Old wireless mouse from 1988

[John_A]

I just couldn't resist! Found two Mac Plus, one old yellow and one platinum, with keyboards, mice, hds, extra floppydrives and a imagewriter for almost free!

To one of the Pluses there is a very old wireless mouse connected. It says "BMC Micro Industries, 1988" on the back of the infrared basestation.The mouse itself is much slimmer than the original mouse that came with the computer. It has a large button on top, and a small on the side.

Google doesn't give much away about BMC Industries, probably out of business a long time ago.

Any info, anyone? I have never seen one before...

 

[John_A]

Updated with some pictures:

 

[John_A]

Well, I can report that it works

Without any extra extensions or controlpanels...

The suspicious "thumb button" on the side, turned out to connect the mouse to the tranciever.

Duplicating the tranciever board, put it inside the Plus chassis, and plug the db-9 connector at the back would make a cool hack.

Even better would be to move the mouse internals to a Plus "brick" mpouse, and cut the cord.. :beige:

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Great find, John! It turns out that we'll need to move this to the Peripherals forum:

I've been looking for mine on and off since you posted this yesterday and I just found it. It's the two-button 1989 version with the manual and the ADB converter! It's just a simple cable converter, so they appear to have implemented ADB on the unused contacts of the DE-9 connector to carry the ADB signal(s) to support the "Macintosh II, SE and Plus" as the cover of the Manual states. The Macintosh_II/SE release was 1987.03.02, so I imagine that yours will have ADB capability as well. I'll buzz the connections on the adapter and you can check for activity on the ADB lines. The major change between versions is the addition of a right click button. Halving that big mono-button makes it look a bit sportier and be a little more useful. Unless the II/SE have built in support for the right click, a driver needs to be found for the second click to be useful, my friend didn't include a floppy with the near complete package.

When I worked out a trade, I wouldn't have offered this gem had I recalled that it was compatible with my Plus collection. This baby would have been connected to the Plus converted Drexel Mac/MicroMac'030 so fast it's little mouse head would have spun! You're a lucky guy Cosmo! [] ]'> I've been trying to find time to document this before offering it up to the freight eating gods lying in wait between here and Finland. I need to put some batteries in there to test it again as well, it's been lying dormant in a Zip-Loc bag for over ten years . . .

. . . while I procrastinated a bit about documenting it. :

The only other difference I can see would be the nubbin on the bottom of your mouse, John. As for the button on the side, try holding it down whilst moving the mouse quickly and then doing so while moving it slowly. That's the "Non-Linear Move Switch" The mouse has multi-speed tracking. Use that "extra key to control the moving speed of the cursor from ultra fine displacement to very high speed movement."

Try Googling "MOBIUS Technologies Inc." along with BMC for info on your bobtail rodent. That trademarking is on white stickers, front and back, covering metallic silver (shiny/opaque) stickers, so that info remains secret until Cosmo has a chance to remove one of the white MOBIUS stickers.

The back of manual says: © 1989 BMC________ PRINTED IN HONG KONG

So my guess is that these were OEM'd in Hong Kong and first marketed by a company acquired wholesale by MOBIUS or from whom they bought distribution rights to the product.

Neat stuff! :approve:

BTW, even I wouldn't hack this little baby, they're scarce as hen's teeth, I've never seen hide nor hair of them in that ten years. Put some Velcro on it and your Plus and display it proudly . . .

. . . I've procrastinated about getting the hook half for mine as well. :lol:

 

[John_A]

Thanks, great info you got there!

I haven't disassembled too many old mices lately, but doing so make you appreciate the engineers back then.

At the end of the axle that's moved by the rubberball, is a plastic wheel attached. The wheel have a hub with

many, thin spokes, almost like a bicycle wheel. Four optical decoders are then converting the movement

into electrical signals. Note that the pressure wheel at the other end, touching the rubberball is made out of

brass! No wonder these things lasts.

Put some Velcro on it and your Plus and display it proudly

It actually came with a original mouseholder. Its only the Velcro thats missing..

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Wow, brass rollers! I've never seen that, can't wait to crack the case on mine after work.

The Velcro loop is on the M/F DE-9 connectors and the bottom of the IR receiver, so I'm guessing my NYMUG buddy had the receiver stuck onto the side of an ADB Mac. It could have been stuck on his desk as well, but on the side of the Mac seems more appropriate to me. Is your mouse holder a custom fit job for the IR BMC mouse or the run-o-the-mill serial MacMouse?

Have you experimented with tracking speeds yet? Tat 1980's implementation puts the adjustment button on my wireless USB rodents to shame, much more convenient.

 

[bbraun]

At the end of the axle that's moved by the rubberball, is a plastic wheel attached. The wheel have a hub withmany, thin spokes, almost like a bicycle wheel. Four optical decoders are then converting the movement

into electrical signals.

The output of those signals go straight to the DB9 connector on pre-ADB mice. One of the outputs from each axis is wire-OR'd to an interrupt line, so when there's movement, it interrupts the processor which then polls the state of all 4 lines and translates that into how many pixels the mouse should move and which direction. The pre-ADB mouse was super simple mechanically, but annoying to replicate logically in code.

 

[John_A]

Have you experimented with tracking speeds yet?

Yep, It works, but I need to hold the thumb button. Probably because I tested it running a minimal system 6 version (380kb) from a floppy.

One of the outputs from each axis is wire-OR'd to an interrupt line, so when there's movement, it interrupts the processor which then polls the state of all 4 lines and translates that into how many pixels the mouse should move and which direction.

Hmm, it sounds that would effect performance in games where a lot of mouse movement is required..

Sitting snugly in its holder.. :beige: De-yellowing is next!

 

[trag]

I have one of those. I bought it new way back when. You've covered the details though, so I really have nothing to add, other than, me too, me too.

Oh, I guess I could mention that I'm pretty sure I've written about it in passing in some of the threads here over the years. But just a casual mention.