Is there a control panel lighting FAQ?

[fantoboy]

Can someone explain to me the basics of an LED setup for buttons/etc? I'm guessing I need to get the specific LED buttons/joysticks/trackball then hook them up to an LEDWIZ and use LED blinky? Is the LEDWIZ the best way to go?  Looks like I'm gonna have about 23 lights plus the trackball.

[Trip]

PAC LED 64 gives you 64 lighting options, more than LEDWiz.  Works out to be 21 RGBs with one single left over.

There is a great thread about comparing RGB buttons.  I would look into that.  I went with GGG Electric Ice 2 buttons and more than happy.

Joysticks are still pretty tricky.  Paradise Arcade offers a few options.  I went with JLFs with long hollow shafts from Paradise with GGG custom made balltops.  Paradise also provided the RGB LEDs.  These were considerably brighter than the GGG buttons, so I had to use LEDBlinky and play with the intensity to get them to match.  I can help you out with that if you run into this issue. Pretty easy fix.

Trackball is proving to be the hardest to figure out how to match color intensity.  I got a Ultimarc flushmount and the ball does not pass much light.  The LEDs it comes with match my other LEDs red and blue, but the green is this awful light green color that does not match at all.  I took it off and replaced it with 3 paradise arcade joystick LEDs.  They match everything else and are brighter than the Ultimarc one, but still not as bright as my buttons.  I need to find a better solution for this.

[fantoboy]

Since I don't need that many lights, I should probably just get an LEDWIZ, right?  I also want to do Sanwa JLFs and Japanese style buttons.  So I need the hollow sticks?  The normal length shaft that is included aren't hollow?
http://www.focusattack.com/extended-sanwa-jlf-stainless-steel-hollow-joystick-shaft/
and then I guess I need these:
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-lb-35-translucent-blue-balltop/
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-obsc-30mm-translucent-pushbutton-blue/
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-jlf-tp-8yt-joystick/
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-jlf-cd-translucent-blue-shaft-black-dustwasher-set/

I only want to do blue, so I don't need RGB.  So what do I use to light all this up?  The joysticks and buttons don't have LEDs.  Do I just buy single LEDs?
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=263
Is this harness just for buttons with LEDs already?
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=385
How do I attach the LEDs??

[Trip]

I think LEDWiz is 32 outputs, so that should work for you.  It also has screw on terminals, which will make it easier for you.  I liked the Molex 0.1 on the PAC LED, cause I could get a 4 port Molex connector for each RGB LED.

You will have to buy the hollow shafts seperate, they don't come with hollow shafts.
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/paradise-arcade-custom-parts/422-sanwa-jlf-stainless-steel-hollow-joystick-shaft.html

Short shaft is standard length, long is if you want to bottom mount through wood.

With those buttons and balltops, all you really need to do is find an LED you want.  It could be clear or blue, since you are using blue tint balltops and buttons.  Blue may give it a better look.

Stick to a 5mm or smaller for the balltop, getting it in that hole is going to require sanding.

For those buttons, you could use one of paradise arcade's pele rings, even though they are RGB, you can just hook up the blue leg.  This would require you to get straight up blue LEDs though.
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/108-button-leds

Getting your colors to match up will be a challenge, just buy a few 5mm blue LEDs til you get a brand that matches the pele ring.

As far as running it, LEDBlinky is nice cause it can only turn on the buttons a game uses.

I don't know about harnesses, I like doing my own wiring, cause I can get the terminations I want for each setup.

[Trip]

Here is the thread that compares a lot of the lighting options for RGBs, you can use the blue leg of these to achieve your mission instead of all of them
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,121965.0.html

[PL1]

So I need the hollow sticks?  The normal length shaft that is included aren't hollow?
http://www.focusattack.com/extended-sanwa-jlf-stainless-steel-hollow-joystick-shaft/

Correct.

and then I guess I need these:
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-lb-35-translucent-blue-balltop/
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-obsc-30mm-translucent-pushbutton-blue/
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-jlf-tp-8yt-joystick/
http://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-jlf-cd-translucent-blue-shaft-black-dustwasher-set/

Looks like this all fits with what you're doing.

I only want to do blue, so I don't need RGB.  So what do I use to light all this up?  The joysticks and buttons don't have LEDs.  Do I just buy single LEDs?
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=263

The single LED option is a real pain since you would need to connect one resistor (included) to each LED.  I made a great trackball lighting circuit using 3 of these, but wouldn't recommend them for what you're doing

Paradise sells the joystick LEDs that go with the shaft here. 

You might want to see if Paradise has the rest of what you need, too. 

Is this harness just for buttons with LEDs already?
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=385

This harness is for buttons that have built in single-color LED holders (the piece on the right):




Scott

[fantoboy]

Thanks for all the info guys, it's going to help make the shopping list easier!

Here is the thread that compares a lot of the lighting options for RGBs, you can use the blue leg of these to achieve your mission instead of all of them
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,121965.0.html

No Sanwa comparison!    How do you think the Seimitsu buttons compare?