LED-lit coin button -- did I invent something?

[MikeDeuce]

Haven't been here long enough to know if something like this has been done before... what do you guys think?





I basically had the idea that it might be neat to use a translucent red button (thanks for the quick shipping, ponyboy) to emulate the look and feel of a coin slot. I cut the 25 cent vinyl decal in reverse, disassembled the button, and applied it on the inside. Drilled a hole for a 1.7-2.4v 5mm 800mcd red LED and used a 150 ohm resistor, and wired it directly to the 5v power and ground on my ipac.

Looks OK, and should help people figure out my CP right away on the first try.

I cut a few others that said "COIN" "TOKEN" "MAME" and "CREDIT" but 25 cents just looked right to me.

Thoughts, comments, criticism?

Here's how I drilled for the 5mm LED using a 3/16" bit:


I just press it in the hole head down, legs up. It's a perfectly tight pressure fit, I guess a drop of CA glue could secure it forever, but I don't see a need for it yet.

Thanks!
mike

[mccoy178]

That looks sharp!  I've never seen it, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done.  I'm curious to why you drilled the hole on the side and not in the middle?  Here is how I did the drilling on my last cabinet I built:

[whatzcrackn]

There you go again sparking my interest!!  Love it.  And here comes the famous question,  Will this be on the up coming sheets?  And if so in different colors?

[juggle50]

Nice dude, that looks awesome!!!!!  What a great idea for the free play button.

[Fozzy The Bear]

I basically had the idea that it might be neat to use a translucent red button (thanks for the quick shipping, ponyboy) to emulate the look and feel of a coin slot. I cut the 25 cent vinyl decal in reverse, disassembled the button, and applied it on the inside. Drilled a hole for a 1.7-2.4v 5mm 800mcd red LED

Very nice Mike!! It just matches the beautiful quality of the rest of your control panel work.... Superb!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[MikeDeuce]

You guys are too kind Thanks for the comments and tips!

I'm curious to why you drilled the hole on the side and not in the middle? 

It was supposed to have two LEDs on opposite sides, that is, until I completely snapped one of the legs off my last LED of that size 

Turns out one 800mcd LED is more than bright enough, though, so I'll be following your example methinks and remounting in the center, thanks

Will this be on the up coming sheets?  And if so in different colors?

That's a good idea, might as well offer those up too, thanks

[Santoro]

I'd buy that for a few bucks. Nice idea!

[JoyMonkey]

Good job getting the vinyl aplied to the inside of the button plunger; that must have been tricky.

[southpaw13]

I would buy some reversed sheets!  That would be cool to have 1 and 2 player led buttons! LMK when available to order....

Southpaw

[psychopanda]

I'd probably mount the button down below in place of a coin door, but that's an awesome idea! 

[whatzcrackn]

I would buy some reversed sheets!  That would be cool to have 1 and 2 player led buttons! LMK when available to order....

Southpaw

Didn't think of asking for it like that?  Yeah will that be possible too? 

[Tahnok]

Am I missing something, is there a reason it has to be on the inside? Yeah, it wears better and you can't feel it, but that hasn't been an issue until now.

BTW, great idea. It's things like this that keep delaying my CP; there is always something better.

[MYX]

I love it. I think that it is really sharp. How did you keep it from warping with the curved surface?

[Kremmit]

Oh, you dirty dog.  I was planning to do something like that with the clear ones, and I was all excited about being first. 

I had considered printed inserts, but then I was thinking of maybe even cutting out a section of a real quarter and putting that inside there.  I had also considered using some of the little tiny plastic people from the board game "Life" inside the player start buttons.

But now that I see it done your way, I really, really like it.  I think I may have just changed my plans.  Nice!

[markrvp]

That's really nice!

[VESUVIUS]

That kicks so much butt. Seriously.

Nice job, and now I to, must have it.

[Kremmit]

.

[MYX]

Well Mike get to work, we all want some. 

[MikeDeuce]

Wow, didn't expect so many positive responses... thanks all! I will get started on production ASAP. I have a couple ideas to improve the method for installing these, but for those I have to wait until this Saturday to visit a couple craft shops since their weekday hours are basically my work hours.

Good job getting the vinyl aplied to the inside of the button plunger; that must have been tricky.

Thanks... it was a lot like the board game Operation without the buzzer, heh.

I would buy some reversed sheets!  That would be cool to have 1 and 2 player led buttons! LMK when available to order....

I'll get right on that, should have something available this week!

I'd probably mount the button down below in place of a coin door, but that's an awesome idea! 

Ahh that's a great idea for folks with a full cab... budget coin door solution.

Didn't think of asking for it like that?  Yeah will that be possible too? 

Absolutely!

Am I missing something, is there a reason it has to be on the inside? Yeah, it wears better and you can't feel it, but that hasn't been an issue until now.

BTW, great idea. It's things like this that keep delaying my CP; there is always something better.

