Translucent Microswitch Buttons*Taking Pre-Orders*

[shawnzilla]

I would like to get my order submitted to the manufacturer within the next day or so.

Please use this thread to state the following:

1) What colors will you be ordering?

2) How many of each color will you likely order?

3) Would you rather have a microswitch included or not?

The color choices are: Blue, Green, Red, Orange and Clear

I understand that pricing may effect your order amount. I will try to have an answer on this shortly.

[Kremmit]

• Ordering Red, Blue, and Clear.
• Prefer no switch, but will happily take Cherry switches if you can only supply them with switches.  Will grumpily accept Honeywell.
• Initial quantity depends on price.  Eventually, I'd like 30+ each (assuming the price isn't outrageous)

[Thndrbug]

My order:

QTY

[paigeoliver]

Some kind of pricing GUESS would be nice.

Also, include switches, not including switches means everyone has to make a second order from a different vendor to get switches.

[Kremmit]

Also, include switches, not including switches means everyone has to make a second order from a different vendor to get switches.

I'm gonna mount leafs under mine, anyway.

[Witchboard]

Some kind of pricing GUESS would be nice.

Agreed.

Also, include switches, not including switches means everyone has to make a second order from a different vendor to get switches.

Unless we already have our switches.

[tommy]

I would be interested in 6 of each, also can the LED's be included in the deal, i didnt go through your whole other thread so if you can give some info on where i can get the LED's if there not included?

And of coarse the prices.

[pointdablame]

I'd be looking at something like:

8 blue
8 red
8-12 clear

Pricing does play a part, but that would more than likely be my first order.  If pricing isn't crazy, I have at least 3 fighter pads in the works during the summer, so figure another order or two of similar numbers/colors

[Franco]

Ill prob be looking at 22 clear for the mo. Have you had anymore thoughts about being able to supply them with different coloured (sorry colored  ) bezels?. Idealy I would like clear buttons with blue bezels. However if the price is right I may have 22 of each (blue and clear).

[Troz]

My initial order would be...

10 Red
10 Blue
10 Clear
4 Orange

With switches only if they are Cherry switches, otherwise no switches.

Of course, pricing does play a part in this...

[Kremmit]

These switches wouldn't be compatible with leafs, would they?

Why not?  I mean, a standard leafswitch mount won't fit right, of course.  But I don't see why I can't mount a leaf on a spacer.  Then line it up so that the leaf contact points end up under the plunger part that's supposed to hit the microswitch instead.

Bye Bye, click.  Hello smooth action.

[MikeAlex]

Blue 2
Green 2
Red 8
Orange 2
Clear 2

...and no switches.

Thanks. 

[paigeoliver]

These switches wouldn't be compatible with leafs, would they?

Why not?  I mean, a standard leafswitch mount won't fit right, of course.  But I don't see why I can't mount a leaf on a spacer.  Then line it up so that the leaf contact points end up under the plunger part that's supposed to hit the microswitch instead.

Bye Bye, click.  Hello smooth action.

Kremmit, why not just buy the widely available translucent leaf switch buttons then?

[scooter]

20 blue.

Interested in switches if Cherry (and cheap enough).   

[wakerlet]

Assuming ~ $3-4 a button

Blue 8
Green 2
Red 8
Orange 2
Clear 8

Unless you can get Cherry switches for less than an additional $0.50, I'd rather buy them separately.  I can order them from Betson for ~$0.70 each and get either .187 or .250 tabs.

-Todd

[cholin]

This order STRONGLY depends on the pricing.  I would most likely buy them with switches since I dont want to order my own.  If you find a way to get cherries supplied with them (maybe put them in yourself?) then I will definately use the switches.  Anyway:

Either:

~12-18 clear, lit RED and BLUE

Or:

6 Red
6 Blue
4 Clear
(possibly some others for eye candy if the price is right)

[screaming]

1) Clear
2) 30
3) Not

sweeeeeeeeeettt

[UndeadMeat]

12 Clear with no switches, I'll use the ones I have already. More depending on price... like everyone else. 

-UndeadMeat

[Witchboard]

These switches wouldn't be compatible with leafs, would they?

Why not?

[shawnzilla]

Guys, I simply don't know pricing yet (it all depends on the shipping cost of my initial order). If I am guessing then I would say to expect between $2 to $3 per button. I'm hoping that my shipping cost will be low enough that I can stay near $2.

As far as mix-and-match bezels go, I can probably do that on a limited basis. When the time comes, just email me about it and I'm sure we can work it out.

At this time, I'm not including LEDs. But, perhaps in the future. I simply haven't done any pricing research into this. I tend to get my own LEDs from modsthatglow.com and superbrightleds.com

[NY_in_TX]

again, it's hard to say but...

20 green (depending on the pics of the green lit)
20 clear (depending on the pics of the clear with a green LED)

20 each of every color  depending on pricing and future availability.  If this is  a one shot deal, then I want em all if I can afford it.

none with switches if they are more expensive, louder or have a worse feel than cherries.
all with switches if the price and feel is right.

ny

[KenToad]

Totally agree about the cherry switches deal.  I want at least 2 red at any price since I'm building a CP using the Joust art as a basis.  I would probably order between 14 and 20 of an even mixture of red, blue and clear if the buttons are not much more than two dollars each, maybe more if I love the look and feel of the buttons on my CP.

Thanks,
KenToad

[Quarters]

I'm in for:
10 of each @ $2
6 of each @ $3
will see @ >$3

Another vote for cherries.

[RayB]

Shawn: If you want the cheapest shipping, that would probably be by boat. Will take 1 to 2 months for you to get your order.

My order would be (assuming all colors are available):

Blue: 6
Green: 4
Red: 4
Orange: 4

Now, if orange were not available, I'd get 4 clear. If any other color were not available, I guess I''d have to re-think ALL my color choices.

As for switches, I guess it depends on price, but I don't HAVE to have the switches.

[2600]

I'm in for about 40ish buttons with an even amount of each color.  Maybe substituting a a few more clear and blue for orange and green, but still would want at east 6 green and few orange.

With or without the switches don't matter to me, but I'd prefere the switches to be cherry if they come with them.

[dphirschler]

1) What colors will you be ordering?

2) How many of each color will you likely order?

3) Would you rather have a microswitch included or not?

2 red,
2 orange,
2 clear,

Yes on the microswitch, if it is the same brand (Cherry?) and size that Happ's come with.  Stupid question.  Do they come with the LEDs or lamps?


Darryl

[tetsujin]

At this time, I'm not including LEDs. But, perhaps in the future. I simply haven't done any pricing research into this. I tend to get my own LEDs from modsthatglow.com and superbrightleds.com

I think it's better that way.  It's easy enough for us to buy LEDs on our own.  (For anybody looking for LEDs, eBay has some surprisingly good deals on various super-bright LEDs.)

Assuming the final price is somewhere between $2-$5, I'll take the following as soon as they are available:

8 red
8 orange
10 clear

I don't know enough about the different microswitches to really say about Cherry vs. other brands - but since Cherry seems to be the popular choice I think I'd prefer to get the buttons without switches and then get Cherry myself.

[19rjs99]

I would like to order

12 clear
6 blue

pending price

Switches must be cherry...

[mahuti]

1) What colors will you be ordering?

Red, Blue, Green, Yellow

2) How many of each color will you likely order?

8 Red, 2 Blue, 2 Green, 2 Yellow

3) Would you rather have a microswitch included or not?

included please

[markrvp]

Initially - for sure 9 blue with Cherry microswitches.

Eventually (maybe at first depending on price) around 50 switches in Red, Blue, and/or clear.

[MrTroy]

1) What colors will you be ordering?

Clear, Red, Blue

2) How many of each color will you likely order?

6 of each(18 total)

3) Would you rather have a microswitch included or not?
included.


Depending on price though. If it's more than $3(and without the microswitch). I prolly won't make another order. If they're about $2 I'd order alot more.

[shawnzilla]

Here are the totals so far:

Red: 137
Blue: 194
Green: 44
Clear: 239
Orange: 54

[MrSaLTy]

I'm gunna want around 40.  But i'm nore sure on color.  Depends on pics i think.... I don't know if I will like clear with red leds etc or just the red with a red led.  So it's sorta dependant on what they look like. hope that helps some. 

[RayB]

I'm assuming the "real" price breaks are when you reach 1000+ of each color? If so, we're a ways from that number with a couple of those colors!
 

[gl.tter]

I'm looking at 12-16, either all clear or split clear/red/blue.

Vote for Cherrys so I don't have to source them elsewhere.  Don't mind paying slightly over the going rate if necessary.

Future purples would be interesting too.

[Patent Doc]

Shawn

Great job!  I'm in for the following:

10 - Blue
16 - Red
10 - Green
10 - Clear
2 - Orange

yes on microswitches if Cherry.  Also I'll second the purple for future orders.  Though I'd only want around 4.

Patent Doc

[chadius]

If you hit the $2-$3 price point I'd start off with:
4 red
1 blue
1 clear
1 orange
1 green
to test on a couple of panels.

These would all be replacements for existing buttons so no switches needed.

If they are as awesome as they seem, I'll probably follow that up with an order for 20-30 more.

Yellow would be my first choice for a new color to be added.

thanks for all the effort!

[arcadegeezer]

Sorry Shawn Posted in the other thread first !

My Order Would Be (If All Available @ $2-3 Each)

30No. Clear
10No. Pink
10No. Yellow
10No. Orange
10No. U/V - Purple


Cheers M8, I hope you get the right deal

[paigeoliver]

PLEASE offer switches. Switches are insanely priced when you just need to buy a few of them. I usually just end up buying entire buttons when I need switches because the whole buttons are just like 10 cents more.

[Grasshopper]

PLEASE offer switches. Switches are insanely priced when you just need to buy a few of them. I usually just end up buying entire buttons when I need switches because the whole buttons are just like 10 cents more.

Agreed. Another thing to bear in mind is that most companies have minimum shipping prices which is bad news for small items such as switches.

As someone else said, why not just buy a load of switches in bulk from IL (or whoever the manufacturer is) and then give people the choice of whether to buy the buttons with switches or not?

[JustMichael]

50 clear with switches preferably.  Now I will just have to find a way to "frost" them.

[Shape D.]

how would you accept payment for these?

[Kremmit]

Kremmit, why not just buy the widely available translucent leaf switch buttons then?

To borrow Rampy's favorite saying... *shrug*

I would think if you wanted translucent leafswitch pushbuttons, you would get translucent leafswitch pushbuttons.  I guess unless he's offering a color that isn't available anywhere.  I'm just not sure how they would feel, but let us know how it goes when you do  it.

Anybody tried to track down a DARK blue translucent leaf button recently?  Or a 2" red?  And forget about the clear.

Besides, I always thought the support structure inside the translucent leaf buttons (ya know, those three little tabs inside the plunger) took away from the look.  Shawn's new ones look much nicer.

And you can't mix 'n match, not only will they not look the same, they won't feel the same.

If they do feel weird with leafs under 'em, I can always put the micros back on.

[shawnzilla]

Probably via Paypal (bank transfers only), money order, personal check (orders will ship after the check clears), cashier's check.

how would you accept payment for these?

[shawnzilla]

Kremmit, why not just buy the widely available translucent leaf switch buttons then?

To borrow Rampy's favorite saying... *shrug*

I would think if you wanted translucent leafswitch pushbuttons, you would get translucent leafswitch pushbuttons.  I guess unless he's offering a color that isn't available anywhere.  I'm just not sure how they would feel, but let us know how it goes when you do  it.

Anybody tried to track down a DARK blue translucent leaf button recently?  Or a 2" red?  And forget about the clear.

Besides, I always thought the support structure inside the translucent leaf buttons (ya know, those three little tabs inside the plunger) took away from the look.  Shawn's new ones look much nicer.

And you can't mix 'n match, not only will they not look the same, they won't feel the same.

If they do feel weird with leafs under 'em, I can always put the micros back on.

Just as a funny note, I happen to have six 2" dark blue leaf swtich translucents (paid a small fortune for them on ebay). I used my 7th one as the sample that was sacrificed for these buttons. It was hard to give up, since I spent over a year trying to track the dark blue ones down.

[gl.tter]

Probably via Paypal (bank transfers only)

That works for me .

[Kremmit]

Just as a funny note, I happen to have six 2" dark blue leaf swtich translucents (paid a small fortune for them on ebay). I used my 7th one as the sample that was sacrificed for these buttons. It was hard to give up, since I spent over a year trying to track the dark blue ones down.

Were those dark blues what got you interested in this whole venture in the first place?  I've only managed to pick up 5 of them over the last year and a half, myself.    I know that's why it caught my eye back when you first posted. 

[scooter]

The eBay seller "bluesbrths" used to have different translucent long buttons periodically (including red and dark blue).  He just seems to have fallen off the face of the earth, though.

[southpaw13]

If the price is around $2

Blue 20
Red 20
Green 10
Orange 10
Clear 40

[JODY]

I'm in for:

Blue 2
Red 2
Green 2
Orange 2
Clear 20
Purple (when available) 2
Yellow (when available) 2

With microswitches only if Cherry (luckily I've got extra anyway from a year ago when Happs had them on sale).

