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Foot Mouswitch...with (at last) an upgrade !

by newbeatle on March 5, 2010

Table of Contents
Foot Mouswitch...with (at last) an upgrade ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: Foot Mouswitch...with (at last) an upgrade ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 1: The materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 2: Prepairing the case of mouswitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 3: The LED indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 4: Time to wire all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 5: The mouswitch finally working!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 6: ACTUALIZATION : at last a online - on use LED indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 7: The little schematic circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 8: The parts of the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 9: Contruction time again... as Depeche Mode says :D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 10: Finally , the result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Intro: Foot Mouswitch...with (at last) an upgrade !

... or how to recicle a dead mouse and make an usefull fott switch from it and discarded pc parts.
the idea borns from a need to turn on and off the soldering iron without the need of being plug and unplugging it from the wall, then i need a switch that can be switched
on and off only with the foot. then i look for some parts in the workshop, and i found what i need
i have made a little video about how it works the url is :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKwV-S9Xe94

Image Notes
1. you can plug any thing that you want to turn on and off with your switch...not too heavy loads because you can fry the mouswitch almost instantly!!! but can be a
lamp , a solder iron, all depends of the capacity of the switch
2. this is the switch that you can opearte just with your foot !! just be careful, to much pressure and can be damaged.. be gentle to operate it
3. a little LED lamp to know that the unit is energized

Step 1: The materials

well i think that the image says more than a lot of words ... first we have a mouse that for any reason doesn't work, we'll use only the chassis. we need also a switch from
a 286 pc, the one that turns on and off the pc, please note that this switch is the type that cuts only ONE wire, not both at the same time . as you see, is thiner than the
other type. we need also a electrical contact, removed from a wall type. another thing that we need is a electrical cord, you can get it elsewere in the house BUT NOT
FROM A WORKING APPLIANCE, OK? as a indicator of a working unit, we need : a led, choose a color that is clearly visible in your workshop or work space, i think is
also a better choose to have an opaque type, not the clear lens type. also we need a diode that can be as little as possible, i have choose one from a discarded
Mainboard... i think!!. also we need a (104) caramic capacitor, also the littlest the better! and finally a 1k REsistor, 1/8 Watt will be enough for the little disipation of the
circuit.

Image Notes
1. this is a part of a wall electrical contact, adjusted to fit here inside the mouse
case. as you can see, it has no physical earth or ground conector, so be careful
if you use the mouswitch with an aplliance that needs it.
2. we must do a knot on this part of the electrical cord to prevent a short circuit if
the unit is pulled accidentally . the knot must be little enough to fit also inside the
unit

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Image Notes
1. this is the type of switch that we need in the proyect, sorry for the blurry
photo. the data printed here is: 125V10A / 125V3A 4A/32A250V i think its
enough current for a wide variety of aplliances!!!

Image Notes
1. the other side of the switch, where te printed data is : SDL.P TV-3 (please
dont' ask me what it means, i dont know)

Image Notes
1. a front view of the switch that i use for the project. as you can see it's no so
tall

Image Notes
1. another view of the switch , showing a MOV that was soldered to it originally. i
left here it i think seems nice, unfortunately doesn't have a protection funcion
because isn't wired in paralel with the load. the data of the mov is " KC103P"

Image Notes
1. the simple, no ground plug and inexpensive ($10 PESOS MEXICANOS !!!,
make your conversions if you want to know your current tax ) electrical plug that
i use to the proyect.

Step 2: Prepairing the case of mouswitch

now is time to prepare the mouse case to fit inside all the components. we need to quit all the things that are not useful in the project. you must remove the little
component board, the base of the ball if it has some container or anything like that, obviously the mouse cable. also you need to cut a notch in a side of the mouse case
to acommodate the contact that will be screwed there. and make a hole to be passed with the lever of the switch , and others for the screws. is so easy to see that to
explain so just see the photos

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Image Notes
1. this wire comes from the power chord , directly to the electrical contact, as
explained in the other image
2. this is the wire that runs from the switch, directly here to the other pole of the
electrical contact
3. dont forget to make this knot to avoid the wires from be pulled out of
mouswitch. it have to be inside of the mouse case

Image Notes
1. the LED lamp
2. the same image from the prevous step but now to explain the wiring of the
mouswitch
3. this black wire is from the power cord, soldered to one side to the switch
4. this other brown wire runs from the other side of the switch, to one pole of
the electric contact

Image Notes
1. the detachable tap opf the mouse case in which i screw the switch. this help
me a lot for the measurement of the holes!
2. this is the lines i did for have a idea about where to make the holes to fit the
switch. the central is for the switch stick, the laterals is for the screws

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Image Notes
1. this is how the mouse case must be finish once cleaned of all, upper and lower
views
2. HEY ! don't forget to make this little hole for the LED!!
3. lateral cut to give place to the electrical contact
4. another cutr to fit the switch... more of this sooner!!
5. so important this cut!!! remeber the detachable cap ? well, just the cap was
detachable, not the entire body of the mouse!! this cut was made to permit the
switch acomodate here. do any cut as you need in your own model of mouse to
fit the model of switch your use
6. a little cut to pass the electrical cord
7. a little cut to pass the electrical cord

Step 3: The LED indicator

again a circuit saws more than the words and i don't think that it deserves a lot of explanation about the construccion and how it works. the circuit as you see is so simple
, the capacitive reactance of the poliester capacitor blocks feeds the circuit to a level safe to the LED, the 1n914 bloks the half cycle of the ac current that we don't use to
protect the LED, and the resistor also protect the LED and gives a tiny current to feed it.

