The Sinclair QL Forum

Received MICE in the mail today. It needs some work as the cable got caught on something and tore, ripping some wires. What's weird is that the entire cable is 5 feet long. The tear is a little past the 3 foot mark so I could just shorten the cable and leave the mouse side alone. However, it would be nice to restore it to it's full former self. I'll need to think about how to approach the fix. Most regular mice cables (ADB, RS232, PS2, USB) are between 2 to 3 feet long. Why did they make the cable for MICE so long?

The ROM dongle seems to lift my QL up as the plastic looks to be a bit taller to the connector than the QL to the edge slot. I'll have to play with it once it's fixed. Does anyone know if the arrow keys work with MICE? It's the way I've learned to use ICE since back in the 90's, and I find it pretty convenient. I'm happy I got it though, as it appears to be a pretty rare item. I don't collect much, but love having a few rare gadgets for it.

As far as I know there are two version of ICE.
Version 1 come in cartridge without mouse and use the cursor (arrow) keys.
Version 2 come with a cartridge with mouse (I think is what you have) and not use keys, only the mouse.

Hi,

The MICE system I used many years ago was mouse only, the keyboard was not useable.

I will see if I have the manual.

The MICE interface was designed to fit a QL with the 2 or 3 supporting legs fitted to the rear of the QL.

There was also a little Mice Toolkit which allowed you to access the mouse from BASIC. Can't remember if it came with the MICE system, or had to be purchased separately.

A little info about it here on the QL Wiki:
https://qlwiki.theqlforum.com/doku.php?i ... ce_toolkit

I can confirm that the cursor keys don't work with MICE. I've had ICE for 30 years and find it very convenient as a file browser on the QL and the cursor keys work well with it. It takes the place of TK2 for me when copying, renaming, file sizing, etc... The only thing I miss is the job handling. I especially like it when copying a bunch of files from one drive to another, I can choose the order of those files by selecting them in that sequence and then copy...really good for OCD folks like me.

One question, did the ICE ROM come in a specialized case? When I bought mine (presumably form Sharp Electronics back in the 90's, where I got all my US QL stuff from), I got a Care Electronics ROM case...

I did discover a few Dell mice at work with 5 feet cables so not as unusual as I thought. But that makes sense to me since the cords woluld be plugged into the back of a desktop computer sitting on the floor.