[shawnzilla]

Just as a funny note, I happen to have six 2" dark blue leaf swtich translucents (paid a small fortune for them on ebay). I used my 7th one as the sample that was sacrificed for these buttons. It was hard to give up, since I spent over a year trying to track the dark blue ones down.

Were those dark blues what got you interested in this whole venture in the first place?  I've only managed to pick up 5 of them over the last year and a half, myself.    I know that's why it caught my eye back when you first posted. 

  Guilty as charged! It was my frustration in searching for the dark blues that led me to want these in a microswitch button.

[Kingspinner]

Just like everyone else... pending a price under $4

6 Blue
6 Red
4 Clear

prefer w/ switches intact.

Shawnzilla, may I say that YOU ROCK THIS JOINT!! 

[Crazy_Mack]

Red: 10
Blue: 10
Orange: 10
Green: 10
Clear: 10

Preferably with the cherry switches (Less work for me tracking them down later).

[jmelan]

Blue: 14-25
Clear: 4-8

depending on the price

w/ cherry switches if possible

[shawnzilla]

Just wanted to let everyone that I've submitted my first order. When (I don't think it's a question of "if") I start running low, I will create a new thread for the next batch of pre-order requests. Don't worry if you didn't put anything down this time, I ordered plenty to last a while.

They are going to prototype a yellow for me, so hopefully I can add it to the product line fairly soon.

[seanp]

Price?  Not that I want to be pushy or impatient, but price?   

-Sean

[pointdablame]

Price?  Not that I want to be pushy or impatient, but price?   

-Sean

He has said $2-3, hopefully more towards $2 at least 3 or 4 times now.....

[whammoed]

I'm in for some red and orange ~6 each
If/when you get yellow, I'll takes some blue and yellow.
Heck, maybe some clear too 

[Witchboard]

I know that everybody is all concerned about whether these things come with switches, but I didn't notice if they came with nuts.  Are the nuts included or do we need to pick those up elsewhere?

You know what I mean! 

[shawnzilla]

I know that everybody is all concerned about whether these things come with switches, but I didn't notice if they came with nuts.  Are the nuts included or do we need to pick those up elsewhere?

You know what I mean! 

Hey, stop talking about my nuts (sorry couldn't resist)! 

Yes, they do come with nuts. 

[ften]

     Count me in for 20 Clears. Don't know what I'm going to use them on, but ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- might as well order some.

-FTen

[cholin]

Hate to do this again, but PRICE?  We know its from 2-4, but wut exactly?  Did you order with or without switches.  If the order's placed, then you should know all this, right 

[shawnzilla]

Hate to do this again, but PRICE?  We know its from 2-4, but wut exactly?  Did you order with or without switches.  If the order's placed, then you should know all this, right 

Guys, I really will give you a definite answer on price when I know my shipping costs from the manufacturer...I promise. I have placed my order, but have not received an invoice yet and therefore have not paid yet.

If I am able to get a low enough bulk price on cherry microswitches without being pummeled in shipping costs that I would have to pass on to you all, then I will get them.  I am checking a couple of leads on this. Same goes for LEDS.

The buttons are coming and are coming very soon. Please be patient while I sort out these final details.   

[shawnzilla]

I do have a question regarding LEDS. If I had them available with the proper resistors for 12v operation, would y'all be interested?

[pointdablame]

I do have a question regarding LEDS. If I had them available with the proper resistors for 12v operation, would y'all be interested?

yes, but only if they are available when the buttons are, or you at least let us know when.  I wouldn't want to order seperately for a few LEDs

Keep up the good work, I'm getting very excited.

[tommy]

I do have a question regarding LEDS. If I had them available with the proper resistors for 12v operation, would y'all be interested?

Preferably YES

[Kingspinner]

I do have a question regarding LEDS. If I had them available with the proper resistors for 12v operation, would y'all be interested?

[cholin]

Probably not.  I wouldnt want to pay the crazy prices for them that most companies give.  Not to mention, lots of people usually keep LEDs around anyways.  Really, depends where you buy them.  If you bargain hunting on ebay and buy like 100 for 5 bucks, then maybe Ill be in, but otherwise, no because LEDs will crank up the price.

[Goz]

Sounds more like you've sublitted the order and not actually placed it; since you don't know about the shipping costs. Not trying to be picky or a jerk, but its scary that if they ship then you find out the shipping that the $ could be way out of the price range estimated.

-Goz

[gl.tter]

Looking at the thread, there's much more demand for switches than LEDs.  There are so many different types of LEDs, colours, voltages & ways of driving them that providing them doesn't make much sense imo.

[AmericanDemon]

I'd love for them to be wired up for 12v use.  I am in.

[shawnzilla]

I'd love for them to be wired up for 12v use.  I am in.

The LEDS I have in mind will be coming with a resistor for 12V use.  If I have them, they will be optional for a small increase in price.

Switches are a yes. I will have cherrys available. These too will be optional.

[Pat S]

Too late to order?

QTY    COLOR   SWITCHES
 16      blue             no
   6      clear            no

[gl.tter]

Switches are a yes. I will have cherrys available. These too will be optional.

Great.

[LPZ]

I'm in for:

4 blue
2 green
2 orange
4 red
4 clear

with cherrys of course...

Thanks and Great Job on this project!

[dphirschler]

I do have a question regarding LEDS. If I had them available with the proper resistors for 12v operation, would y'all be interested?

Yes.


Darryl

[UndeadMeat]

I do have a question regarding LEDS. If I had them available with the proper resistors for 12v operation, would y'all be interested?

Yes please!

-UndeadMeat

[Goz]

If these can be done in the $3 to $4 range then I'd be up for ordering

10 blue
10 red
10 clear

Perhaps more.

Any chance you can try one of the HAPPS button condoms like these (HAPP 54-1006-00). I'd be interested to see if we could fashion some sort of player1 player2 buttons using these with the translucents.

-Goz

[shawnzilla]

Alrighty, getting all setup on the website (www.fxbuttons.com).

I will have Cherry Switches available. LEDS w/resistors will also be available from the site. But, I have some questions:

1) Red, White, Blue, Green, Orange and Yellow will all be available. What is the interest in UV (i.e. blacklight), hot pink and RGB flashers (they cycle through 7 different colors...very pretty)?

If there's enough interest, I will order enough quantity to keep the prices down. The biggest question lies within the RGB Flashers. They are awesome, but the most expensive. If there's interest in enough, I can keep the cost of these down to around $1.15 or so w/resistor (which is a great price for a product that is usually about $3.50 a piece).

[AmericanDemon]

I'd have to see the flashers to understand them enough.  But the UV is a BIG plus for me.

[pointdablame]

I actually wouldn't mind seeing a hot pink LED as I've had a few people including my girlfriend ask me to build a fighter stick with pink buttons/joys.  Clear buttons + pink LEDs could look awesome.

[gl.tter]

Alrighty, getting all setup on the website (www.fxbuttons.com).

You need to find a better host.  That opening picture alone just took 45secs to download, and I'm on broadband.

[SOAPboy]

50 clear with switches preferably.

[CJK]

Wow, am I glad I found this web site and this thread! Shawnzilla, I am definitely in for at least 20 of each color, including switches and LEDs.

-- Chris

[UndeadMeat]

I'd be interested in the hot pink LED. What a great way to get my wife to play:

"Here honey, you can play as one of these cute characters in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo with pink buttons."

Thanks Shawn!

[RayB]

Alrighty, getting all setup on the website (www.fxbuttons.com).

You need to find a better host.

[Chris]

It's not his web-host. What he needs is someone who knows how to make websites. That image is a half-meg! Instead of resizing it in a paint program, he resized it via HTML, which means the entire large photo is still being downloaded (just displayed smaller in the browser).

Shawn: Get Paintshop Pro or other low-cost application. All images should be at 72 dpi, and resized down to the exact pixel dimensions needed for your website. Then you save it as jpeg, quality 7 or 8, optimized palette.

Here, Shawn, I've done it for you:

[Tiger-Heli]

Shawn: Get Paintshop Pro or other low-cost application. All images should be at 72 dpi, and resized down to the exact pixel dimensions needed for your website. Then you save it as jpeg, quality 7 or 8, optimized palette.

Irfanview can do this and it's free, if you don't want to wait on RayB again.

[shawnzilla]

Shawn: Get Paintshop Pro or other low-cost application. All images should be at 72 dpi, and resized down to the exact pixel dimensions needed for your website. Then you save it as jpeg, quality 7 or 8, optimized palette.

Irfanview can do this and it's free, if you don't want to wait on RayB again.

Thanks guys  Remember, I'm not done with the website. That picture is only there as a place marker for me. 

[shawnzilla]

BTW, I took some video of the lit clear button (with red LED) this morning. It came out much better than any of my still pics. I'll post it later.

[shawnzilla]

50 clear with switches preferably.  Now I will just have to find a way to "frost" them.

super glue

or sand paper on the inside

Or, hand it to your cocker spaniel for a few minutes...a little bit of gnawing ought to frost it up a little.   

[tetsujin]

50 clear with switches preferably.  Now I will just have to find a way to "frost" them.

super glue

or sand paper on the inside

Sand paper on the inside would be tough.  Hazing with super glue is a possibility, but when I get mine I want to try acetone.  That'll do the job pretty well on various clear plastics, hopefully it'll work for the buttons, too.

[shawnzilla]

Here's the link for a small movie of the Clear Button with a Red LED. Doesn't quite show the true color, but looks better than most of my still pics. I'll try other colors tonight.

http://home.earthlink.net/~shawnmuller/redled.mpg

[Tommy Boy]

Dude, it's a movie.  I keep waiting for something to happen...press the button or something...

(j/k)

[shawnzilla]

Dude, it's a movie.  I keep waiting for something to happen...press the button or something...

(j/k)

Didn't you notice? It's button-porn! 

*All buttons and leds in this movie are at least 18 years of age.

[Scoobie]

I'd be interested to see if we could fashion some sort of player1 player2 buttons using these with the translucents.

-Goz

Any chance these buttons could have "Exit game" or "Pause" showing through?

[MrTroy]

Oooooh it's glowy!

And yeah.. you could have at least tapped it or something.

[Kremmit]

50 clear with switches preferably.  Now I will just have to find a way to "frost" them.

super glue

or sand paper on the inside

Sand paper on the inside would be tough.  Hazing with super glue is a possibility, but when I get mine I want to try acetone.  That'll do the job pretty well on various clear plastics, hopefully it'll work for the buttons, too.

They make aerosol spray-on stuff to make regular glass into frosted glass- they sell it at art & craft stores, like Michaels.

[albert_c]

It's a UFO!! 

[tommy]

50 clear with switches preferably.

[shawnzilla]

For all of you LED junkies....

Clear Button, green LED!

[NIVO]

*All buttons and leds in this movie are at least 18 years of age.

dude you been hoarding these forever!! Im gettin mah hammer!! 

[shawnzilla]

P.S. - Ordered LEDs today, I will be offering quite an assortment!

Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Hot Pink, UV & White for starters. I'm still thinking about color flashing ones, but haven't decided yet.

[Kremmit]

50 clear with switches preferably.  Now I will just have to find a way to "frost" them.

super glue

or sand paper on the inside

Sand paper on the inside would be tough.  Hazing with super glue is a possibility, but when I get mine I want to try acetone.  That'll do the job pretty well on various clear plastics, hopefully it'll work for the buttons, too.

They make aerosol spray-on stuff to make regular glass into frosted glass- they sell it at art & craft stores, like Michaels.

That spray stuff will come off when pressing the button after time, sandblast it lightly.

I was thinking you'd spray it on the inside, not the outside.  This would leave the outside surface silky smooth, and the bezel un-frosted.   Though I guess if you wanted, you could try to frost the underside of the bezel, too.

[UndeadMeat]

For all of you LED junkies....

Clear Button, green LED!

Must... stop... the... drooling...

[Tommy Boy]

Shawn, the lit clear buttons look amazing.  I assume the pictures are taken in low light conditions.  How do they look under normal lighting conditions (i.e. not with ambient light off/dimmed)?  I'm not asking for another picture just asking for an opinion based on observation.

I'm thinking I might go the all-clear route but want something that will still look good during the day or with ambient lights switched on...

[shawnzilla]

Shawn, the lit clear buttons look amazing.  I assume the pictures are taken in low light conditions.  How do they look under normal lighting conditions (i.e. not with ambient light off/dimmed)?  I'm not asking for another picture just asking for an opinion based on observation.

I'm thinking I might go the all-clear route but want something that will still look good during the day or with ambient lights switched on...

They do look amazing when lit up. The movie of the red was taken in mostly low light. The green pic above was taken with all of my lights on in the basement.

So, my opinion is that they look fantastic with ambient light and hypnotizingly awesome with the ambient light off.

The colored buttons look fantastic as well both lit and unlit.

[RayB]

Looks great, but I was waiting for the light to go off so we can see the difference. That's the whole point of video isn't it? And yeah, you tapping it too.....

[shawnzilla]

I took some video this morning of a color flashing LED. This particular LED does a quick cycle of several different colors, then does a slow fade in and out of each color. I put the camera on a tripod this time, so the shaking is gone. Also, I started the video with the LED off.

