How often do you swap out your microswitches?

[eds1275]

On my spinal tap machine, I crimped the connectors. It sucked. Took a long time, and my crimp-fu was weak and had to redo them (don't have the right tool.) On this little cocktail machine I am making, I soldered it up in about 20 minutes. I don't imagine that with home use it's going to have many problems, and am considering redoing the wiring on the spinal tap machine to make it neater. I am pretty fast at soldering, and technically good at it (neat looking, uniform etc - I do a lot of it at the theatre I work at and at home with my own audio gear.)

[DaOld Man]

I soldered most of my switches and have only changed out one (Out of 5 builds to date). Trick is to leave an inch or two extra slack on the wires, then when (and if) a switch fails, cut the wires close to the terminal and solder them back on the new switch.
IMHO, soldering is neater, easier, less time consuming, and a much better connection (if you know how to solder.)

[eds1275]

That's what I thought, but wanted it backed up by experience.

[mgb]

You should be fine. It's not as likely that switches will fail real often on a home use machine.
Basically, if you left a decent amount of slack for future replacement and you are a quick and confident solderer, then replacement should be no big deal.
   I'm not sure what you use for an iron but its worth it to also keep a butane iron for quick repairs.
I would say I use my butane iron more than my plug-ins. It makes for quick work

[paigeoliver]

I have over 20 games in my house at any given time and I pretty much never have to replace microswitches unless they are already broken when I wheel the game in. I think I have only ever had one go bad on me, and that was one from the 80s.

[DeLuSioNal29]

+1 on all of the above.  I've never had a microswitch go bad on me (a brand new one).  I've only had bad ones to begin with if they were old.

Also, soldering is the way to go.  I've re-crimped my quad CP twice due to bad connections, bad crimping tools, etc.  I plan to rewire it this summer and I'm going to solder it this time.

DeLuSioNaL29

[BobA]

Hundreds of microswitches installed.   Only 1 or 2 replaced in 4 or 5 years.

[PL1]

Haven't had a microswitch go bad yet, but I like the option of being able to easily swap components.

There are two ways I recommend to get good QD connections without spending the big bucks on professional crimp tools.

1. Use pre-crimped wires -- they're better/stronger than anything you can produce without the pro tools.

2. Solder the wire to the QD (after threading it through the hole to the right of the insulating sleeve) and crimp the sleeve onto the insulation of the wire as shown in the attached pics -- works for solid core (red wire) or stranded. (white wire)

Threading the wire through the hole provides improved mechanical and electrical connection.   


Scott

[Malenko]

I think Ive replaced 1 maybe 2 buttons in 15 years of owning cabs. This does not include buttons replaced on cabs I fix up when I first get them.

[TheOne]

Well, I'm a newbie (in regards to posts), but I'll add my 2 cents.  I don't solder because I like to change out my CP artwork and/or sticks from time to time and the crimps just make the process much easier.  I used to struggle with crimps in the beginning, but now I own the right crimping tools.  For me, that was the key.

[jimmer]

The problem I have with crimps is not the crimping but the sliding contact with the tab on the switch. Always seems to be too loose or too tight.

Currently my favoured method is solder at the switch and pin header at the encoder.

[mgb]

The problem I have with crimps is not the crimping but the sliding contact with the tab on the switch. Always seems to be too loose or too tight.

Currently my favoured method is solder at the switch and pin header at the encoder.

That's easy to fix. If they're too loose, just clamp down on the end that slides over the switches blade.
If they're too tight, you can use a small tweaker (jewelers screwdriver) to pry apart a little. Better tight than too loose.
I also prefer crimped quick connects over soldering just for the fact that if I'm going to play a quick game of Gyruss and my fire button doesn't work, I don't wanna run out to my van for the iron.

[jimmer]

That's easy to fix. If they're too loose, just clamp down on the end that slides over the switches blade.
If they're too tight, you can use a small tweaker (jewelers screwdriver) to pry apart a little. Better tight than too loose.

I make quite a few panels, so I don't want to have to tune every connection.

I also prefer crimped quick connects over soldering just for the fact that if I'm going to play a quick game of Gyruss and my fire button doesn't work, I don't wanna run out to my van for the iron.

Now we are back on topic. How often do you find a button doesn't work?

[shponglefan]

Never had to replace a microswitch.  That said, I have occasionally disassembled a CP for various reasons.  I always use crimped connections because of that.

[Unstupid]

How often do you swap out your microswitches?

Ask me again 20 years from now!   

[RandyT]

If you are sure that you won't be experimenting with different switches, or have the need for someone other than yourself do repairs (like a panel made for a friend, family member or customer whom you don't visit very often) there's nothing wrong with direct soldering.  The only thing to be wary of is the amount of heat being used.  Microswitches aren't really designed for this type of connection.  The plastic used for the housing isn't very heat resistant (usually ABS), so don't overheat the terminals.  Doing so could cause the plastic to deform around them and cause performance issues.

It's probably also a good idea to solder the wire to the switches before connecting the other ends to your encoder (or make sure the encoder is not grounded/plugged in to the system while soldering).  An improperly grounded iron could send some potentially damaging voltage to places you don't want it.

[michelevit]

Direct soldiering is best. You should't be replacing switches in a home environment. I've only replaced two. One was a reused switch from a commercial machine. The other failed mechanically.  Its a 2 dollar part, so you can keep a spare or two.

[mgb]

I have changed only two switches in the past ten years on my mame stuff.
But more in the commercial environment of course.

I think it's silly to say either crimps or soldering is the best way. One person prefers crimped quick connects and that's fine while another person prefers soldering. Neither way is wrong.
I also agree with Randy's point about experimenting and trying out different things which I have done and will continue to do on my cp.
between my job and my hobby interest, I am very comfortable soldering and crimping but I actually prefer to just hack up economy jamma harnesses that already have quick connects attached.
I highly reccomend it Especially if you're building multiple panels.