Inside the CM Storm Recon

After removing the screw and gently working my way around the outside edge separating the top from the bottom, this is what I found in the end. Be very careful removing the top, the wiring is kept very short between the top halves PCB for the six buttons there and the PCB in the base with the sensor and LEDs.

Removing the PCB from the top of the Recon shows that all six of the buttons, DPI, and the two buttons on both sides, are all backed with TTC switches. There is also an LED between the two center switches to illuminate the DPI buttons.

The scroll wheel also uses a TTC switch, but the right and left clicks are backed by higher quality Omron switches.

There is a plastic prism at the bottom of the Avago 3090 sensor that directs the sensors beam to the mousing surface to be able to tell where you are on the mat, and thus where you are on the screen.

This is the 16-bit chip that does the cross talking between the inputs of the user and the PC. As much as I tried, with a couple of the letters a bit marred and touch to read, I wasn't able to track down the manufacturer of this chip.

In this angle you can get a better sense of the prism used for the sensor, and I also wanted to show off the large LED that will be backlighting the CM Storm logo found on the heel of the Recon.

After a bit of reassembly and plugging the USB connector in, the Recon will glow in the factory red LED lighting. From the back you can see the logo, the DPI buttons, and the scroll wheel all come to lighted life.

Looking at the Recon from the front when it is powered up, I am pleased to see with as bright as the wheel and logo are, there no leakage of light around the wheel or any of the backlit components for that matter, making what does light up really pop against the matte finish.