A very nice effect, IMHO. Do you guys have enough interest in these that if I ordered 100 of them, you might buy them with buttons? I only ask because they are a little more expensive per LED. I can probably clear these to you guys at around $1.25 a pop (which is a fantastic price for these w/resistor for 12V)

Here's the link:

[richms]

I would rather have the leds with RGB in them and without the inbuilt cycler (4 wire ones). Someone has made code for a cheap microcontroller to cycle them (Was mentioned in a yahoo group im on) - and if you have the ones that cycle themselves, they will all be flashing on and off by themselves out of sync, making for a messy looking control panel.

This also means that if one of the guys doing the USB interfaced light blinkers gets PWM working in it, you can control the colours of the individual buttons (And hopefully joysticks if that ever gets anywhere)

What would be cooler then having all p1's controls light up whatever colour the character on screen is? - same for P2 - have them flash red when they get punched or whatever.

Self flashing ones just make it look like a cheap xmas decoration

[UndeadMeat]

I have to say again, WOW! So beautiful! but I agree with richms, I don't really like the auto-cycling LEDs.  I prefer single color or RGB ones the are controllable. Keep up the great work Shawnzilla!

-UndeadMeat

[Goz]

It is much cooler to see the lights cycle (action in the movie),but there's no sound, maybe add a soundtrack... jk 

Looking forward to adding some more pimp daddyness to one of my cabs.

-Goz

[markrvp]

I took some video this morning of a color flashing LED. This particular LED does a quick cycle of several different colors, then does a slow fade in and out of each color. I put the camera on a tripod this time, so the shaking is gone. Also, I started the video with the LED off.

A very nice effect, IMHO. Do you guys have enough interest in these that if I ordered 100 of them, you might buy them with buttons? I only ask because they are a little more expensive per LED. I can probably clear these to you guys at around $1.25 a pop (which is a fantastic price for these w/resistor for 12V)

Here's the link:

That looks very nice, however I would prefer to have RGB LEDs that are controllable through a separate LED board.  That way if you had 7 buttons in attract mode, their sequence would all be in sync.

[tetsujin]

The self-cycling LEDs are great for that demo video, but I wouldn't want them in my cab.

In theory I think it'd be cool to have the externally controllable RGB LEDs like others have mentioned - but in practice it's not a feature I'm prepared to build into my first cabinet.  I'm planning on buttons that light a single color, and I'm quite happy with that. 

Really, I'm mainly just interested in the buttons with switches.  I've been into electronics for long enough that I have places I go when I need to buy LEDs or resistors.

[Goz]

The self-cycling LEDs are great for that demo video, but I wouldn't want them in my cab.

In theory I think it'd be cool to have the externally controllable RGB LEDs like others have mentioned - but in practice it's not a feature I'm prepared to build into my first cabinet.  I'm planning on buttons that light a single color, and I'm quite happy with that. 

Really, I'm mainly just interested in the buttons with switches.  I've been into electronics for long enough that I have places I go when I need to buy LEDs or resistors.

Think it would be possible to interface with something like this?

X-PANEL If so perhaps it could be mounting inside coin door and if we could get it to work.

-Goz

[scooter]

Shawnzilla,

Have you actually tried these out in gameplay?  The pictures and the buttons look pretty cool, but actually using them in gameplay would be first priority for me.

Thanks for going the extra mile to make this happen.  I am really looking forward to getting some.

[RayB]

Regarding the new video... TOO COOL!
I love how the unlit buttons just "disappear" into the background color. That's ideal for buttons that are not active for a given game. I may have to rethink my color choices!

[shawnzilla]

They play pretty identical to the Happs buttons that we're all used to, IMHO.

Shawnzilla,

Have you actually tried these out in gameplay?

[whammoed]

They play pretty identical to the Happs buttons that we're all used to, IMHO.

Shawnzilla,

Have you actually tried these out in gameplay?

[epthegeek]

Any way to get on a preorder list for these? I'd like to chime in for 10 clear buttons w/ green LEDs & the extra fixin's

Didn't see any kind of a way to pre-order or place an order yet on the fxbuttons.com site, so just checkin'.

Thanks

[shawnzilla]

I don't have a pre-order list, but I will announce as soon as the order page is up on the site. As of right now it's looking like mid to late June.

Any way to get on a preorder list for these? I'd like to chime in for 10 clear buttons w/ green LEDs & the extra fixin's

Didn't see any kind of a way to pre-order or place an order yet on the fxbuttons.com site, so just checkin'.

Thanks

[shawnzilla]

Good news everyone! The buttons are being sent to me from the manufacturer next week. So, depending on transit time, I should have them for sale within the next two weeks!

As a reminder, the individual buttons will be for sale at my website www.fxbuttons.com

If you're looking for a great combo, Ponyboy will be offering a translucent joystick/button deal. See his thread in the Buy/Sell forum for details.

[cholin]

Havent been here for a while, did we get prices yet?

[shawnzilla]

Havent been here for a while, did we get prices yet?

Prices will be up next week.

[shawnzilla]

Hey,

The website has been updated. There is now a product list, with "some" pricing. I will not have pricing on the actual buttons until I pick them up from the airport (gotta pay those customs fees).

As the website ordering page now says, I will accept pre-orders. You will not be invoiced until I have the buttons in and your order is packed. But, if your looking to get in on these quickly, I'm doing this on a first come first serve basis (as many of you have requested).

Please take a look at the order page on the website for details. All orders must be sent to misterrachel@gmail.com with 1) Items desired (with quantity) 2) Name & Shipping Address 3) Your method of payment when invoiced

[nobody]

i really wanna get my hands on some of those buttons but do you ship to the UK? and if you do how much will it be?

[Franco]

i really wanna get my hands on some of those buttons but do you ship to the UK? and if you do how much will it be?

Yeah im in the same boat. If you do ship internationally could you please tell me how much shipping would be for 22 buttons to the UK if possible.

Thanks

[shawnzilla]

i really wanna get my hands on some of those buttons but do you ship to the UK? and if you do how much will it be?

I will ship to the UK. I won't be able to tell you shipping prices until I pack up the buttons (which I don't have yet) and weigh them. If you want to place a pre-order, I will send you an invoice when it's ready to ship (and if shipping is too high, you can cancel the order).  I will only charge actual shipping costs.

[Patent Doc]

Shawn

I went to the website, but the pre-order form was not present.  Am I missing something?  I'm sticking behind my button request earlier in this post.  If necessary I'll PM you the order.

Patent Doc

[scooter]

Must be done via email.

Please take a look at the order page on the website for details. All orders must be sent to misterrachel@gmail.com with 1) Items desired (with quantity) 2) Name & Shipping Address 3) Your method of payment when invoiced

[Franco]

i really wanna get my hands on some of those buttons but do you ship to the UK? and if you do how much will it be?

I will ship to the UK. I won't be able to tell you shipping prices until I pack up the buttons (which I don't have yet) and weigh them. If you want to place a pre-order, I will send you an invoice when it's ready to ship (and if shipping is too high, you can cancel the order). I will only charge actual shipping costs.

Ok thanks, email sent.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

shawnzilla,

When are the translucent yellow buttons coming out?

mrC

[shawnzilla]

shawnzilla,

When are the translucent yellow buttons coming out?

mrC

No idea. It's probably going to be a while. If you're looking for yellow immediately, you can buy the clear with a yellow led.

[shawnzilla]

Small update. I don't have the buttons yet (or a final price), but I have received a lot of pre-orders. So, just as a reminder, these are first come first serve. I still have a decent inventory, but my initial stock is starting to dwindle.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting this project. I'm excited that this is finally happening!

BTW, if you look on the products page of my website, I have started adding pics of the lit leds. I really like the colors of all of them. The hot pink ones are particularly awesome looking. So far, I have pics of yellow, orange and hot pink. I can't seem to really get a good pic of the UV one (but I'm sure you all know what a UV light looks like anyway). Pics of the rest soon!

[Witchboard]

Small update. I don't have the buttons yet (or a final price), but I have received a lot of pre-orders. So, just as a reminder, these are first come first serve. I still have a decent inventory, but my initial stock is starting to dwindle.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting this project. I'm excited that this is finally happening!

I don't understand how you can be taking pre-orders without a price?  If I pre-order and you come up with a price I'm not willing to pay, can I cancel my pre-order?  How much of your initial inventory have you sold to ponyboy? (Not that it's anybody's business, just though he may be a good secondary supplier.)

[shawnzilla]

Small update. I don't have the buttons yet (or a final price), but I have received a lot of pre-orders. So, just as a reminder, these are first come first serve. I still have a decent inventory, but my initial stock is starting to dwindle.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting this project. I'm excited that this is finally happening!

I don't understand how you can be taking pre-orders without a price?

[CJK]

If you read back in the post, I am taking pre-orders and then sending an invoice when I have the inventory/prices. If you aren't happy with the price when you get the invoice, you may of course cancel your order. I'm not out here to make a mad profit off of these things. The final price of the buttons totally depends on my customs taxes.

It'd be nice if you had some round number to give everyone. I'd like to order about a hundred, but if the price is $5 each, I'm going to have to be more realistic. 

-- Chris

[shawnzilla]

If you read back in the post, I am taking pre-orders and then sending an invoice when I have the inventory/prices. If you aren't happy with the price when you get the invoice, you may of course cancel your order. I'm not out here to make a mad profit off of these things. The final price of the buttons totally depends on my customs taxes.

It'd be nice if you had some round number to give everyone. I'd like to order about a hundred, but if the price is $5 each, I'm going to have to be more realistic.

[cholin]

$2 to $2.50 isnt nearly as bad as i expected.   I was thinking in the 4 dollar range, so okay this could be good!  Now lets just hope I do well for this job interview Wednesday ;D

[quarterback]

So far, I have pics of yellow, orange and hot pink. I can't seem to really get a good pic of the UV one (but I'm sure you all know what a UV light looks like anyway). Pics of the rest soon!

More more more!   

[CJK]

They won't be $5 each. Barring any major catastrophe with my customs taxes, think more in the $2 to $2.50 range.

Thanks -- that's helpful. I'm pretty sure I can convince my wife that I NEED about sixty at that price.   

-- Chris

[Goz]

If you read back in the post, I am taking pre-orders and then sending an invoice when I have the inventory/prices. If you aren't happy with the price when you get the invoice, you may of course cancel your order. I'm not out here to make a mad profit off of these things. The final price of the buttons totally depends on my customs taxes.

It'd be nice if you had some round number to give everyone. I'd like to order about a hundred, but if the price is $5 each, I'm going to have to be more realistic. 

-- Chris

I know, I'd like to be able to give firm numbers already. But, I didn't think about having to pay customs taxes when I ordered from the manufacturer.

They won't be $5 each. Barring any major catastrophe with my customs taxes, think more in the $2 to $2.50 range.

Is that $2 to $2.50 estimate with the switch and nut? Or is that a starting point on just the button?

-Goz

[shawnzilla]

If you read back in the post, I am taking pre-orders and then sending an invoice when I have the inventory/prices. If you aren't happy with the price when you get the invoice, you may of course cancel your order. I'm not out here to make a mad profit off of these things. The final price of the buttons totally depends on my customs taxes.

It'd be nice if you had some round number to give everyone. I'd like to order about a hundred, but if the price is $5 each, I'm going to have to be more realistic. 

-- Chris

I know, I'd like to be able to give firm numbers already. But, I didn't think about having to pay customs taxes when I ordered from the manufacturer.

They won't be $5 each. Barring any major catastrophe with my customs taxes, think more in the $2 to $2.50 range.

Is that $2 to $2.50 estimate with the switch and nut? Or is that a starting point on just the button?

-Goz

That is the Button w/nut. The microswitch is extra (I'll have the price for the microswitch soon), but I did get Cherry Microswitches.

[Goz]

Thanks for clarifying Zilla

[shawnzilla]

Just wanted to make sure everyone is on the same page, because I've been asked this a few times:

Preorders must be sent to misterrachel@gmail.com

I am not using pre-orders from this thread or from my messages on this board.

Thanks for your understanding with this, but it's the only way I will be able to keep all of the orders straight. 

[shawnzilla]

I received word from the manufacturer yesterday that the buttons were shipped out yesterday.

I should have them very very very soon! 

[Goz]

I received word from the manufacturer yesterday that the buttons were shipped out yesterday.

I should have them very very very soon! 

They shipped yeah...

did they give you a frieght charge so we can find out the cost per button?

-Goz

[MrTroy]

Shawn... quit messing around and tell us the price.

[shawnzilla]

<in my best Dr. Evil voice> "One hundred million dollars!"

  Honestly, not playing around. I won't know the total until I go to the airport and pay the customs taxes (and I don't know how much those will be...)

I promise as soon as I come home from picking them up, the prices will be posted.

[shawnzilla]

An important update for those who have not pre-ordered:

Sooner than expected my inventory is already depleting.

1) Clear Buttons: As of right now (based upon pre-orders), I have 30 of these remaining.

2) Blue Buttons: 192 remaining

3) Red, Orange, Green Buttons: I still have a good supply of these

4) Microswitches: 3 remaining

If there is enough demand for more clear buttons (and any other color that runs out), I will create a new pre-order list and will order when I have enough pre-orders to justify a new order from the manufacturer.

I haven't received the buttons yet, but I expect them to arrive any day now.

[tetsujin]

By "preorders" you mean the pre-order thread I can't seem to find right now?

[quarterback]

By "preorders" you mean the pre-order thread I can't seem to find right now?

