Simple Presentation Clicker

If you have ever looked to buy a simple, no-nonsense presentation you will know that these little devices are way to expensive. The cheapest costs about €40 and I think that's way too expensive for something that simple. Especially because I'm a poor student. So I made a very simple presentation clicker for about €5 using a cheap wireless mouse I bought in China.

The great thing is that presentation programs like Powerpoint and Keynote already feature the software to be able to use the simple clicker to click for the next slide and the previous slide alike.

Requirements for this simple clicker:

• A wireless mouse with USB receiver (as in the picture)
• Some duct tape
• A screwdriver to open the mouse

Opening the mouse is a very easy. Some things you got to keep in mind is that most mouses do not need brute force to open them. If the mouse doesn't open chances are you've missed a screw.

The screws are often hidden, so they don't ruin the aesthetics of the mouse. The most common hiding places are underneath the gliding rubbers and in the battery compartment.

After opening the mouse you can remove the scroll-wheel. You will not need the scroll-wheel but you can keep it in if you like. I'll assume you removed it.

After that you locate the optical part of the mouse. This is the part where the light shines out of the mouse. We do not want that light to shine in our audiences eyes, so we'll remove it in the next step.

To locate the optical part of the mouse you just simply look for the hole where the light shines out if the mouse is turned on. Locate the other side of this hole underneath the electronics board (in my mouse the green board). I had to unscrew the electronics board that was fixed in place with two screws.

When you've located the optical part, remove the prism. This is a weird shaped transparent piece of plastic covering the hole. Since we will make sure there can no light shine through the hole we won't need the prism.

Now cover the hole with a piece of duct tape on both sides. This will make sure the duct tape won't stick to anything and the hole is plugged nicely.

Before you close everything back up, first make sure you plug the hole in which the scroll-wheel housed. Do this with the same technique of applying duct tape on both sides.

Now close the whole thing back up, and plug it into your computer. Make sure that the mouse powers up and that both the right and the left mouse buttons work properly.

OPTIONAL
Optionally you can spray paint the clicker black. This will remove all evidence of you altering the mouse.

That's all folks! It is really easy but works amazing. Something this simple has already saved me multiple times!