Apple made changes. But once you get to when the mice were made all over the world, game over. So I only track the original.

 

[james_w]

This is great!

I wish there were wiki pages for tracking the versions of the original mouse and the ADB mice

 

[dcr]

I wish there were wiki pages for tracking the versions of the original mouse and the ADB mice

My plan (one of many) has been to take photos of all the versions I have and put them somewhere as a starting point for reference and possibly for others to build on.

 

[NJRoadfan]

The A9M0331 attached to my Apple IIgs I have here is marked Made in Taiwan with a black mouse ball. If this mouse is original to the system, it would have shipped in 1988. The part number is logical when you consider the IIgs keyboard is A9M0330. Generally Apple prefixed "universal" products that worked with both Apple II and Macs with A9 P/Ns. It should also be noted these early mice only have part numbers on them, no "Apple Desktop Bus Mouse" text on them.

This person doesn't even have the A9M0331 documented: http://www.g-news.ch/articles/mice.html