From 6 posts up:

Just wanted to make sure everyone is on the same page, because I've been asked this a few times:

Preorders must be sent to misterrachel@gmail.com

I am not using pre-orders from this thread or from my messages on this board.

[UndeadMeat]

They're almost here! They're almost here!

::Does a little skipping dance around the office attracting strange looks from co-workers... at least, stranger then the strange looks I normally get::

Oh shawnzilla, how are we ever going to thank you enough for all the work you put into this...? Anyone have any open land where the statue can go?

-UndeadMeat

[Witchboard]

An important update for those who have not pre-ordered:

Sooner than expected my inventory is already depleting.

1) Clear Buttons: As of right now (based upon pre-orders), I have 30 of these remaining.

2) Blue Buttons: 192 remaining

3) Red, Orange, Green Buttons: I still have a good supply of these

4) Microswitches: 3 remaining

If there is enough demand for more clear buttons (and any other color that runs out), I will create a new pre-order list and will order when I have enough pre-orders to justify a new order from the manufacturer.

I haven't received the buttons yet, but I expect them to arrive any day now.

I sent in a pre-order to your listed email address.  Was I supposed to receive a confirmation of my pre-order by email?

[RayB]

Ugh! Sounds like you didn't order enough. I would have thought you would order enough to fill current demand PLUS hundreds and hundreds extra (so you can keep selling them throughout the next year or so...)

[Goz]

Its hard to commit to an investment of such a large quantity without a lot of $ to pay for the purchase. Probaby doesn't help not knowing how much each button will end up costing still.

-Goz

[pointdablame]

Its hard to commit to an investment of such a large quantity without a lot of $ to pay for the purchase. Probaby doesn't help not knowing how much each button will end up costing still.

-Goz

I agree.  I think that once Shawn sells out the first wave of these (which seems to be happening very quick), he'll be a lot more confident in ordering more.  After all, he IS taking a big risk here.  It seems to be working out fine, but it is still a risk.

[RayB]

ok, sorry man.
 

[pointdablame]

Yeah ok, sorry man.
 

you should be. now go sit in the corner and thing about what you did. 

[Tahnok]

I would have ordered, but without a price I really have no idea how many I will get. If they cost too much, I will end up probably only getting a few.

[cholin]

Couldnt be a better time because Colin got a job over last weekend.  I will now be buying buttons!  Im not preorderring though, prices come first, then comes my order.

[tetsujin]

By "preorders" you mean the pre-order thread I can't seem to find right now?

From 6 posts up:

Just wanted to make sure everyone is on the same page, because I've been asked this a few times:

Preorders must be sent to misterrachel@gmail.com

I am not using pre-orders from this thread or from my messages on this board.

Ah.  I thought I'd stayed on top of this thread well enough that such a thing wouldn't have slipped by me, but there it is...  twice.

And so I missed out on the switches. 

[shawnzilla]

I'm now out of clear buttons and microswitches.

Please don't panic on the microswitches, as they are easy for me to re-order from PonyBoy. So, if you place an order through me and want the switches, I'll get them, but it might take a little longer for me to ship to you.

As far as the buttons are concerned. I've received a lot of emails and I am not opposed to ordering more buttons as the need arises, but I just have to make sure my minimums are covered.

There has also been a lot of concern as to why I didn't order more buttons in the first place. I ordered as best I could under the circumstances. I'm confined to ordering at least a certain amount per color. When I asked people to tell me how many of each color they would order when available, the numbers did not add up to the minimum that I had to order. So, yes, I'm taking a BIG financial risk with these.  Clear is the only color that I'm sold out of, and I very much hope that there is enough interest to warrant me ordering another run.

[RayB]

Please don't panic on the microswitches, as they are easy for me to re-order from PonyBoy.

AHHHHH! Now it all makes sense.    (I won't reveal what I just figured out... Shawn might not want me to.)

[quarterback]

Please don't panic on the microswitches, as they are easy for me to re-order from PonyBoy.

AHHHHH! Now it all makes sense.

[shawnzilla]

I am creating a waitlist for another round of Clear Buttons. If I can get a commitment from people for at least 250 clear buttons, I will place a new order with the manufacturer. BTW - If all of the people who sent me orders after I ran out would like to be waitlisted, then I already have nearly half of the 250. So, please don't hesitate to let me know if you want to be on the waitlist!

If you wish to be on this waitlist, please send an email to misterrachel@gmail.com

Please tell me your desired quantity.

As a reminder, I will still have microswitches available as I will be getting a new batch shortly.

[Xiaou2]

 Ive had been thinking about getting some clear buttons.. and or maybe the blues.. but the horrible pictures tooken, and the test panel quality, had not inspired me to order.

 Waited for some nice pics.. and they never showed up... then found out you sold out.

[gl.tter]

Shawn, it's great that you made this happen and I appreciate the risk and amount of effort it takes to pull this all off.  I'm still looking forward to my clears, even if I have to wait for the next order.

But I also have to say, not having a final price available before taking pre-orders was a bit sloppy.  I'm sure there's a lot of us that were waiting on a price before putting in the order.  Why weren't you able to work out what the import taxes would be?  Surely you can get this information somewhere?

[MiKman]

 Ive had been thinking about getting some clear buttons.. and or maybe the blues.. but the horrible pictures tooken, and the test panel quality, had not inspired me to order.

 Waited for some nice pics.. and they never showed up... then found out you sold out.

Ya same for me :-)  I'm a gonna wait till some others get their buttons and give us some quality pictures and see how/what they do with them.

[tetsujin]

But I also have to say, not having a final price available before taking pre-orders was a bit sloppy.  I'm sure there's a lot of us that were waiting on a price before putting in the order.

And then there may be people cancelling their pre-orders once prices finally are available, simply because they had no idea how much the buttons were going to cost...

[Witchboard]

BTW - If all of the people who sent me orders after I ran out would like to be waitlisted, then I already have nearly half of the 250. So, please don't hesitate to let me know if you want to be on the waitlist!

If you wish to be on this waitlist, please send an email to misterrachel@gmail.com

Were we supposed to receive any type of reply when we pre-ordered?  I sent in an email, but didn't get a reply as to whether I'm pre-ordered or now waitlisted.  I asked this question earlier, but this thread moves so fast you probably missed it.

[shawnzilla]

Hey All,

Buttons should be arriving today. I'll post prices as soon as I have them (my airport is an hour away, so it'll be later tonight at earliest).

Also....look for a surprise (a good one)...more details soon...

If you did not receive a response to your order, don't panic. My computer crashed this week and I haven't had time to confirm every order....BUT, I did make sure to respond to everyone who was too late to get in with the first batch of clear buttons. I will send you an invoice when your order is ready to ship, which should be shortly.

[shawnzilla]

The buttons have arrived!

Talk about a long journey....

I want to thank everyone who stuck with me patiently while I worked on this project. It was certainly a challenge, but well worth it.

Anyway, without further ado: $2.00 per button (without microswitch). Microswitches are $0.85 each.

It might take me a few days to update the website to reflect this. My main computer is still down, so I don't have access to my files.

For those of you who pre-ordered: You will begin to receive invoices tomorrow. Please be patient as I have quite a few to get through.

There's still a nice surprise to be revealed, and I'll probably post it tomorrow.

Peace and Love,
Shawnzilla

[cholin]

Ohhh, if only I had the money on me!  $2.85 per button isnt too bad, but it does add up...  still its only a little bit more than a regular button...

[SaiNRuB]

Right on man, cant wait to hear what you have in store for tomorrow.


Peace buddy!!

[CJK]

<Monty_Burns> EHHHHHHHHHKsellent! </Monty_Burns>

-- Chris

[markrvp]

$2.85 per button isnt too bad, but it does add up...

[thetered]

That is soooooo much cheaper than trying to use translucent leafswitches.

WHAT'S THE SURPRISE?

[thetered]

Is that including shipping?
And if I wanted say

3 orange
6 blue
6 green
3 red
10 clear

How long can I expect to get them, what is your back order looking like, and after you place the order how long does it take for you to get them?

[CJK]

Actually its Micheal Jackson, now that he has been found free he needed a new job.

That's just WRONG.

-- Chris

[shawnzilla]

Is that including shipping?
And if I wanted say

3 orange
6 blue
6 green
3 red
10 clear

How long can I expect to get them, what is your back order looking like, and after you place the order how long does it take for you to get them?

You're gonna be waiting a while on the clears. Everything else I have the inventory on hand.

Please send your order to misterrachel@gmail.com

[tetsujin]

Could anybody please spare just one of the clears they've preordered?  I don't need all the clears I preordered right away, but I would really like to get my hands on one for some experimentation...

[shawnzilla]

Hmm... let's play the rhyming game... Jello (tm), fellow, hello, bellow....

YELLOW!  I only have a sample, so don't get too excited yet, but the manufacturer sent me a couple to look at.

Pictures later (as soon as I get my computer fixed)...............

[CJK]

Hmm... let's play the rhyming game... Jello (tm), fellow, hello, bellow....

YELLOW!

[MinerAl]

Yellow is what I was waiting for.  I'll need some yellow, red, and orange once they're available! 

Now...  since you got all of this to work so well... can we get you to persuade somebody to make atari-style volcano buttons in many attractive light up colors as well? 

[Chris]

Hmm... let's play the rhyming game... Jello (tm), fellow, hello, bellow....

YELLOW!

[conseit68]

i thinking that i will hold out for puce ones 

[NY_in_TX]

Thanks again Shawnzilla. 

So if we sent you a pre-order email, you're gonna send us an invoice for what we sent you on pre-order (no more, no less) and then we pay. 

I've been hoping I'm  following all the steps. I just don't wanna miss something.  Considering the price I wish I could add more, that was kind of a tough call to commit to buying without price (but I totally understand and support it though) , but it worked out.  I was dreading being on the line for a ton of cash. 

looking forward to em

ny

[Jellyman_4eva]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone knew the size of these buttons?! I have been using the buttons available from Ultimarc and was just wondering if the size was different?!

Also how do they feel?!

[Goz]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone knew the size of these buttons?! I have been using the buttons available from Ultimarc and was just wondering if the size was different?!

Also how do they feel?!

"Coo Coo Catchu Jelly Dude" - Sorry obscure use of movie quote.

The buttons that you get from Ultimarc are pretty much the same size diameter wise. They and the translucents should fit a std 1 1/8" hole just fine.


Hope this helps

-Goz

[shawnzilla]

Thanks again Shawnzilla. 

So if we sent you a pre-order email, you're gonna send us an invoice for what we sent you on pre-order (no more, no less) and then we pay. 

I've been hoping I'm  following all the steps. I just don't wanna miss something.  Considering the price I wish I could add more, that was kind of a tough call to commit to buying without price (but I totally understand and support it though) , but it worked out.  I was dreading being on the line for a ton of cash. 

looking forward to em

ny

Yep, I'll be sending out invoices shortly. Just got my computer running again, so I'll start invoicing today.

p.s. - If there is a change to anyone's order, please do not post it to this thread. Send it to me directly via misterrachel@gmail.com

[NY_in_TX]

Yep, I'll be sending out invoices shortly. Just got my computer running again, so I'll start invoicing today.

p.s. - If there is a change to anyone's order, please do not post it to this thread. Send it to me directly via misterrachel@gmail.com

Sweet!  good info to know.   I didn't want to muddle the process.  You have to have hundreds if not thousands of emails on these things. 

thanks again for putting this together.

ny

[MrTroy]

*points* The Buttons are here. I command you to send them now!

[saint]

NEMO!

"Coo Coo Catchu Jelly Dude" - Sorry obscure use of movie quote.

[shawnzilla]

Hey All,

The invoices are now steadily rolling out. I'm about 60% through them, so please be patient if you haven't received yours yet. I'm going to be doing a big mailing on Monday for anyone who has been invoiced and has paid by Sunday evening.

[NY_in_TX]

(sniff)  you had me at translucent...you had me at translucent 


YOU HAVE BEEN PAID!!!!  I've been standing by the front door for minutes now!  WHERE ARE MY BUTTONS!!!   

just kiddin shawnzilla.... thanks again!!!

ny

[shawnzilla]

(sniff)  you had me at translucent...you had me at translucent 


YOU HAVE BEEN PAID!!!!  I've been standing by the front door for minutes now!  WHERE ARE MY BUTTONS!!!   

just kiddin shawnzilla.... thanks again!!!

ny

I'm gonna have to fire that delivery driver! 

[Heffaklumpen]

I'm not sure it's just me who is stupid or if it has just not been mentioned here yet, but how do you guys fasten the LED's under the buttons?
Do you just use some glue or what? 

[shawnzilla]

I'm not sure it's just me who is stupid or if it has just not been mentioned here yet, but how do you guys fasten the LED's under the buttons?
Do you just use some glue or what? 

Here is the way I do it:

1) Remove plunger & spring

2) Place the LED in the bottom of the bezel, with one lead going out of each hole. (I usually pre-wire the led for the sake of being easy)

3) Replace spring & plunger

No need for glue, drilling, etc...

[Knievel]

I show the drill method HERE if you want to go that route, use a 3/16" bit.


KUDOS on getting this done Shawn and for keeping that price down, AMAZING job.
Look forward to ordering lots of these in the future.

[shawnzilla]

Ahem...cough cough.... 

