LEDs and standard competition pushbuttons

[welshmark]

Newbie question.  Has anyone tried lighting up standard Happ competition pushbuttons?  Would this work?  If so, how do they look and what problems did you encounter?

[Kaytrim]

It can be done but you need to use real bright LEDs of the same color as the button.  The pic below are standard buttons lit with white button blaster LEDs from Groovy Game Gear.

As you can see only the center of the button is lit.  If you want a real nice lit button go with the NovaGems or the Electric ICE buttons from Groovy Game Gear.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[Anubis_au]

Hi Welshmark (one noob to another)

Several people have lit up the standard Happ buttons. The best example I could think of was Knievel's Flyercade:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=30403.msg338924#msg338924

It looks nice and more subtle than the translucents, so its user preference which way they want to go...

[Kaytrim]

One thing to keep in mind too is that it is hard to take good pics of lit buttons.

[welshmark]

Thanks guys - that's exactly the look I'm going for.

[Squeeky]

Is there a guide as to what to drill and where?  I know Knievel did a guide for the Wico leaf buttons.  I would like to know what rated LEDs work best as well.  Would a bright white illuminate better then using the buttons color LED?

[polaris]

have you looked at the BYOAC wiki?

[Kaytrim]

Squeeky, head over to my project thread I have some more pics of how I did the mod to the buttons.  I'll have a slightly different method for the LEDs and some pics up later.  This time using the colored LEDs.   The theory is that the button acts as a colored filter allowing only that color through.  With a white LED some of the light is blocked because of the color of the button.  When you use a LED of the same color as the button all the light is let through thus making the button brighter. 

There are two ratings on a LED.  The first measurement is the voltage that it is rated for.  You need to use a resistor on most LEDs because of the voltage rating.  If you supply too much voltage to the LED it will blow.  There are calculators online to help you figure out the proper resister to use for a given supplied voltage.  The second measurement is how bright they are measured in microcandles (mcd).

I get all my LEDs from Groovy Game Gear.  I do this for two reasons.  First they are very bright, they rate thousands of mcd.  If you look into these when lit you will be seeing them for a while after the power is cut.  Second Randy supplies the proper resister for a 5v connection so you get the most light out of them.  He also has the multi colored LEDs called RGB LEDs.  These already come mounted on a circuit board ready to install on your button of choice.  If you want you can also purchase the circuit boards separately.

I hope this helps,
TTFN
Kaytrim

[loadman]

Hi

I use standard buttons with Bright LEDs in them. I drilled 8mm holes in the bottom and popped them in. I am very happy with the result

I'm using  MaLa Hardware and the LEDS are supplied with the kit

[welshmark]

That looks pretty cool.  I just ordered my standard buttons and LEDs from Randy at groovygamegear (got the same color LEDs as buttons).  They're going to add a bit of "bling" to an old time jukebox I'm building for my father-in-law.