Internal Mono(b)log

Recently, I’ve been working at learning Morse Code (frequently abbreviated “cw”). I found a very cool piece of software for OSX called [MorseManiaOSX](http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/morsemania.html). I’d been going along learning to hear code, but the interface for entering code was via a mouse button. For those of you who have never tried morse code, let me tell you, a mouse button is not a good vehicle for quick and well timed dits and dahs.

So, not to be thwarted by this, I decided to cannibalize an old USB mouse and create a USB CW interface. My radio uses a 1/4″ stereo headphone jack to attach the key to the radio, so interfacing should be simple (and it was). Disassemble the sacrificial mouse, find the switch that operates button 1 and the contacts on that switch that close when the switch is pressed. Solder on the leads from a cable attached to a female 1/4″ headphone jack and you’re in business. Rather than use a project box, I decided to drill a hole for the new cable and reuse the mouse housing to hold the circuit board.

Here are some pics:

The mouse pc board with the wires for the headphone jack soldered on.

The project back in the mouse housing.