[shawnzilla]

BTW,

Most of you have received your invoices by now. If you haven't received it yet, it means one of two things:

1) You live outside of the US. I am working on all of these invoices together for the sake of time. I will be sending out these invoices this week.

2) I'm backordered on either your LEDs (particularly blue LEDS) or Microswitches (I should have both of these back in stock this week and you will receive your invoice).

[Chris]

How long on those yellow buttons?

[Kremmit]

Nice.  Color looks about right to me. 

Maybe you can get more clears when you order the yellows, yes?

[shawnzilla]

Nice.

[Heffaklumpen]

I've paid my 30 buttons now, can't wait until they arrive here in Sweden!
Two of my cabinets are getting brand new buttons 

[MrTroy]

My payment was sent. Hopefully my buttons were already sent. Now all we do is wait

*posts by the mail box* ^_^

[markrvp]

I got mine today.  Will wire up tonight.  Pictures tomorrow (hopefully).

[Troz]

I got mine today too and quickly put them in one of my panels to see how they look.  Couldn't be happier!  I'm even preferring the color of them over my original happ buttons even without a led installed.  Now I wish my red trackball unlit would match the red of the buttons.

Before Installation (solid color buttons)
Translucents Installed (not lit)
Red Closeup lit
Blue Closeup lit (a little blurry)

I couldn't get a good shot of green with my shakey hand and don't have a tripod around here.  These were lit from below the entire button with a led flashlight.

[MrSaLTy]

Nice, Thanks for posting some pics Troz.

Damn I gotta get me some of these.

[Troz]

Took a few more photos...

Orange installed in panel

Lit buttons, lights out:
Orange - Red - Blue - Green

The green is harder to light as you can see in the photos.  It'll probably need a more powerful led than the rest of them.

[Chris]

Are you using white LED's, or LEDs that match the color of the buttons?

[oic989]

Got my buttons today.  Was a tad suprised there's not some pre-molded mounting hole for the LEDs, since they're intended to be lit up after all.

Am I to assume that the preferred method for lighting them up is to drill through the center of the flat part on the bottom between the cherry mounting pegs and point it straight up? Or are you guys just pointing the LED at the side of the button, since it's translucent and all.

I know I've seen directions around for mouting LEDs in microswitch buttons, but I don't have the link handy.

[Troz]

Are you using white LED's, or LEDs that match the color of the buttons?

I'm just using a white LED flashlight aimed from below the button.  I haven't drilled into any of the buttons to install the LEDs I'll be using yet.

[Quarters]

Sigh... Still waiting on invoices.
It's my own fault for living in Canada and asking for microswitches.

How long between the time you get the microswitches get there and the time you get the next order of clear buttons? I would include some yellow in the order as well if the time line is similar.

[thetered]

Got my buttons today.

[shawnzilla]

The method that works best for me is to remove the plunger & spring, put the led inside the bezel (with one lead going out of each hole in the bottom, and then replace the spring & plunger.

Knievel also has posted a method for drilling a hole in the bottom and mounting it that way.

Personally, I didn't have much luck lighthing it from the sides as the plastic seems to be too thick.

To answer why these don't have an led holder built-in....I did not come up with the physical design of these. The manufacturer modified the colors of an existing product to my specifications, because they already had the mold. To have them make a custom mold for me would have cost thouands of dollars.

Quarters, your invoice is coming pretty quick as I am about to receive my new batch of microswitches today or tomorrow.

[oic989]

Thanks for the input on the LED mounting.

One other silly question. What kind of voltage should we be throwing at these? 5v? 12v? Something else? Doesn't matter because of the resistor?

Thanks!

[NY_in_TX]

I GOT MINE!!!! 

Shawnzilla, you rule!!! 

[shawnzilla]

Thanks for the input on the LED mounting.

One other silly question. What kind of voltage should we be throwing at these? 5v? 12v? Something else? Doesn't matter because of the resistor?

Thanks!

The resistors that I use are for 12V operation. I think you'll need to get a different resistor for 5V operation.

[Scoobie]

Okay, this is going to sound dumb to some of you.  But once the LED is in the button, how exactly do I wire it to power?  I'd like to wire them to my 5v connection on my ipac, but could tap into my PC power supply if needed.

Also, do I need to use a resistor?  If so, then does someone have a picture of how this is done?  I've never connected an LED or resistor.  The pics from Knievel and others show how to get the LED in the button, but not how to connect it to a power source.

Thanks for any help on this!

[markrvp]

I just did this last night based on Shawn's suggestions, so I can tell you how I did it.

First - I tapped into the computers power supply for 12 volts.  I ran the hot wire to one terminal block and the ground wire to another terminal block.

2nd - each LED gets two wires soldered to it.  The ground wire is then run to the grounding block.  The hot wire is soldered to the resistor which is then connected to the HOT BLOCK.

There is a lot of soldering to this (the way I did it).  I think Kelsey at OSCAR CONTROLS had the right idea by using the little plastic connectors (like your CD-ROM audio cable) to connect to the leads on the LED and then the wires out of the connector go to your power source.

I'll have pics tomorrow.  I'm just too tired tonight.

[JustMichael]

My clear ones have arrived.  Now for some testing...

[thetered]

Just searching google will yield more information on led lighting than you could ever possibly need, including all kinds of calculators and even apps that will design arrays for you.  Here is just a quick one I found

http://linear1.org/ckts/led.php

If you parallel your leds it's generally best to put a resistor on each one and not just one on the circuit, this is especially true is trying to run different colors in parallel as electricity will only flow to the one that requires the least voltage... and then fry it! 

I was fumbling in the dark with a nine volt a resistor and a led last night in the dark and accidenty connected the led to the resistor wire touching the terminal and fried it. It was kind of cool cause it was a blue led and first it kind of popped and started giving on yellow light before kind of melting down the terminal some and smelling bad.

[Scoobie]

I just did this last night based on Shawn's suggestions, so I can tell you how I did it.

First - I tapped into the computers power supply for 12 volts.  I ran the hot wire to one terminal block and the ground wire to another terminal block.

2nd - each LED gets two wires soldered to it.  The ground wire is then run to the grounding block.  The hot wire is soldered to the resistor which is then connected to the HOT BLOCK.

There is a lot of soldering to this (the way I did it).  I think Kelsey at OSCAR CONTROLS had the right idea by using the little plastic connectors (like your CD-ROM audio cable) to connect to the leads on the LED and then the wires out of the connector go to your power source.

I'll have pics tomorrow.  I'm just too tired tonight.

Pics would be great, thanks!

[thetered]

I've been wiring a ton up, and was going through the sides, also I am only doing one led as I didnt feel like it was worth the trouble for

[thetered]

heres a really quick dirty poor picture

[Chris]

I know we've talked about doing things to the buttons to frost them and spread the light, but what about frosting the LED's, or scuffing them with sanpaper, to scatter the light? 

[markrvp]

I know we've talked about doing things to the buttons to frost them and spread the light, but what about frosting the LED's, or scuffing them with sanpaper, to scatter the light?

[Chris]

Some type of diffusion on either the plastic or LED would make them look nicer.

[thetered]

True, they are bright if you look straight down, but I dont make it a habit to look straight down on them often when I play.



They do make leds that are designed to scatter and diffuse light better, I dont know where I seen them or what they referred to them as, but I know they exist.

In my panel, I am using 3/4in plywood, so by the time I go through that length on top of the nut I am was only able to put the leds right near the bottom of the threads, so depending on your setup if you have less thickness and put them closer up they might show better.

Overall though, they may not show up that great in bright light, but where I play it is usually dimly lit anyways and they are gonna show up great.

[Chris]

Y'know, now that I think about it, I have a couple of standard brightness LEDs lying around.... I should just try it and see.

[Kremmit]

I think sanding the dome top of the LED down flat would de-focus the beam, and frost the LED's smooth surface to boot.  Just be careful not to sand all the way down to the diode.

What about a dimmer switch connected to the whole button lighting circuit?

What about a little circle of EM tape inside the plunger?

What about a little circle of EM tape under the bezel?

[Franco]

Whoop, whoop! Got my clears today!

[LPZ]

I'm going into work tonight and I will sandblast a button to get a "frosted" look.  I agree if you look straight down into the button, it is very bright.  I will post pics tomorrow in the AM EST.

[RayB]

A quick spray on the inside with some of that "window frosting" paint might do the trick...

[CJK]

A quick spray on the inside with some of that "window frosting" paint might do the trick...

That's what I was thinking. My buttons should be here tomorrow (unless my local post office performs as usual, in which case it will be Wednesday), and I might try exactly that.

-- Chris

[tetsujin]

I know someone floated the idea of acetone... what about swabbing acetone inside the plunger with a Q-Tip?

Yep, planning to try this as soon as I can get my hands on a clear button.  (grrr....)

[MrTroy]

Well got my buttons some time between Friday and Today. I'm quite happy with them. a few of them feel slightly thicker than the other ones, and I'm having issues tightening the nuts. But we'll have to see when I get home and put them in my control panel.

[RandyT]

I know someone floated the idea of acetone... what about swabbing acetone inside the plunger with a Q-Tip?

Yep, planning to try this as soon as I can get my hands on a clear button.  (grrr....)

Tried this a week or so ago.  Initially it looked great, but then "healed" itself back to clear.  Tends to just make the material gummy.

I think this may end up being the issue to solve with these buttons.  If you mount the LEDs in the "normal" way, they tend to act like lenses and more light hits the ceiling than illuminates the button.

At least that has been my experience.

RandyT

[pointdablame]

Why not throw on a small dab of matte medium under the button?  It is a gel, so you can put a nice thin coat on it.  It'll harden, and should never "heal" itself.

I've used it for a lot of things, including "waves" on a train layout I have and the wave peaks have been standing up for 5 years now with no problems.

It's translucent, buy varying thickness of the application should alter the light.  Once I get my order in (I'm dead broke ) I'll give it a try.

[AmericanDemon]

I'm going into work tonight and I will sandblast a button to get a "frosted" look.  I agree if you look straight down into the button, it is very bright.  I will post pics tomorrow in the AM EST.

How'd the sandblasting work?

[Elfman]

I can't believe I am reading this 

I remember when Shawnzilla got his first blue prototype in, you guys were saying it didn't really look clear and was too hazy for your tastes.

Now you are saying they are too clear and need to be hazed up a bit? 

You guys are a fickle bunch indeed. 
 

[tetsujin]

I remember when Shawnzilla got his first blue prototype in, you guys were saying it didn't really look clear and was too hazy for your tastes.

Now you are saying they are too clear and need to be hazed up a bit? 

You can take a clear button and make it hazy.  You cannot take a hazy button and make it clear...

[Chris]

Tried this a week or so ago.

[thetered]

Tried this a week or so ago.

[gl.tter]

I could be wrong, but I really dont think you'll find brightness to be an issue after you do those two things, however, I could be wrong as I have not yet tried the clear ones, only the colored ones.

Right, diffusing the LED reduces the brightness as the same amount of light is now spread over a wider area.  That's why the brightest LEDs usually have a very tight beam - you can often find the exact same LED with wider angles at lower mcd ratings.

If it's better to diffuse the LED with the clears, you might aswell purchase the wider angle ones.

[Kremmit]

A quick spray on the inside with some of that "window frosting" paint might do the trick...

That's what I suggested back on page 3.

Pay attention in class, Raymond! 

[Chris]

I could be wrong, but I really dont think you'll find brightness to be an issue after you do those two things, however, I could be wrong as I have not yet tried the clear ones, only the colored ones.

I suspect this is going to vary from button to button.  I suspect that the green buttons are going to take a lot more light than the clear buttons, for example, so I'll probably tailor my resistor values to the buttons they're going to light .

[Heffaklumpen]

Thanks shawnzilla - I received my 30 buttons today!
They look awesome!
Now if could only find some time to actually but them in my cabinets and try them out... 

[AlanS17]

Anybody tried lighting these things up with mini bulbs? It sure sounds easier if it'll work.

Also, are the nuts black or white? (I'm guessing black)

[MrTroy]

The Nuts are black

[Chris]

Anybody tried lighting these things up with mini bulbs? It sure sounds easier if it'll work.

Heat buildup would be an issue, I think.

[shawnzilla]

The Nuts are black

Hey,

I've noticed that on some of the buttons it takes a little more force to screw in the nuts (but it's easier after you get it done once). Probably an artifact of the molding process (and I think the greens are a little thicker).

[Elfman]

The Nuts are black

Hey,

I've noticed that on some of the buttons it takes a little more force to screw in the nuts (but it's easier after you get it done once). Probably an artifact of the molding process (and I think the greens are a little thicker).

I think you are right about the molding process and the various colors.  I think this exists with the regular opaque Happ buttons as well.  My whites and blacks screw on fairly easily, but my purple and blues are a little tougher  to 'get started' so to speak.

[AlanS17]

Anybody tried lighting these things up with mini bulbs? It sure sounds easier if it'll work.

Heat buildup would be an issue, I think.

Well I'm not talking about shoving a mini bulb up into the assembly. I just mean like mounting mini blubs to the underside of the CP between buttons.

[quarterback]

If you've got colored buttons, you could get some cheap cold-cathode tubes and run them underneath all the buttons at once.  They've got them for cars so they should be able to run off the 12v of your PC.

