Guide on How to Reuse an Older Paracord Cable in Mouse Modding
In the mouse modding community (grips, paracording, switch swapping, weight modding, etc) one of the simplest and most popular mods is changing out your stock cable for a more flexible paracord cable. This is done because the paracord cables are much closer to a wireless experience, therefore, help with mobility and precision with your mouse movements.
Not too long ago I have found myself in a situation where I had a paracord already installed on my older Glorious Model O- but needed one on my main mouse, the weight modded MZ1. Initially, I thought about simply buying another paracord but then I realized there should be no reason that I could not simply use the old paracord on the new mouse.
Unfortunately, this is not exactly just plug-and-play where you open up the old mouse and put the paracord in the new mouse since there are compatibility differences. Luckily those issues can be sorted out fairly easily and today I will show you how.
Extracting Both Cables
Obviously, the very first step in this process is to get both the old paracord from the old mouse and the stock cable from the new mouse that will receive the transplant. Opening up your mice is a fairly simple process and does not require many tools. In most mice, you take off the back skates, unscrew the visible screws, take off the top shell and unplug your cord – simple as that.
Each mouse works differently so before proceeding if you are unsure you can simply check Google/Reddit/YouTube for extra instructions.
Figuring Out Your JST Pins
With both of your cables out the next important step is to rearrange the JST pin layout on the connector that goes into your mouse PCB. This is the reason why you cannot just take a paracord cable made for a different mouse and plug it into your current mouse and expect it to work.
One easy way you can do this is to simply take a look at the stock cable from the mouse you will use the paracord on, and make sure the paracord cable has the same JST pin layout.
In my case the stock Xtrfy MZ1 cable comes with this layout: ground, red, black, white, green. All you need to do is to rearrange the JST pins on your paracord cable in the same order and it will now also be compatible with the MZ1.
A quick thing to note is that paracord cables DO NOT come with the ground cable so you will leave that connector empty and just arrange the other pins.
If for some reason you cannot figure the JST pin layout of the mouse that will receive the paracord you can look at this site or try Googling around to find the exact needed layout. DO NOT try to eyeball it because if you connect the red cable (+5V) incorrectly you can fry your mouse entirely!
Rearranging the JST Pins
Now that you know the layout all you have to do is find a small-sized screwdriver, gently lift the plastic tabs holding the pins in place and take them out one by one. Once out, re-insert them according to the correct layout of the new mouse you will be using.
Make sure to have the pins oriented correctly with the metal clip towards the plastic tab you moved before. The pins should slide and clip right in, but if not you can give them a bit of a gentle push with the same small screwdriver.
Now you can finally plug in your newly re-wired paracord into your new mouse and it should all work perfectly fine if you arranged the JST pins correctly. For a video representation, you can use this video.
With this technique, you can re-use one single paracord on as many mice as you need without needing to purchase multiple cables!