Oh nope, not missing anything... it's only on the inside as a bonus. Mostly I was just excited about having a coin-door style decal on the button and having it backlit. Hadn't seen it before and I thought it was neat Thanks!

I love it. I think that it is really sharp. How did you keep it from warping with the curved surface?

Thanks a lot! Fortunately, the inside of the plunger is not too curved, it's mostly the outside. The diameter of the decal is about a mm or two smaller than the inside diameter of the plunger as well, so it's even a slight bit flatter then.

Oh, you dirty dog...

That has to be the best response yet!

I had considered printed inserts, but then I was thinking of maybe even cutting out a section of a real quarter and putting that inside there.  I had also considered using some of the little tiny plastic people from the board game "Life" inside the player start buttons.

But now that I see it done your way, I really, really like it.  I think I may have just changed my plans.  Nice!

Thanks a lot -- the plastic peg people from life sounds really cool, that I'd like to see! And hahah just saw the tired/wired. That should be part of my marketing campaign.

Well Mike get to work, we all want some. 

Right away, sir!

[MikeDeuce]

Here's a couple of the designs I had floating in my head:



The last two didn't really work out because the text is really small to fit in the plunger... and I'm even not sure if I'm allowed to offer the MAME one, but it did cut ok.

I originally wanted them to say "Push to reject" or "1x25, 1 Play" under the 25 cent sign, but the text was starting to get really small and would not have been possible to cut reliably at that size. I guess "push to reject" would have confused first timers, anwyay

[Kremmit]

I want some with the start guys.  My brother's desktop control panel uses clear buttons for coin and start over each player- matching coin and start inserts would spruce it up a bit, and confuse newbies less.

Oh, and a Pause button, too.  I'll bet Tab, Esc, and Enter would be popular as well.

[jfunk]

I'm not sure about Tab and Enter..  But if you made 'Pause' and 'Exit', I think there'd be some demand..  Most panels that have 'extra' buttons have those, from what I've seen...

[Tiger-Heli]

Nice job!!!

[Toonces]

Here's a couple of the designs I had floating in my head:



The last two didn't really work out because the text is really small to fit in the plunger... and I'm even not sure if I'm allowed to offer the MAME one, but it did cut ok.

I originally wanted them to say "Push to reject" or "1x25, 1 Play" under the 25 cent sign, but the text was starting to get really small and would not have been possible to cut reliably at that size. I guess "push to reject" would have confused first timers, anwyay

25c is the universal language of Arcade. You probably won't find anyone that doesn't know what that means. I'll take 2 in red please Awesome work!

Toonces

[MikeDeuce]

Thanks again guys, I love the ideas... keep them coming and I'll offer basically anything

Came up with a slight variation on the idea, button chips:



It's a vinyl decal on a disc of acrylic that I had machined down to the inner diameter of the plunger. It basically just pops right in and it's ready to go. I spent about the same time shaping the disc as I did trying to get the first decal into the plunger in the initial post.

Here's a shot of it installed:



Any thoughts? Would something like this interest you folks at all? I'll definitely sell the decals alone, but I thought this might interest a those that don't want to risk messing up the decal application inside the plunger. I will also make a version of the decal that is for external application, like my past goodies, since it will achieve nearly the same result. One caveat with the chips is that there is a small hole ~1mm from the machining process. You can see it where the "A" meets the "M" but it isn't very visible, especially with some light behind the button. The 25c ones and various others will not show the hole at all though, because they have vinyl conveniently located over the center of the button.

Is this idea "tired or wired"?

Thanks again! I'll get started on cutting in the mean time.
mike

[leapinlew]

Very cool!

Very Interested!

PM Sent! 

[whatzcrackn]

Man All I can say is..............

U R DA mutha-truckn man!! Want some, and can I get some reverse or (famous questions) in different colors!!

Man just when I think I know what I am doing, you cause me to flip da script!  Good Sh*t and I am interested in some.

Can you make those for all the button labels you have?

[krick]

Here's a couple of the designs I had floating in my head:

I really like the "COIN" one.  That's sweet.

How about one that says "1UP"

Or one with just a currency sign of some kind, dollar, cent, pound, yen, euro, etc...

Or maybe an abstract silhouette in a circle that looks like a generic coin.  Not sure if that would work in the small space.


Kinda makes me wish I didn't already have a coin door. 

[MikeDeuce]

I just found a source for the acrylic discs in the exact size to fit the inside of the plunger... I'm getting plonked on shipping, but at least I won't have to machine them by hand, and they won't have any holes in the center. Should have a big pile soon and I'll be able to sell any or the appropriate designs on a clear acrylic puck/chip/disc for $1.50/ea. Best part about them would be that you could reuse them if you ever changed translucent buttons/colors, but mostly the install would be low/no risk and I think it will look a little better. Not sure if these will sell well, so I guess I'm taking a chance, but we'll see

Man All I can say is..............