Or, if you have clear buttons, I think they make color changing tubes as well (or maybe those are actually leds)

[AlanS17]

See, if that would work I think it would be infinitely easier than wiring up each button. I'm a bum.

[quarterback]

Yeah, since there are switches on the bottom of each button and the lights wouldn't be INSIDE the button (like with the individual LED lighting), you might have to run the tubes in between the buttons (depending on your button layout) but it seems possible.   

I don't know, stick a household lightbulb under your CP and see what lights up.  If a unidriectional household bulb gives you something, it seems like a couple cold cathodes would do the trick.

[thetered]

I fashioned a little tray out of metal and built a fire pit under the control panel, it gives the buttons a really cool flickery effect and when the fire starts to die I just feed some more twigs through a special hole in the side of the panel.



As far as "external" lights (which I haven't tried, only theorizing here) go, I think the width of the panel material will play a big part, me for instance I'm using 3/4" plywood, and on top of that you have the black (opaque) nut, which leaves roughly a little over 1/4" of thread showing. On top of that you have a huge light blocking switch with high thick plastic mounting pieces for the switch.  So unless you are talking million candle power bulbs here I dont think there is enough (Translucent) plastic to effectively "carry" the light.

Prove me wrong though!

[CJK]

My buttons arrived today, and they're great! I only ordered red, blue, and clear, but now I wish I'd ordered some of the other colors as well. I can't wait to try them out -- but I'm waiting for someone to figure out the perfect way to light them up first.   

-- Chris

[Chris]

I remember when Shawnzilla got his first blue prototype in, you guys were saying it didn't really look clear and was too hazy for your tastes.

Now you are saying they are too clear and need to be hazed up a bit?

[shawnzilla]

I remember when Shawnzilla got his first blue prototype in, you guys were saying it didn't really look clear and was too hazy for your tastes.

Now you are saying they are too clear and need to be hazed up a bit? 

Well, I'm on record as preferring the original version, precisely for this reason. 

When it came down to these, I had to make a choice. The majority seemed to prefer the clearer ones. If there was ever enough demand I'd order the murkier ones.

[gl.tter]

Shawn, what's the status on the clear backorders?  How many do you have now?

[Chris]

When it came down to these, I had to make a choice. The majority seemed to prefer the clearer ones. If there was ever enough demand I'd order the murkier ones.

Weren't the clearer ones also cheaper because they didn't have to mix different plastics?

Although I would have preferred the murkier ones, I'm VERY happy with these.  As noted, you can make clear ones murky but you can't make murky ones clear...

--Chris

[shawnzilla]

When it came down to these, I had to make a choice. The majority seemed to prefer the clearer ones. If there was ever enough demand I'd order the murkier ones.

Weren't the clearer ones also cheaper because they didn't have to mix different plastics?

Although I would have preferred the murkier ones, I'm VERY happy with these.

[AlanS17]

If someone wants to send me a couple spare translucent buttons, I'll test out lighting them with mini bulbs and cold cathodes. I just don't want to spend $10 on testing something when I'm not even sure if I'll be using them even if it does work.

[Xiaou2]

 Well, heres the deal...

   The brighter the lightsource, the darker the colors have to be to hide 
the light from the center.   

  However, that means that when the light is off - or its daytime, the colors will look sorta ugly and too dark.

 Wico leaf translucents used bulb lighting (on the outside of the button).  They were not so much dayglow - but you could see them lit in dim lighting.   They also had a center support structure under the pulnger face, which helped to avoid direct light blast thru it. 

  If something simular was added, it may help greatly. 

 Still, many Leds are too bright.  While this may be nice for an overall effect... the plunger area will always be too bright.  Unless you can find a way to dim the leds, or a dimmer led.. ect.

 One of my ideas was flourescent lighting, because its cheap and cold.  However, if the buttons are too dark - which they kinda seem to be, the light may not be bright enough unless you use the very brightest of those type of bulbs (simulated 200watt bulb - which at that level of power becomes hot to the touch, but still not too bad).   Light may also leak thru slight holes in you cab elsewhere : )  heh
 
 Another idea to try, is to put the led or a few, arround the outside of the button.  This may cause a very good illumination, without the plunger getting blasted.

  Another:  Try cutting a small disc from that simi clear cutting board material and popping it inside the plunger. 

 Heck, even if the inner plunger was blacked out, id bet the light would still travel thru the plastic itself and into the top pertty well.  However, black may not be the nicest thing to look at when daytime.

 

[Chris]

Heck, even if the inner plunger was blacked out, id bet the light would still travel thru the plastic itself and into the top pertty well.

[Kremmit]

If your LEDs are too bright, why not just stop ordering the superbright 10million mcd LED's?

[Chris]

If your LEDs are too bright, why not just stop ordering the superbright 10million mcd LED's?

I tried them with standard LED's, but you have the same issues, only dimmer.  Wide-angle LEDs would probably be the best, but it doesn't solve the problem of the plungers being so clear that you can easily see the LED.

[RandyT]

If your LEDs are too bright, why not just stop ordering the superbright 10million mcd LED's?

When illuminating something that one expects to be visible in normal lighting, more light is going to be better.  The real issue is controlling the light to make it do what you want.  That is a challenge with these buttons due to the crystal clear lense-like property of the plunger and surrounding features.

Blackening out the plunger will not only look bad, but it won't do what is required.  I completely destroyed two of these a couple of weeks back trying different things, including paints, frosted coatings and solvents.  I didn't try everything, but had poor success pretty much overall.  The acetone trick looked fantastic, until the plastic healed and started to go gummy. 

I'm not saying that there isn't a solution, but I don't think dimmer LEDs are going to be it.

RandyT

[Chris]

Blackening out the plunger will not only look bad, but it won't do what is required.

[RayB]

Sounds like this board is full of perfectionists...

[tetsujin]

The acetone trick looked fantastic, until the plastic healed and started to go gummy.

I still want to experiment with acetone...  Your results are certainly discouraging but I'm eager to see for myself I guess.  Could you provide more details about what exactly you did and how long it took the button to revert?  Things like, did you use straight hardware-store acetone, how long was it applied, etc...

[Chris]

Sounds like this board is full of perfectionists...

Yes.

[thetered]

Sounds like this board is full of perfectionists...

I agree, but hey atleast they are doing the hard part for the rest of us   

But after hearing all this, I'm glad I decided to just go with the color buttons, cause I didn't have any of these problems.


Oh ya and I think ANY kind of colored paint on top or bottom of a clear button will do two things, one look ugly and two defeat the purpose of buying clear buttons....

[gl.tter]

Haven't got my clears (waiting on the 2nd order), but how about cutting out a disc of inkjet printer backlight film and gluing that under the plunger with clear glue?

Never used it myself, but the film is white-ish but translucent enough to allow the light through.

[RandyT]

You had no luck with frosted coatings?  Were you trying them on the inside of the plunger?

I tried some Krylon "frosted glass" paint.  It was a little old, but I think it was still good.  Almost impossible to apply it properly in the small area there is to work in.

General comment on the frosted materials:  Most require special application methods that aren't possible to adhere to when working on the inside of the plunger.

The other challenge is making a coating look uniform.  Unlit, it is usually fine.  Light it up and it looks bad.

Acetone:  First tried nail polish remover (don't tell the boss! )  Dumped it in, swished it around for about 5 seconds with a cotton swab,  then dumped it out.  Looked great, even better when lit.  5-minutes later, it was mostly clear again and a little sticky.  Then tried hardware store acetone and started seeing really weird sub-surface "inclusions" in the plastic, manifesting itself as a solid white mass.  In other words, something bad was happening to the structure of the plastic itself, beyond what was happening at the surface.  Shortly afterwards, the legs of the plunger became weak and broke off.

The disc idea might work (I actually suggested that in an earlier thread), but it might be difficult to cut the discs perfectly.  The springs might wreak havoc on the material as well, unless it's fairly durable.

I'm sure there's a solution, but I've spent about $30 to date on different things to try without finding one, so I'm giving it rest for a bit (at least until I have an epiphany )

RandyT

[gl.tter]

The disc idea might work (I actually suggested that in an earlier thread), but it might be difficult to cut the discs perfectly.

[Chris]

Acetone:

[AlanS17]

You could try shooting a dab of hot glue down into the button. It would make the spring a little tighter, but it ought to do the trick. I don't think the LED could get hot enough to melt the glue back down again. You could experiment with different kinds of hot glue like hot wood glue to get the desires effect.

[quarterback]

I haven't mentioned this before since it might not be readily available to most people, but buying some Lee or Rosco diffusion and cutting a little disc out of it would be a very cheap/easy way to do this.

Rosco or Lee (or Gam) gels are very available in Los Angeles (because they're used every day on film shoots) but are also present in many theaters and are available in some photo stores.

You could even make a little 'cone' to sit on top of the LED if you didn't/couldn't make a disc that would slide into the button.

216 would definitely work, is very common and cheap but might be too diffuse.  A nice opal, frost or 250 might be better.  But one ~$5 2'x2' sheet would certainly supply enough diffusion for a common CP and this is exactly what this stuff is made for: diffusing light.

OR, if you live in LA, go down to any rental house/expendable supply store and pick up the FREE swatchbooks.  They should be just the right size to get one or 2 discs out of each swatch.

This is what I'm talking about:
http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/leedifsheetx.html

[RayB]

OK it sounds like the solution here is not in messing with the button, but [as already mentioned before] to use the proper LEDs. Don't use a bright focused LED!

[tetsujin]

Acetone:  First tried nail polish remover (don't tell the boss! )  Dumped it in, swished it around for about 5 seconds with a cotton swab,  then dumped it out.  Looked great, even better when lit.  5-minutes later, it was mostly clear again and a little sticky. 

Maybe something to stabilize the plasic after application?  What neutralizes acetone?

(insert quick Google search here)

Baking soda, followed by soap and water.

I'll give that a shot with one of mine (probably an orange, since I'm still waiting for the full-on clears) - I'm not sure whether it will work, of course: if the acetone is sitting on the plastic or in the pits the acetone's etched in the plastic, then probably...  but if the plastic absorbs the acetone then maybe not...  But, hey, this whole etching idea wouldn't be nearly so fun if it were easy... 

[RandyT]

OK it sounds like the solution here is not in messing with the button, but [as already mentioned before] to use the proper LEDs. Don't use a bright focused LED!

Ray, the thing that is being battled here is tantamount to what one would encounter when attempting to make a piece of window glass glow a certain color.  Varying the wattage or surface characteristics of the light bulb behind the window does nothing.

At least one surface of the window must be altered to diffuse the light, or the light will just pass through and the glow will never be achieved.

RandyT

[RayB]

In my opionion, you get what you paid for. Shawn did us all a big favor and at a great price.

 

Part of the problem may be shining the light below the barrel rather than inside it.

[tetsujin]

In my opionion, you get what you paid for. Shawn did us all a big favor and at a great price.

Did anybody say otherwise?  I was under the impression that people were generally overjoyed about the FX buttons buttons.  There's a lot people can do with these buttons - and that's what this is about - trying to see what we can accomplish.

I had been thinking along the lines you were suggesting, about diffusing the light source rather than the button - but I think Randy has an important point, that the look of a "glowing button" is a product of the light at the surface of the button being diffuse.  If the light source is diffuse, then it'll look like the light source (behind the button) is glowing, rather than the button itself.

But there's all kinds of room for experimentation.  Theories are great for direction but in the end it's what people can accomplish with the real thing that counts.  It's an exciting time.

[tristan]

Maybe you could use some sort of fiber optic light source.

Any word on those yellow ones?

[n3rrd]

If you've got colored buttons, you could get some cheap cold-cathode tubes and run them underneath all the buttons at once.  They've got them for cars so they should be able to run off the 12v of your PC.

Or, if you have clear buttons, I think they make color changing tubes as well (or maybe those are actually leds)

Just to verify, they do make cold cathode tubes for computers.  Where the arcade building community is still, for lack of a better word, "underground", the computer-modders aren't.  Things like that caught on fairly quickly and they come with molex connectors.

They are actually fairly easy to find at a decent small computer shop, or most online suppliers.  For Canadian's looking for computer parts, check out http://www.ncix.com, I built my entire system from that site.  Good prices and convenient...

[markrvp]

Trying to photograph these buttons well is like herding cats.

[markrvp]

Here is a shot with flash showing the buttons in unlit and lit states.

[markrvp]

Here are some wiring diagrams for the way I mounted & wired the LEDs.

[markrvp]

Final image shows where I connected the black wire (12v ground) from the computer power supply to another common terminal block.  I then wired all the cathode wires to this block.

This quick tutorial demonstrates connecting LEDs IN PARALLEL to the computer's 12v power supply using resistors to provide proper voltage.

[CJK]

I haven't mentioned this before since it might not be readily available to most people, but buying some Lee or Rosco diffusion and cutting a little disc out of it would be a very cheap/easy way to do this.

Rosco or Lee (or Gam) gels are very available in Los Angeles (because they're used every day on film shoots) but are also present in many theaters and are available in some photo stores.

You could even make a little 'cone' to sit on top of the LED if you didn't/couldn't make a disc that would slide into the button.

216 would definitely work, is very common and cheap but might be too diffuse.

[n3rrd]

Trying to photograph these buttons well is like herding cats.  Some of the point and shoot cameras actually are doing a really nice job compared to what I just spent 30 minutes trying to accomplish.

