Pushbutton springs too stiff

[emb]

I recently purchased a few LED pushbuttons from paradisearcadeshop.com and love how they look. I love their products and especially love their customer service.

 My only criticism with these buttons is that the springs which come with the buttons are rather stiff. I am not sure if it is because I am too used to the soft touch of my happ competition pushbuttons on my other arcade cabinet, or if the springs are more stiff than expected. (I should also note that the competition pushbuttons in my original cabinet are around 6 years old. Did the springs "weaken" over the years and I never noticed?)

Does anyone know where I could find a softer spring for these buttons? I am certain the pushbuttons are not the issue as I took out the springs and feel that the downforce (spring constant) is noticeably greater than the happ controls pushbuttons.

The LED pushbuttons purchased:
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/led-pushbuttons/231-green-led-convex-arcade-pushbutton.html

The microswitches i amusing are pretty light to the touch:
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/microswitches/744-zippy-light-touch-microswitch.html

I also heard of some people removing the spring entirely and relied on the force of the microswitch to put it back into position when depressing. Unfortunately that left me with too little of resistance for button masher games.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Unstupid]

Did you try removing the springs from your competitions and putting them in the LED buttons?

[PL1]

Did you try removing the springs from your competitions and putting them in the LED buttons?

That probably won't work very well since LED buttons are designed to avoid having the spring cast a shadow.

Attached pics show a Paradise Translucent button and a GGG Arcade Prime button.


Scott

[AnthonyPaulO]

Guys, I'm having the same issues, LED buttons are WAY to stiff, I don't know how they think something this stiff is playable. Was anyone able to find a solution to this? Would appreciate some advice, thanks!

[PL1]

Welcome aboard, AnthonyPaulO.   

LED buttons are WAY to stiff, I don't know how they think something this stiff is playable. Was anyone able to find a solution to this?

The best solution is to use LED buttons as admin buttons instead of player buttons.   

Here are four variables that could be contributing to the stiff feel of your buttons.

1. Microswitch - How stiff is the microswitch by itself?  Some soft-touch ones only need 20 grams of force applied to close the switch, but some need 125 grams.

2. Break-in time - Sometimes you need to spend some play time to wear down the rough edges.  Once in a while, you'll find that removing the plunger and turning it 180 degrees helps if the pieces are slightly distorted and/or near the upper/lower range of tolerances.

3. Spring - Some guys have used a blowtorch to resize a spring.   

If the spring is already stretched too far, you can put it in a vise, adjust it to the size you want and heat it with a propane torch.  When it cools, it should retain the size.

4. Over-tightened nut - Rare, but it can cause the body of the pushbutton to distort slightly.


Scott

[AnthonyPaulO]

I think you're right, I'm going to have to replace all the buttons and joysticks; I have a 4-player arcade I just purchased but the controls are impossibly stiff.

I'm looking for the best Street Fighter quality sticks/buttons... what do you guys recommend and what's a good place to get them? I'm new to this as well so I'd appreciate a link to a guide or two that will help me understand the process.

Thanks!