Too kind  I'll get 'er done!

How about one that says "1UP"

Or one with just a currency sign of some kind, dollar, cent, pound, yen, euro, etc...

Or maybe an abstract silhouette in a circle that looks like a generic coin.  Not sure if that would work in the small space.


Kinda makes me wish I didn't already have a coin door. 

Great ideas! Thanks a lot, I'll add em to the choices for sure.

[aumameman]

Anther idea is a generic power button as it seems some mame cab builders like to install an arcade button at the top of their creation to power the thing up, something like what ive mocked up

[Tiger-Heli]

Really cool ideas !!!!!

Best part about them would be that you could reuse them if you ever changed translucent buttons/colors, but mostly the install would be low/no risk and I think it will look a little better.

I was wondering about this - If they are friction fit so they don't fall out, how would you remove them to install in a different colored button?  (Unless you just destoyed the plunger part of the old button).

[southpaw13]

Wow, I want some 1 and 2 player discs....
Did you also just find a solution for the LED's hitting the ceiling?  Can you get colored or frosted discs?

[MikeDeuce]

I was wondering about this - If they are friction fit so they don't fall out, how would you remove them to install in a different colored button?  (Unless you just destoyed the plunger part of the old button).

Mostly it's the spring inside the plunger that holds it up and in place... Initially I thought it might rotate once inside, but it seems like the spring is aggressive enough to keep it still. Still testing them furiously, wouldn't want them to spin around on you guys.

Wow, I want some 1 and 2 player discs....
Did you also just find a solution for the LED's hitting the ceiling?  Can you get colored or frosted discs?

Great I can frost the backs of the discs myself. It should help diffuse a lot of the light. I'll do some testing on my own setup.

[Harry Potter]

Anther idea is a generic power button as it seems some mame cab builders like to install an arcade button at the top of their creation to power the thing up, something like what ive mocked up

I was thinking of doing something like that while back but the slacker in me won out.
May have to do it during winter. 

[MikeDeuce]

Ahh missed that one, that's a good one too! The shape is already in one of the sheets I offer too, so I'll just have to add the reverse treatment.

Thanks!

[MYX]

Anther idea is a generic power button as it seems some mame cab builders like to install an arcade button at the top of their creation to power the thing up, something like what ive mocked up

Awwwwwww Hail yeah! You could put a 9v adapter on an unswitched outlet on a smartstrip. this way the power button would always glow. I am thinking blue.

25cent just has the look of the coin door. I really like that.
I like the idea of an esc. button. Perhape we could come up with some graphic ideas for escape, enter, and tab so we don't have text buttons floating around the console. example the @ is used for at. You might have a back arrow for escape <--. I am thinking that the MAME logo might be cool for enter as you would be selecting a game so in a sence you are saying MAME it. Ok perhaps I am going too far.

Hey, this might have been asked, but which flavor of translucient button did you use?

I have already committed to using electric ice for the game play buttons, but now if this pans out and we can get these, I will use these for the misc. buttons.

[MikeDeuce]

Perhape we could come up with some graphic ideas...

Hey, this might have been asked, but which flavor of translucient button did you use?

I have already committed to using electric ice for the game play buttons, but now if this pans out and we can get these, I will use these for the misc. buttons.

More great ideas, thanks!

One of the more popular sheets is this one:

Which has a few options that work with some of the ideas so far.

I'm using the Happ translucents from ponyboy. But I can make these things in pretty much any size if anyone has exact measurements.

[Bomber]

When I saw the thread title I thought you had stuck a LED behind the reject button, so I had to come in and see why there were so many replies.....these things look awesome.

25c is the universal language of Arcade.

You mean Universal in the US right? We only had to pay 20c in Australia. With the exchange rate at the time it was probably about 0.0005 US cents   But of course everyone here would know what 25c means since Australia desperately wants to be 'little america'. I still have 25c coin reject inserts in my cab and I'm still waiting for some one to put a 20c coin and a 5c coin in the slot...

The pause button in Lemmings was a picture of two little cat paw prints. Might work for this?

[Nannuu]

Perhape we could come up with some graphic ideas...

Hey, this might have been asked, but which flavor of translucient button did you use?

I have already committed to using electric ice for the game play buttons, but now if this pans out and we can get these, I will use these for the misc. buttons.

More great ideas, thanks!

One of the more popular sheets is this one:

Which has a few options that work with some of the ideas so far.

I'm using the Happ translucents from ponyboy. But I can make these things in pretty much any size if anyone has exact measurements.

I can email you that sheet in vector format if you don't already have it.

[MikeDeuce]

The pause button in Lemmings was a picture of two little cat paw prints. Might work for this?

That's hilarious!

I can email you that sheet in vector format if you don't already have it.

Thanks Nannuu! I have it already though, I was the one that PM'd you a few months back requesting permission to reproduce it (Thanks again for that, btw).