Here are a couple of shots of my blue buttons in my control panel.  All buttons are lit with the single LED that Shawn sells with the buttons.  I drilled a hole for the LEDs in the bottom of the button the same way Whammoed & Knievel have demonstrated in prior threads.

The first shot more correctly shows how much brighter the light is on the top of the plunger.  The second shot mimics more how they look when viewed not directly overhead.

Just out of curiousity, but on the Knievel's cab with the lit buttons, didn't he light them from the side?  I probably mis-read your post.  Which is providing better results?  Obviously, the lit from the side method is more time consuming...  Is it not possible with these buttons?

I think that I missed something.

[KevSteele]

Tried this a week or so ago.

[thetered]

Just out of curiousity, but on the Knievel's cab with the lit buttons, didn't he light them from the side?

[markrvp]

Trying to photograph these buttons well is like herding cats.

[thetered]

I just had an idea, I am going to try a button lit from side and bottom this weekend     I don't really want to go through the trouble of two lights on each button in my cab, but I'm interested in seeing what one would look like!

[Kremmit]

What about doing this without drilling the hole?  Then the existing blue plastic would serve to diffuse the light.

Or is there not enough space for an LED inbetween the plastic and the microswitch?  Maybe an LED mounted right next to the microswitch, shining up through the plastic?

[thetered]

It wont fit between without a hole, and people keep bringing up the idea of external lighting, I've already voiced my doubt in the theory... but still waiting to be proved wrong!

But here is a big reason why (I havent used clear, only colors so I'm refering to colors) they are hard enough to light up as it is with the led inside it! Much less beside it.  I mean mine shows up great in dark and dim lights, but day light, not so much...

[gl.tter]

Anybody try the baking soda etc. to deactivate the acetone yet?

[tivogre]

Let me start by saying that I don't have any of these buttons (yet).... but I've been following the thread for a while.

I have an idea on how to light them that one of you may want to try.

I stole this picture from above and "drew" on it:



This will only work using a 3/4" CP top...

Drill a pair of holes at 90 degrees to each other as shown above.  Drill the first hole (the side of the LED) into the "edge" of the button holes.  Then drill a smaller hole down through the "bottom" of the CP that intersects the first hole.

You should be able to put the LED "body" into the edge of the cp facing the outside of the barrel.  The wires can pass through and out the smaller hole to below the CP.  I don't think this will interfere in any way with installing the button.

This way, It will be very near to the top of the barrel.  The light also wouldn't be shining "up" as much.

One LED in this fashion might do the trick... but you could do 2 (or even 3) around a button.

Hopefully I explained this well enough for someone to try.

I anxiously await results pics.

[UndeadMeat]

Just got my buttons! THANKS SHAWN!!!! They are so beautiful!

UndeadMeat

[shawnzilla]

Just got my buttons! THANKS SHAWN!!!! They are so beautiful!

UndeadMeat

  Glad you like 'em!

BTW, I just received an email from a BYOACer that he has had success using material cut from a plastic milk jug to diffuse the light in his buttons.

I'll post his details later.

[Franco]

Let me start by saying that I don't have any of these buttons (yet).... but I've been following the thread for a while.

I have an idea on how to light them that one of you may want to try.

I stole this picture from above and "drew" on it:



This will only work using a 3/4" CP top...

Drill a pair of holes at 90 degrees to each other as shown above.

[jfunk]

These look familiar:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6192464664&rd=1

[Goz]

These look familiar:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6192464664&rd=1

Just a matter of time once they became HAPP #'s... 

-Goz

[thetered]

...wax paper maybe?

[shawnzilla]

These look familiar:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6192464664&rd=1

Just a matter of time once they became HAPP #'s... 

-Goz

Um...that's my auction. Just haven't gotten around to announcing special auctions/giveaways on the website yet (still recovering from my computer crash)

[jfunk]

Ah, sorry!  Good stuff!

Glad it's you gonna be making the money! 

I'm planning on buying some..  But my cabinet is in hiatus until after we move 

*sigh*

Good luck with the auction!

[Scoobie]

Here is a shot with flash showing the buttons in unlit and lit states.

Off topic a bit, but did you cut your own button labels around each one?

[markrvp]

Here is a shot with flash showing the buttons in unlit and lit states.

Off topic a bit, but did you cut your own button labels around each one?

[KevSteele]

Okay, I just discovered that cyanoacrylate (super glue) will not frost the button plastic either.

I also somehow managed to burn myself with the stupid adhesive!

You see, I have a large bottle of cyanoacrylate, along with plastic pipettes to apply it (it's great for filling in cracks on pinball playfields) As I was putting a couple of drops into the button top,  I spilled the bottle all over my workbench.

I immediately ran and grabbed some toilet paper to wipe it up -- turns out this was not a smart idea - the TP bonded instantly to my finger tips, which immediately began to feel like they were being burned off. Worse, the paper literally erupted with thick, white smoke!

[gl.tter]

I immediately ran and grabbed some toilet paper to wipe it up -- turns out this was not a smart idea - the TP bonded instantly to my finger tips, which immediately began to feel like they were being burned off. Worse, the paper literally erupted with thick, white smoke!

[CJK]

From the MSDS for Loctite's brand of CA glue:

BURNS
 

[KevSteele]

I did a little googling, and ran across a couple of other super glue burn stories - all the same thing, too: spilled bottle, and paper towels or TP, bonded to fingers causing smoke and chemical burns.

Live and learn, I suppose.

Oh, and I know that super glue dries clear (if undisturbed during drying). My idea was to blow on it during drying, as the moisture in your breath can cause super glue to turn milky. Normally this is a bad thing (when filling in chips on a playfield), but it seemed like a good idea for this project.

A true "it seemed like a good idea at the time" moment!

Kevin

[gl.tter]

Oh, and I know that super glue dries clear (if undisturbed during drying). My idea was to blow on it during drying, as the moisture in your breath can cause super glue to turn milky.

Didn't know that.

[thetered]

if you have enough of it to spare than could you possibly mix in something with it like milk? just kidding, but something to cloud it up, I am coming up blank for ideas of what to try though.

[LPZ]

Ok, here's my thought on this situation.  I sandblasted a clear button this week and finally tested it out tonight.  I blasted the cylinder and plunger from the inside to keep the nice smooth outside texture of the plunger and lip.  One problem with this route:  Sandblasting uses sand(of course), but it is dirty from constantly being recycled by the machine.  When I did sandblast it, it left a grayish looking texture.  The button left much to be desired unlit.  When lit, it diffused the light well, but made a kinda glow that I am not really happy with and is still too bright.  I like the translucent look, but it does blind you when you are looking at the button.  I think the route I am going to take is to hook up a potentiometer to the control panel buttons so I can dim the leds to my liking, without having to experiment with multiple resistors.  I have pics also.  First one is clear and second is the sandblasted one.   It's the best pics I could take.  I will also post my pics of the blasted plunger and the group on my cp with the sandblasted green next to the clear group.

[LPZ]

More pics of the sandblasted plunger and green sandblasted button and clear group.

[Chris]

Maybe we're making this too hard.  What about just using a wire cup brush on a Dremel to cloud the inside of the plunger?   Or a little blob of steel wool wrapped around a power screwdriver bit?

[shawnzilla]

if you have enough of it to spare than could you possibly mix in something with it like milk? just kidding, but something to cloud it up, I am coming up blank for ideas of what to try though.

The buttons might be lactose intolerant. 

[froggerman]

I wonder if you could drill a hole in the nut and mount the LED hoizontally. This would bring the light source closer to the top of the plunger but you would be be looking directly at the LED.

[tivogre]

I wonder if you could drill a hole in the nut and mount the LED hoizontally. This would bring the light source closer to the top of the plunger but you would be be looking directly at the LED.

Same basic principle as I suggested earlier (drilling holes into the "edge" of the CP button holes).

[froggerman]

Same basic principle as I suggested earlier (drilling holes into the "edge" of the CP button holes).

You are correct. I thought this might be a bit easier to achieve, even though it would move the LED down a little further than your solution.

[rackoon]

If one is willing to spend the time to dim the glare, why not install small graphics (not unlike one player two player image) glued on the bottom top of the button? This should defuse much of the direct light.
   
    Example: Go to Kinko's (print shop) and make some over head transparents, images shrunk and made to fit your buttons. (Heck you could get a solid piece of white and cut it into pieces in order to glue to the under top of your buttons. Even the white is transparent.

   I plan to make small pirate flags or skulls to put in my clear buttons, maybe the family name, this would make my cab look custom without changing the arcade appearance.

[gl.tter]

If one is willing to spend the time to dim the glare, why not install small graphics (not unlike one player two player image) glued on the bottom top of the button? This should defuse much of the direct light.

[markrvp]

Maybe we're making this too hard.

[Knievel]

Just got back from a long stay at the lake and I'm catching up with things around here.
Having been through this myself, with the leaf-buttons, I'm enjoying reading all the experimentation.

Looking at the pics it appears that these buttons are fairly long? IF that's correct I think the best bet would be to make something similar to the leaf-button mounts. Basically you'd be making a plastic washer to put in between the bottom of the CP and the button nut. Then the LED's could mount into this washer the same way mine did with my leaf-buttons. You would be re-creating just the circular part of the mount, which you can see in my thread..
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,30565.0.html

I've purchased some plastic sheets from Lee Valley in the past that I think would do the job nicely. It would have to be 1/4" thick minimum in order to mount the LED's into it. I'm thinking you would first drill a 1 1/4" hole and then drill around that with a 1 3/4 or 2" holesaw to end up with the appropriate-sized washer.

Might be too much work for some but I really think it's the closest you're going to come to re-creating the glow of my lighted leafs..if that's what you're after.

BTW nice job with the pics and explanation of the button wiring/lighting Mark. In the relatively short time you've been here you've contributed a helluva lot to these boards.
Shawn you should put those shots up on your site if Mark is OK with it and that pic of the 4 lit buttons by LPZ, that's a beauty as well.

[CJK]

As the Guinness guy says...  "BRILLIANT!"

That sounds like the way I'm going to go. Best of all, it's reversible -- just remove the "washer" if you want to change the LED color or whatever.

If I can locate some of this plastic stuff in the next few days, I'll give it a go.

-- Chris

[LPZ]

If one is willing to spend the time to dim the glare, why not install small graphics (not unlike one player two player image) glued on the bottom top of the button? This should defuse much of the direct light.
 
It is impossible to put graphics/letters on the bottom of the plunger.

[Knievel]

Time will tell how 'brilliant' it is but if it works as well as it did on my leafs you will be VERY happy.

Looking at the online Lee Valley catalog, the stuff I was thinking of is on this page..
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=32045&cat=3,43576
Item B - 1/4" UHMW - 4" x 24" to be exact... one should be enough for an entire CP.
To try this you're going to need a 1 1/4" forstner or spade bit, a 1 3/4"- 2" hole saw and a 3/16" drill bit for the LED holes.

I was just thinking about my idea some more. If you were to use a smaller bit for the inside hole of the washer and then 'tap' some threads into it you could use it AS the nut. Of course you'd have to make at least a couple of the outer edges flat so you could get a wrench on it..

BTW the washer does something more important than just hold the LED's, it diffuses them. If you make them out of that white plastic the whole ring should glow and indirectly light the button. As you can see this makes the bezel glow as nicely as the plunger which makes a big difference..

[gl.tter]

It is impossible to put graphics/letters on the bottom of the plunger.

[nobody]

okay i have an idea that might help, if you made a curved mirror out of tinfoil or some other reflective material and placed it behiund the led it might hellp diffuse the light.

[pointdablame]

okay i have an idea that might help, if you made a curved mirror out of tinfoil or some other reflective material and placed it behiund the led it might hellp diffuse the light.

If it was behind the LED, it would do nothing to diffuse the light beam since the beam is directed forward.  The only light that would hit the tin foil is the small amount of residual light that would hit behind the LED.

[markrvp]

BTW nice job with the pics and explanation of the button wiring/lighting Mark. In the relatively short time you've been here you've contributed a helluva lot to these boards.
Shawn you should put those shots up on your site if Mark is OK with it and that pic of the 4 lit buttons by LPZ, that's a beauty as well.

Thank you for the compliment Knievel.  Thank you even more for inspiring me to build this stuff with your awesome examples.

Anybody that wants to use my pics for an example is welcome to do so.

[D5A1AC]

I'm not sure if this has been tried yet, but in a lot of electronics projects that require that "diffused" effect from an LED, It is easiest just to roughen up the actual LED with rough sandpaper. This usually works well and isn't as fiddly or as complicated as some other suggestions, but I don't know if it would be as effective on a superbright LED. I would imagine roughing up the LED, then dropping a blob of hot glue on the LED, then roughening that up too would be more effective, but it seems a bit too fiddly.

If this has already been suggested, sorry - I only skimmed through the 9 or so pages on this topic 

[Chris]

As the Guinness guy says...

[quarterback]

I still think somebody should try a piece of translucent plastic up in the button and/or around the led.   

Somebody mentioned a milk carton.  Sounds like an easy test to me and somebody with the translucents must have a plastic milk jug lying around.   

Or (tangentizing off of Chris' last post) how about those flexible cutting 'boards' that are just sheets of somewhat thick translucent plastic.  I know I've seen those at the dollar store as well.

