Personal Computer Ball Mouse - Dismantled for reference and curiosity
Released in 1983, the 1351 Commodore 64 / 128 mouse (originally designed for the Amiga 500, 2000 and 2500) is a fairly basic yet very well designed unit.
While extremely similar in design and almost visually identical from the outside, the Amiga and 64 / 128 versions are not compatible with each other's system; details below*.
The 1351 A0101910 was released in at least two variations; one with pushbutton switches (shown below) for the action buttons and one with metal dome switches; see the A0101930 Mouse page on this site for a metal dome switch example. Both the Commodore 64 / 128 and Amiga mice were released with both switch designs.
The 1351 supports two modes, working as a traditional proportional mouse and also in a joystick emulation mode. The latter can be accessed by holding the right mouse button while turning on the Commodore 64 or 128.
The mouse came boxed with software to update the popular GEOS environment that was crying out for mouse support. The disc also includes utilities and details to help add mouse support to your own programs; list below.
When it was released, very few software packages supported the proportional mouse mode. In contrast the joystick mode enabled early adopters to make use of it surprisingly well. Many art and other creative packages written for joystick benefited greatly from mouse pretending to be a joystick.
Like most mice of its era, the unit features two action buttons and two encoder wheels to dictate X and Y positional movement.
* Identifying the Commodore 64/ 128 and the Amiga 1351 Mouse
As mentioned above, the 64 / 128 mice and the Amiga units us the same shell and so are visually identical. The most common telltale is that most of the Amiga mice use a cream version of the Atari 2600 joystick plug with a metal plug sheath. Unfortunately sometimes the Amiga mice have the same plug as the 64 / 128 version leaving no external visual indication.
Thankfully Commodore labeled the main circuit board with a different ASSY numbers; A0101910 for 64 / 128 units and A0101930 for the Amigas. The smaller button switch board ASSY number A0101920 is the same on all 1351 mice.
However, again unfortunately, there are some 64 / 128 mice with A0101930 ASSY numbers** (likely limited release) meaning that even the PCB isn't a solid indication; however more often than not it will be a good guide.
Externally, if you have a small plug (as shown below) 1351 mouse, there is no way to be 100% sure what system it's for bar testing it.
The only certainties are a 1351 ASSY A0101910 board mouse is definitely for the Commodore 64 or 128. A 1351 with a cream Atari joystick style plug is for an Amiga 500, 2000 or 2500.
** Unexpectedly a few, seemingly rare examples of 1351 mice with an ASSY number of A0101930 are Commodore 64 / 128 units. See the 1351 A0101930 page on this site for examples.
The software disc included provided:
Side A: Drivers and Test Program
5 Startup.102486 PRG
3 COMM 1351 USR
1 MOUSE64.BAS PRG
2 MOUSE64.BIN PRG
7 MOUSE64.SRC SEQ
2 M1351.64.BAS PRG
2 M1351.64.BIN PRG
11 M1351.64.SRC SEQ
5 DATA64 PRG
6 DEMO64 PRG
2 MOUSE128.BAS PRG
1 MOUSE128.BIN PRG
7 MOUSE128.SRC SEQ
4 M1351.128.BAS PRG
2 M1351.128.BIN PRG
12 M1351.128.SRC SEQ
5 DATA128 PRG
6 DEMO128 PRG
1 MOUSE.POINTER PRG
3 SPRITES.0E00 PRG
575 BLOCKS FREE
Side B: GEOS Upgrade Software
GEOS Upgrade
18 upgrader USR<
7 gRABBER UPGRADE USR
7 mERGE UPGRADE USR
10 GEOdEX UPGRADE USR
0 BLOCKS FREE