My cat chewed my monitor calibration cord!

I have a MonacoOptix Pro calibration mouse. I've only had it a month and have discovered my stupid cat chewed through the USB cable. I had the cord hanging down from the desk as I just used it last week to recalibrate my monitor. He has done this before with a computer mouse but it was many years ago. So, it did not occur to me to put it up. I don't know if I should cry or scream. Anyone know how I might be able to fix the cord and have it still work? Suggestions? Anything other than having to spend $300 again

If the wires inside the cord are in colour coded insulation wrappers, then it should be easy to cut out the chewed part and reattach the wires.

Cats are supposed to attack mice. It's the law of the wild. As for your cord: is it coaxial? If it is, you're screwed. Coaxial means it's wrapped in a criss-cross kind of braiding. You could try and just replace the lead but you'd need a soldering iron etc etc. Retrun it under warranty. Tell them it just 'broke'? You might get lucky.

If it is color coded or coaxial, you can attempt to repair it. Get some shrink tube at Radio Shack or protect the repair with electrical tape. Cut the bad area out. Match color to color or if coaxial, center lead to center and outside braid to outside braid. Make sure you get a good mechanical connection before you attempt to solder. Use a soldering iron and ELECTRICAL solder. Get a little solder on the iron. Touch the tip to the mechanically connected wires and then touch the solder to the wires. Make sure the different conductors are electrically isolated from each other.
If you take your time and make good connections, it will work.

csm328 wrote in post #3214527
Cats are supposed to attack mice.

Maybe she thought it was the computer mouse

philmar wrote in post #3214816
Maybe she thought it was the computer mouse

Urmm...that was my point GOOF! lol

poloman wrote in post #3214753
If it is color coded or coaxial, you can attempt to repair it. Get some shrink tube at Radio Shack or protect the repair with electrical tape. Cut the bad area out. Match color to color or if coaxial, center lead to center and outside braid to outside braid. Make sure you get a good mechanical connection before you attempt to solder. Use a soldering iron and ELECTRICAL solder. Get a little solder on the iron. Touch the tip to the mechanically connected wires and then touch the solder to the wires. Make sure the different conductors are electrically isolated from each other.
If you take your time and make good connections, it will work.

Send it to poloman with $50.00. He sounds like he knows what he's doing

If I send poloman $50, will he take a cat?

Thank for the help. I am not an electrician by any means but I will get some electrical tape and perhaps me or my husband can fix it.

Damn cat!

Oh man, that sucks. I'v had things like this happen to me and now I make sure I buy things without cords permenantly attached if possible.

brandicm wrote in post #3215680
If I send poloman $50, will he take a cat?

Thank for the help. I am not an electrician by any means but I will get some electrical tape and perhaps me or my husband can fix it.

Damn cat!

I'll be glad to repair it for 50$ But with a $15 soldering iron and a little care, you shouldn't have any problem. (maybe a burnt fingertip in the deal) Then you will be all set up and experienced for the next time it happens.
But please no cat thanks. We have many many of them. How do you think I know exactly what to do in this situation? I've had this happen about 5 times! Well, that and playing with electronics for 25 years...
The only problem you may have is if the unit was powered up when the cat bit it in two. Sometimes a short created in this situation will fry circuitry.
Good Luck.

Need to post the before and after shots of the calibrated cat!

Now correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Calibration mouse a USB device?
Coaxial wire:
http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Coaxial_cable
a single conductor core surrounded by insulation, surrounded by by a grounding sheath, and then may be surrounded by a foil wrap and then finally an insulated jacket.

Find your self a Nerd and have him do it for you! Free and worst case a Six Pack and a bag of chips.

Thanks lostdoggy. I'm lucky in that my FAther-in-law has a solder iron and offered to try and fix it for me next weekend when we visit. I offered to pay him to take the cat but he offered to pay me more to keep him. He doesn't drink so I don't even have to supply beer. I only have to let him babysit the grandkids....3 & 5yrs. Um, let's see a few minutes alone with my husband and no kids.......

Poor Sammy (cat). I will try to post a picture of said calibrated cat tomorrow. I have to remember how to post pictures here and see if I can't get a snapshot. Darn cat, I'm still not speaking to him

lostdoggy wrote in post #3217758
Now correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Calibration mouse a USB device?
Coaxial wire:
http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Coaxial_cable
a single conductor core surrounded by insulation, surrounded by by a grounding sheath, and then may be surrounded by a foil wrap and then finally an insulated jacket.

It's not coax. It's 4 ordinary wire conductors.

Nerds don't know how to solder; real men know how to solder. A nerd throws together a bunch of presoldered parts to make stuff, i.e., computers. Nerds then tell anyone who will listen they built a computer when all they did was assemble a computer --- a task as difficult as stacking legos.

Really, it should be pretty easy to repair. As mentioned above, just cut out the damaged section. You may want to have a pair of wire strippers on hand that can handle the small gauge of wire in a USB cable (~28 gauge, but it's vendor specific). Be sure you or the person soldering puts the heat shrink tubing on before soldering the wires together. It helps.

brandicm, please don't calibrate the poor cat

Samgoit wrote in post #3218576
It's not coax. It's 4 ordinary wire conductors.

I never said that USB cable is a Coaxil rather I was pointing out what a coaxial is as such could not be a coaxial cable.

I'm can be classified as a nerd and I can solder as well as weld w/ stick mig and tig.