First build wiring question

[SupremeOverdrive]

Hi guys, this is my first build and I'm working on wiring my controls. The problem I'm running into is that I'm trying to use the buttons from (Link 1) on a board provided in (Link 2). The wires provided will not fit onto the module and I was planning on cutting and soldering the wires myself but I'm having a hard time understanding which connections go where and oddly enough this module seems to have more ports on it than the others I'm seeing online.

Finally, it seems I will need two additional wires as the board only came with the amount I need for the original buttons, and I'm not sure how to go about finding them to buy alone.

Thanks for your help guys and looking forward to showing off my first cabinet, having a lot of fun with this project!



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F1YQ3GU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WAY9848/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[PL1]

Welcome aboard, SupremeOverdrive.   

The LED buttons that came with the board have 3 tabs:
-- LED
-- NO (normally open)
-- COM (common) -- shared by the LED and switch

The other buttons have 5 tabs.

- 3 tabs on the microswitch:
-- NC (normally closed) -- not used
-- NO (normally open)
-- COM (common)

- 2 "stirrup" tabs:
-- LED +
-- LED -

What to do?

1. (optional but highly recommended) Verify that the LED holder (left-most red item in pic below) is installed in the same orientation in all your buttons.

Set your multimeter to diode check -- the LED will light dimly when the red lead is on LED+ and the black lead is on LED-.

The memory trick I use is black meter lead ==> stirrup next to the black tab holding the microswitch ==> LED- since black is usually ground for DC wiring.



2. Figure out which wires on the 3-wire are COM and NO. (touching them together = a button press)

3. Figure out which of those wires is COM by lighting a LED.

IIRC the ZD encoder is an active-high device, so:
-- The 3-wire COM wire should connect to the LED+ stirrup.
-- The 3-wire LED wire should connect to the LED- stirrup.
If your encoder isn't an active-high device, swap LED+ and LED-.

4. Hook everything up including a splitter for the 3-wire COM wire.

Instead of cutting/soldering the wires, consider using Quick Disconnect (QD) crimps.

The stirrups need 1/4" (0.250") QDs and microswitches _usually_ need 0.187" QDs.


Scott