Image Notes
1. i have found by the trial and error method that the 104 capacitor gives a little
more light in the led that the .47, but you can experiment too to find the one that
meet your needs, just remember that you're handling 127 VAC so bear in mind
the adecuate precautions.

Image Notes
1. sorry for the blurry image, i hope you imagination can help me a little. i try to
show how i acommodate the diode between the legs of the LED, the capacitor
sodered to the properly leg and the resitor in the other. i use a thermofit tube to
isolate all the connections

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Step 4: Time to wire all

well now is time to wire all, and i think that is more easy to understand looking at the circuit than explaining each part of the mouswitch. please read first and understand
all the steps before do anything. on the begining we have the current cord, one of it the wires goes to one of the poles of the switch. leave enough wire to work
comfortably, if you cout then so close will be difficult to accomodate all inside the case of the mouse. from the other pole of the switch run a wire to a pole of the contact,
you have finish that part. the free wire that you have now goes directly to the free pole of the contact, just screw it thereand almost all its done! the indicator led is wired in
paralel with the switch . so you can solder it at the same time you solder the cables atached to it.

Image Notes
1. the LED lamp
2. the same image from the prevous step but now to explain the wiring of the
mouswitch
3. this black wire is from the power cord, soldered to one side to the switch
4. this other brown wire runs from the other side of the switch, to one pole of
the electric contact

Image Notes
1. this wire comes from the power chord , directly to the electrical contact, as
explained in the other image
2. this is the wire that runs from the switch, directly here to the other pole of the
electrical contact
3. dont forget to make this knot to avoid the wires from be pulled out of
mouswitch. it have to be inside of the mouse case

Step 5: The mouswitch finally working!!!

now time to test all !! .

Image Notes
1. here is the led that indicate two things: the unit is disconnected OR the unit is connected AND the appliance is ON.
2. as you can see the idea is so simple but also useful, and it has a lot of enhancements to do, so if you have a comment to enhance the funcionality, working or any
i'll be glad to read it. thanks for see my instructable

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Step 6: ACTUALIZATION : at last a online - on use LED indicator

at little last but finally made how to do it, i have a way to see at a glance if the mouswitch is conected to the line (127 VCA) and a change in this light to see when the
aplliance connected to it its being feed with the line voltage

Step 7: The little schematic circuit

i dont remember from where i found the circuit (if anybody can help me with that i glad so much) but with a little changes on values of the resistors the circuit make
exactly what i want.
parts you needed
just some components , all of these came from the junkbox so i have no information about the voltage value of the bicolor led (i think i savage it from a telmex mode but
im not shure)
1n4007 diode (x2)
15 KOhm 2watts, wire wound resistor (x2)
a bicolor led , i have a green/red or a green/yellow one i choose the last
how it works
nothing more simple than this : when the switch is open the line voltage goes through the first 15 k resistor , the diode 1n4007 and the green side of the bicolor led, after
that goes to the other 15 kohm resistor and the other 1n 4007 diode to ground
wuen you close the switch , tle lazy current now flows to the yellow (or red if you like) part of the bicolor led, and the 15k - in4007 pair in common connection of the led, to
the neutral wire of the line, alowwing the current to flow to the charge you use , in muy case the solder iron

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Step 8: The parts of the project

as i say, a pair of 1n4007 diode, a pair of 15 k resistors and the bi-color led

Image Notes
1. 1n4007 diode
2. 15 k resistor , 2 w

Step 9: Contruction time again... as Depeche Mode says :D

see the images for description

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Image Notes
1. bi-color led from which i have no idea about the voltages it use...but works !!!

Image Notes
1. how i solder the diodes to the resistors, i bend them on a next step

Image Notes
1. another view of the resistors and diodes, ready to be soldered
2. and a wire , ready too

Image Notes
1. last revision before heat the thermal insulator, as you can see i bend the legs
of the resistor to have the minimal space posible

Image Notes
1. i take some wires and solder them to the led , the yellow one was from the
mousitch itself (it was soldered)
2. this yellow wire will go to the neutral wire of the 127 vca outlet

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Image Notes
1. little nasty and messy but will be a more ordered in a next step

Image Notes
1. a close view after i insulate the terminals of the bi-color LED

Step 10: Finally , the result

being all inside the case of the mousitch and routing the wires to avoid damaging them when you close it, you can see how when you connect the mouswitch to the line
the led lit green , indicating that is gentting power, and when you press the switch, the led turns yellow to indicate the "be careful , load powered" state
in the video you can see my old multimeter connected to the output of the mouswitch, indicating when it draws (a negligible 2.7 v ) no power to the load, and when you
press the switch, the change indicated by the "beep beep" of the instrument to indicate that you have full line voltage available at the output of the mouswitch
thanks for visit and for watching, if you did it i like to see your version of mouswitch , share it !

Image Notes
1. led green, switch open

http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/

Image Notes
1. led yellow, switch closed

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Foot-Mouswitch/