Scoping out pins on a mouse?

[snuci]

Forgive me if this is a basic question but I have a Tiger Learning Computer (TLC) that is missing the mouse that goes with it. It has a PS/2 connection but a PS/2 mouse *partially* works. As I keep moving it around and clicking buttons, sometimes the mouse will travel vertically down and that's it. While it was said that the mouse was to be PS/2 compatible, it is not and I read another person with no mouse also not having a PS/2 mouse working. I recently bought a Tiger ED Ultra Pack PC device of similar vintage with a 9 pin mouse, thinking that maybe the these units use a proprietary mouse protocol. In fact, the Tiger ED mouse says t only works with the Tiger ED.

So after the explanation as to why I can't just go look at PS/2 or 9 pin serial mouse pinouts, can I use a scope to check which pins are VCC (+5), ground, clock and data?

 

[Chuck(G)]

I'd think that a logic analyzer might be the better tool.

 

[snuci]

The DB9 on the Tiger ED is definitely non-standard. There are four wires inside the mouse. I can't seem to make a connection with the forth wire but it looks like pins 1,6, 5 and 9 are used.

1 or 6 are ground (they are not tied together) and 9 is +5. Very odd. Since the mouse doesn't work and 5 is open, I am guessing that 5 is Data.



I guess this doesn't really matter because I have to make a ps/2 cable for the mouse and figure out the pins on the TLC side. I'll have to open it up and it is messy in there. I'll keep at it. Thanks anyway Chuck.

 

[James0555]

Maybe just a serial mouse wired to be proprietary to them.