How do I make the lights on the "Space Duel" buttons work?

[ddespair]

Hey y'all, first time poster here!
So I'm an amateur filmmaker who is making a short film and I bought this used control panel from the game "Space Duel".
In the film I'll be "flying" a Citroën Karin that has modified to look like a spaceship and the Space Duel control panel will act as (part of) a makeshift control panel in the car.



(Not literally the units in the pictures, these are just what I could find on the internet.)

I noticed it has a lot of wiring underneath and connectors that have a lot of pins. I bought it because it looks really cool and the "Start" and "Game Select" buttons have lights that can blink in them. So my question is, is there a way I can just make the lights light up at will? Obviously, it won't be hooked up to a real arcade machine, I just need a way to get those lights flashing, but I'm not sure if any kind of adapter exists to connect those pin connections to a power source. Thanks a lot, guys!

[PL1]

I noticed it has a lot of wiring underneath and connectors that have a lot of pins. I bought it because it looks really cool and the "Start" and "Game Select" buttons have lights that can blink in them. So my question is, is there a way I can just make the lights light up at will? Obviously, it won't be hooked up to a real arcade machine, I just need a way to get those lights flashing, but I'm not sure if any kind of adapter exists to connect those pin connections to a power source. Thanks a lot, guys!

Those LED buttons are called "volcano" buttons.

There are several ways to make the LEDs blink, but the easiest way for your situation would be to wire a switch/pushbutton in series with each LED and have a crew member control the switches and/or use buttons on the panel if you want the actor to control it.
- You can get the 5v and ground from a USB port using a hacked cable
- Use a 220 Ohm, 1/8 or 1/4 watt resistor for the current limiting resistor
- Test the setup using cheap red LEDs so you don't accidently fry    the button LEDs
- You can use alligator clip leads to make connections without hacking the harness

                                                      Switches
5v____current limiting resistor_______/____+LED1-________Ground
                                                  |                                     |
                                                  |____/____+LED2-____|



The LED + and - tabs are on the near side of the LED button.

The LED won't light if you accidently reverse the + and - connections (reverse bias), but it won't hurt the LED.   



Related threads on wiring volcano button LEDs here and here.


Scott

[ddespair]

Thanks so much!
I admit a lot of it's over my head but I maybe I can find someone nearby who can help me out now that I can at least show them what I need!