[Knievel]

A cutting board is a good idea Chris, you need something soft enough that will drill without cracking. I have some of that Lee Valley stuff here and it's perfect but yours could be a cheaper route.

[AlanS17]

The white plastic washer is the only way I can think of to light the ring AND plunger.

An alternative would be to track down white plastic buttons nuts. I've seen them before on some of my machines, but I don't know where they came from.

[SirPoonga]

What about thin paper.  You can go to a crafts store and pick up thin paper.  Many card makers use it for interesting effects, it's semi translucent.
Or think tissue paper.  I wonder how well really thin tissue paper wadded up in the button would be like.

[wakerlet]

Alan,

I have the plastic button nuts from the button hole plugs that Bob Roberts sells.  A little pricey for just the nut but at least you know where to get them now.

-Todd

[gl.tter]

What about thin paper.

[AlanS17]

Plain paper won't cut it. Hold it up to the light. It's not uniform.

[thetered]

LPZ, how did you light your buttons, through the bottom or sides?

[gl.tter]

Plain paper won't cut it. Hold it up to the light. It's not uniform.

Right, but it will give you a rough idea how the light will diffuse with better paper/film.

[LPZ]

I lit my buttons directly from the bottom.  I am trying a couple of new things tomorrow and will inform on the outcome.  Busy this week with overtime. 

[thetered]

See this is what I don't get, I can't believe no one has just stuck the led in the side to even look!  Everyone is looking for magical paper and washers, have you even tried through the sides?  I am happy with the way mine turned out and they are color, I think if they were clear then the results would be awesome, because the light should luminate the outside as well as the center.

[Knievel]

Guys I went ahead and made some of my LED RINGS^TM today and they turned out great. I'm just awaiting my 'grand prize' buttons from Shawn and then I'll be able to actually test them and post pics. I really think they are the best answer.

So when I was drilling the holes for the LED's a thought came to me. Instead of just the usual 2 holes why not drill 4...or 6. That way you could have 3 different colored sets of LED's in a button. Using clear buttons you could change the color of your buttons to red, blue, green, whatever at the flick of a switch.

And I haven't been following the LED controller threads as of late but I imagine they will be able to do some crazy things with different colored LED's in a single button.

[kickngas]

I have done the same thing as Knievel, using  a cutting board that I planed down to 1/4".  I will wire the buttons hopefully tonight and can post pics if they turn out as expected.   My buttons are blue by the way.
  I have tried plastic diffusers inside the button, white/clear and blue ones from spiral notebook material,  and have gone as far as painting the inside top of the button with some clear blue plastic jewelry paint I found at a craft store.  The painted buttons looked the best, but it made the top look too dark when they were not lit.  Both of these methods at least took the white glow out of the top of the button.

[AlanS17]

So when I was drilling the holes for the LED's a thought came to me. Instead of just the usual 2 holes why not drill 4...or 6. That way you could have 3 different colored sets of LED's in a button. Using clear buttons you could change the color of your buttons to red, blue, green, whatever at the flick of a switch.

The same though had occured to me. I'm just too lazy to wire up more than two. Heck, even two kinda sucks when you're talking about that many buttons. If you don't mind the work, though, the theory is sound.

Could we get a picture of those button rings?

[AlanS17]

Guys I went ahead and made some of my LED RINGS^TM today and they turned out great. I'm just awaiting my 'grand prize' buttons from Shawn and then I'll be able to actually test them and post pics. I really think they are the best answer.

I would imagine they have to fit pretty snuggly to transfer light properly. I have a feeling that the key if the surface area. Could you test on a solid button? If you've got 2 LED's on the ring, I bet you should get some pretty good light even from solid buttons.

We (meaning I) really don't want to wait for your translucents to come in the mail. Could you give it a shot with something you've already got lying around?   

[AlanS17]

Also, I've got a general question about the clear translucents... Are they crystal clear?

I'm wondering how difficult it would be to shoot some metalic spray paint up into the plunger for a metallic effect that won't wear off. (My idea! Nobody better steal it.)

I also wonder how well that would light up. I would expect something funky, but that would be the point - something that looks equally cool while on and off.

Oooooooohhhhh... "metalicized" buttons with tri-color LED's! 

[thetered]

So when I was drilling the holes for the LED's a thought came to me. Instead of just the usual 2 holes why not drill 4...or 6. That way you could have 3 different colored sets of LED's in a button. Using clear buttons you could change the color of your buttons to red, blue, green, whatever at the flick of a switch.

The same though had occured to me. I'm just too lazy to wire up more than two. Heck, even two kinda sucks when you're talking about that many buttons. If you don't mind the work, though, the theory is sound.

Could we get a picture of those button rings?

For what it's worth (not that I expect anyone to even do it) you can wire them in parallel series which is much quicker as you dont have to run "homerun" wires back to blocks each time and in some cases if your buttons are turned just right you don' t have to use any wires between them.  The only thing is you must use the same kind of leds and perferably not even mix between different manufacturers as they will all be pulling the same current/voltage.  But with the voltage window given on leds it wouldn't matter if they weren't all exactly to specs and little off.  Also you must use different resistors as the resistors for each one would be to much.     Depending on the color you can do 3 to 4 I think on each series, so it cuts down alot of time and wire clutter.

[kickngas]

Well, here is my "very rough and rushed" portotype of the LED washers.

[kickngas]

oops...here are thi pics...

[kickngas]

and the top.....sorry...having early posting jitters!! 

[Knievel]

Hey looks good Steve, nice even glow.
Great to see someone trying one of my ideas. I had SO many people ask me for help with my lighted leaf technique and have yet to see 1 example of someone else doing it.

[Patent Doc]

Has anyone bothered to just order the white nylon nuts from Happs, drill holes in the nut and then use Knievel's leaf switch method?  I'd try it, but I don't have my buttons yet.

Happs part # 53-9213-00

Patent Doc

[Chris]

Has anyone bothered to just order the white nylon nuts from Happs, drill holes in the nut and then use Knievel's leaf switch method?

[JustMichael]

Also, I've got a general question about the clear translucents... Are they crystal clear?

More like clear as glass.  See the ring in the pic in this post for an example:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=37034.msg358045#msg358045

[gl.tter]

Well, here is my "very rough and rushed" portotype of the LED washers.

[Chris]

Also, I've got a general question about the clear translucents... Are they crystal clear?

More like clear as glass.

[Scoobie]

So clear that any flaws in the edge of your CP hole, overlay, or lexan hole are going to be visible....

For this reason, I've been trying to get in touch with Shawnzilla for 2 weeks to see about the yellows.  All the other colors look great, but I'd like to hide the CP imperfections that didn't show with the standards Happs buttons.

Shawnzilla,
If you're still reading this post and selling buttons, please let us know.

Thanks!

[tristan]

I'm still waiting on yellows as well.

[Goz]

I'm still waiting on yellows as well.

Ponyboy has em....

[Xiaou2]

 If anyone uses clear buttons, I would expect they to paint the inner button holes black, or use a black sleeve arround the hole edge.   Being so dark, you wouldnt see any imperfections.  And of the sleeve method, would also be good.   You could even go so far as to paint the outter edges of the button opaque if you really wanted to.

 Also, if you want the best holes, grab a fostner bit set.  At Harbor Freight tools they are like 40$ a set!   You cant beat that : ) 

 Spade bits work well too.  But fostners are the best for the cleanest holes.

[shawnzilla]

Guys, I am still around and selling buttons.

It hasn't been the greatest couple of weeks for me personally, so I apologize if I've been slow to respond to emails. I have just gone through and answered any backlogged emails.

Not sure about when I'll have the ability to order yellows yet. As I'm sure everyone knows, Ponyboy already has them in stock. I have to make quite a large minimum order from the manufacturer, whereas Ponyboy can get them locally.

I do want to say that I wholeheartedly appreciate everyone who has supported me (and continues to support me) in this endeavour. Sorry again that I've been aloof for a couple of weeks.

[kickngas]

Shawn,  hope all is well.  Keep up the good work and thanks for the support.

[Wienerdog]

Hey looks good Steve, nice even glow.
Great to see someone trying one of my ideas. I had SO many people ask me for help with my lighted leaf technique and have yet to see 1 example of someone else doing it.

I'm with you K, I mocked up one panel and love it.  My Code Freeze mini-cab will have Knievel based button lighting in a couple weeks.

[RyanM]

Any more updates here?  I was really interested in seeing what the results of the translucent "washer".. Did anyone try that?  Any pics?  Or should I just break down and get the leaf switches a-la Neon Mame style?

[wintermute]

I took Knievel's work to heart as well, (just took me a while to order all the parts) and here's what I came up with in the variety of colors of LEDs that I had available.  All buttons are clear.  Overall they look really good.  Some of my LEDs were a little weak and looked a little washed out under "daylight" situations.  From what I've seen so far I would say you need a minimum of 5,000 mcd for a good effect.  Less looks good in dim or dark lighting but not with the lights on.  The red is 8,000mcd, the the yellow 5,000 and the purple 3000.  The other's I'm not too sure about. 

For the colorblind, the colors are: Yellow, Red, Blue, Green-Blue, Pink/Purple, White, Green.

[wintermute]

Here's the red with the lights on for an idea of how it looks that way:

[g1275]

What did you use for the semitranslucent washers? And where did you you get them?

[wintermute]

I followed Knievel's advice and went to lee valley tools for the UHWM polyethylene. http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=32045&cat=3,43576,43581

I got the 1/4" thick, worked well for drilling the 3/16" holes for the LEDs.  While you're there you could also get a circle cutter which is what I used to cut the outside of the washers (inside a used a forster bit).  However they have it for $26 and I got one at a local woodcraft store for $10.

[Knievel]

Wow, nice job. Those look great!

I did try my idea, using blue LED's in a blue button...







That's one FX button in the bottom left corner, surrounded by my original leafs. The pictures don't show it well but the bezel doesn't really glow all the way around like the leafs. Nice results though.
The leaf construction is just better suited for lighting. Unlit, the FX buttons look nicer. I would use them over regular Happ buttons in a second.

BTW I tryed a couple of different materials but my initial one using the lee valley poly was the best.


Weinerdog I anxiously await your mini-cab pics.

[shawnzilla]

Howdy folks!

Well, at long last I am ready to order more Blue & Clear buttons. I'd like to order yellows as well, but will only do it if I get pre-orders for at least 250 units.

Here's how pre-ordering will work:

1) Send an email to me at misterrachel@gmail.com
2) In the subject line put "Pre-Order"
3) Specify the colors you want and the quantity of each
4) Specify any accessories you want (such as LEDs)
5) Your mailing address
6) Your paypal email address

Once I've received the buttons from the manufacturer, I'll pack your orders and invoice you via Paypal.

Please do not post your pre-order to this thread as I will not count it towards my totals.

As a reminder, I currently have Orange, Red & Green buttons in stock.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support!

[damono]

Hello there Shawnzilla,

Just sent you an email RE: postage to australia for 6x red and 2x clear pushbuttons w/LED's

Thanks
damo

[NIVO]

another thing you fellas may want to look into............if y'all have a girlfriend or daughter or wife around that loves to paint their nails; look for some frosted nail polish, and wipe some on the inside of the button. If it doesnt work you can remove it with some polish remover. I dont have any of these buttons as of yet, but one of you might try it and give us some feedback here, shouldnt take more than 5 minutes to test. 

[Darq]

um bad idea nivo.  Nail polish remover contains acetone and will eat those buttons.  Although the acetone may etch them for a frosted look in and of all by itself.

[NIVO]

well if i had one id stil try it, it can be wiped off

[LPZ]

I'd send you my last one, but shawn isn't replying to orders lately

[NIVO]

thats ok when i get around to ordering and he has some in, ill do some testing of theories i have in mind.

[LPZ]

I ordered close to a week ago....I am afraid he's not going to get back to me......and the best is I only have half of my CP done!!

[shawnzilla]

I ordered close to a week ago....I am afraid he's not going to get back to me......and the best is I only have half of my CP done!!

Hey,

Haven't forgotten about you! I've been working very long hours lately. I'm getting to all of my backorders this weekend. Sorry for the delay everyone!

[LPZ]

Kool and the Gang

[shawnzilla]

Hey Everyone,

Looks like I've got all of my outstanding orders invoiced. If you are waiting for an invoice and you live outside of the USA, I'll be sending your invoices over the weekend.

[SirPoonga]

do you have any blue buttons yet?

[shawnzilla]

do you have any blue buttons yet?

Yes! :-) (I'm outta reds though)

[NIVO]

another idea for frosting of buttons.................they make contact paper that has a smeared,frosted look to it. I know alot of you have this either in your home or have seen it. It is the material used to apply to a shower window in your home for privacy. i figure a small disc piece cut from it can be tucked into the inside of the button. Again I dont presently have any of the buttons but if someone has the material on hand and spare button to test, please post your findings, as im trying to help the creative process as well. thx.

[SirPoonga]

grrr, I need 1 red and 1 blue one....

[shawnzilla]

grrr, I need 1 red and 1 blue one....

:-) Never fear, I'm ordering more...and I can probably swing one red for you if you need it now.

[SirPoonga]

Nah, just update the thread when you get more in.

[LPZ]

chicken