Mouse pad makes optical go nuts!
 

okay, i just recently bought an mx510 and its great! the control definately feels like its hardwired to your brain like some people have described. anyways, im using this dell mouse pad where the mx510 glides nicely across. the mouse pad is black but in the middle is a big dell logo. its a gray circle with the dell in the middle. anyways, once in a while my mouse freak outs. i tested this in paint. while drawing horizontal lines, the cursor would suddenly shoot up unexpectedly (very annoying in photoshop!) does anyone know if graphics on a mouse pad can mess with an optical mouses signal? that unexpected movement also happened with my last optical. if so, i have to get a new mouse pad then... thanks for any help.

I had that problem when I first swtiched to optical. I was using it on wood grain. Apparently, it did not like the pattern and it would jump across the screen from time to time. I switched to a different mouse pad and that took care of the problem. Try another mouse pad or surface and see if you keep having the same problem.

thanks stonegrody. another new mousepad it is then.. computers are a money pit! =(

the operator room in the computer labs on campus have those same mousepads with optical mice. I always discard the mouse pad behind the monitor or across the desk (I work in the labs) because of that exact same issue. What cracks me up is the operators that work in there before me or after me take the mousepad back and use it for hours upon end....

you know the mouse screws up with them too, but they leave it there anyway......



that gets to me on a personal level :thumbsup:

Surface
The surface on which you use the mouse plays an important role in its tracking. The optical sensor must use the pattern on the surface to track the position of the cursor. Therefore, using the mouse on a glass or otherwise see-through surface will inhibit the ability of the sensor to track the cursor.

Also, if you are using the mouse on a reflective surface, such as a mirror or shiny metal desk, you may also experience tracking problems.

Dark surfaces may cause the cursor to move by itself or jump to different parts of the screen.In all of these situations, try using the mouse on a mousepad or piece of paper. By using the mouse on a white sheet of paper, you can also conserve battery life. Other surfaces that have been known to cause tracking problems are:

Some wood grains
Grooved surfaces

I have personally found that a mousepad from 3M called precise mousing surface in a solid light color works best

My favorite mousepad for optical mice - RatPadz

I simply can't do without them.

I recently picked up one of these:
http://www.allsop.com/product.asp?cid=18&p=27814

Works really well with my MX510... and its sexy/stylish to top it all off :)

Thanks for the Allsop link, i've been looking for a new mouse pad for a bit now and they fit my room very well.

Don't know if this matters now, but I thought I'd throw in a quick recommendation for a pad. I was looking for a good pad for optical mice a little while back, and I read lots of reviews and looked around a bunch. I ended up getting both a RatPadz GS and a fUnc sUrface 1030.

I found the RatPadz to be over cumbersome, but the fUnc sUrface (nevermind the stupid name) is amazing. http://www.func.net/s1030.html I got mine in black/black rather than the orange/blue/black ugly ass they have pictured there. It has served me really well, and it works phenomonally for both optical and ball mice.


If you take a gander here: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...highlight=1030
there's a chronicle of my experience looking for the pad, along with several other members' suggestions, and my reviews of the RatPadz and fUnc sUrface (scroll down past the initial impressions for a more thorough review). Hope this helps a little.

RedJake: we have the same thing at our campus. Up until recently we only had ball mice, so it didn't matter, but they switched to optical in a few labs. Once it starts going crazy it takes a while for me to find my mouse pointer again. Once that happens once I toss the mouse pad away ;)

Hey! Thanks! Now I know why the bloody thing keeps bouncing off on its own!