Easy Led Buttons

[rlehm]

Greengiant, I'll reply in this thread because you ar being nice and helpful. No, and to be honest, i did hook one up backwards at first because I was unsure which way they went. It did not light. I switched it, and it did. So I assume the ones that popped, were not backwards. I used a voltage meter, and it has 4 to 5v out from the wire. the dial moves from 4 to 5, but if i wait, it will stay dead set on 5v. I ran this 5 volts to ALL of the wires that do not have the protected coating. In other words, to the skinny wire. The wire with the protected coating, the fatter end wire, and grounded. 40 of 48 worked like a charm. I am not going to order more, so i will leave them off until I rip all the LEDs out and replace them so they all work. I need to replace them all I assume, cause his are the brightest. I actualy want a light not as bright though. I play in a semi-dark room, and they lit the ceiling up like a dance club, and made it hard to focus on the screen. great in a well lit room however.

[RandyT]

Again, I have to apologize that this is being dragged out in public...it's not by my choice.

If there is a genuine warranty issue that caused 8 of your units to fail, return them to me and they will be repaired at no cost.  Yours were just some of many that we ship day after day (all of which are fully tested,) and we have had no other reports of problems like the one you describe.  But if the buttons were used correctly, we will be happy to take care of it for you. 

Also,  If you are getting more blow through of light than you like, consider adding the diffuser inserts.  If lights on the ceiling bother you, you'll want something like this for that style  of button no matter what you use for illuminaton.

I won't be discussing this further. RandyT's responces to me in email is not helpfull, but be-little me. So I give up. I am ripping these from my machine. I will just settle on the unlighted buttons I originally had. I guess I am just too stupid to dp this, right?

My responses were not meant to belittle, merely to explain why what you were condemning as errors or lack of clarity in the documentation is actually not a problem with the documentation, rather a lack of necessary, rudimentary electronics knowledge on your part. I don't know of a nicer way to say something like that without making someone feel like they don't understand things which they don't understand   

While I do know that the sentence "The USB port can deliver a maximum of 500ma" will have no meaning to someone who doesn't understand what "ma" or the concept of current is, there's only so much that can be reasonably covered in documentation for a device.

I can't stress enough that folks take the time to understand the very basics of electronics before delving into a project like this.  It doesn't matter which approach you take, or the parts you use.  The concepts are important and will be necessary for a properly functioning and safely implemented panel.  We make our parts with the proper resistor values and specify the voltage to be used.  That's about the most we can do.  Just as a manufacturer of Christmas tree lights can't keep its purchasers from hooking 30 strands into a single home AC outlet, we can't prevent someone from trying to run 30 NovaGems from just the USB port if they are hell-bent on doing so.

If you choose to deal with GGG, I can help you understand these things, but you have to be patient, provide the information I ask for and don't proceed until you get the answers to your questions.  If I was standing next to you, I could stop you when you are about to make a mistake and prevent it.  From here, I can only ask questions, provide help based on the answers I get and hope the user can understand the things I write.  Some days it's not fun, but fortunately those days don't come around very often.

RandyT

[rlehm]

Just thought I'd update the thread. I put in a few of those automotive LEDs inplace of some of the dead ones... can't even tell the difference... can you point out which ones came from the auto store? I am happy that i can swap the deads one out for the automotive ones and be an exact match Still too bright for me, guess i'll just have to get used to it.


need to buy 3 more auto leds, but the store i visited had a small supply, time to call around.

[TOK]

Where is that "told ya so" smiley? 

[Havok]

Good to see you got it working with an easy replacement.

I'll give you $10 for that unwanted LEDWiz...

 

[RandyT]

Where is that "told ya so" smiley? 

I have some of those PILOT LEDs on order for comparison purposes.  If they show to have the same output as the NG light sources when I test them, I'll make you a "told you so" smiley for future use .

RandyT

[urbecrisch]

The nearest Pep Boys for me is in Illinois.  What is the product number and brand name of the LED's or can I get them at another auto store?

[bfauska]

Which buttons are you referring to that will be much cheaper that won't also be more work?

NovaGem + 5v = lit button.
LedWiz + 5v(if lighting more than 5 buttons) + USB + NovaGem = controllable lit button.

Cheaper button + drill + LED + resistor + solder + wire + 5v = lit button


While not being the cheapest option for illuminated concave pushbuttons, the NovaGems look good to me.  Using other sources you could save less than maybe $2.50 a button if you were willing to shop several sources, cut and strip wires, drill holes, solder resistors and wires, and cover the resulting product w/ heat-shrink tube.  And even after all that work you would probably end up with a product that doesn't glow as evenly or as brightly.

The 12v automotive option I showed is bright and evenly lit. They are bright enough that the buttons light reflects off the ceiling in the dark. I wouldn't want 7 flashlights blasting me in the face, so any brighter would be silly. Drilling takes all of 5 seconds, no resistors.

My whole lit build was around 40 bucks, and that is with spare LED's since I did different colors and they came in a 3 pack.

Well it sounds like you could have me here.  I see a savings of $1.62 + shipping (provided the automotive LEDs are available locally) - sales tax (unless you live in NY and were paying sales tax from GGG, or you don't pay sales tax in your state.)  So lets call it $1.75 a button, if your whole 4 player panel is illuminated that's a savings of about $84 (not sure what 48 buttons is for exactly, but not the right place for that debate.)  A substantial savings to say the least.  Naturally you have to drill holes now, but if you've already built a cabinet...  It also sounds as if the automotive LEDs perform fairly well, at least to the naked eye.  So maybe you have found a nice balance of DIY and pre-made that leads to illuminated button glee at a bargain price.  At the same time I think that with the markup convenience often gets in todays world, $1.62 isn't too much of a markup for illuminated button assembly.

[rlehm]

A few people have offered to buy the LED-Wiz from me. Well, here is your chance. I started the bidding at 0.01 cent. I'll sell it for that if that's all the bids i get. I will ship it very well, don't worry about that.

[rlehm]

 (not sure what 48 buttons is for exactly, but not the right place for that debate.) 

5 buttons for pinball, I plunger 2 tilt, 2 paddles

Players 1,2,3 and 4 all use 7 buttons. (I play more than just arcades on my cab.. N64 has a few games that are very arcade like and myself and 3 friends drink beer and have a hell of a time)

Then there is this layout
(player3)(coin)(pause)(player1)(coin)(spinner button)(front end control)(dedicated 4-way button)( front end control)( front end control)(coin)(player2)(pause)(coin)(player4)


A lot of people hate the slikstik quad, and any other 4 player controller. On my wide cabinet i think it looks good. It feels awesome, and it does what i need. I have family/friends heavily into games just like me. It isn't hard to get a night together with the boys.. beer... and button mashing. Betting on street fighter games, or a N64 mario cart race could not be more fun... or, let the women play The Simpsons 4 player. It is a little over kill, but not one visitor has ever complained. I completely understand the hate for this type of setup. I used to collect arcade machines. To even see a picture of a MAME cab made me want to puke. Now, I have the granddaddy:) And I wouldn't have it any other way. My wife is much happier with one machine located in our home. And after slapping on mamemarquees amazing printing, it looks perfect

[bfauska]

well, there y'all go again.  48 buttons and they all get used.  Who'd a thunk it. 

Glad to hear you use all 4 players, so few people do.

[Green Giant]

Damn, did you buy your wire by the yard to hook all that up?

So any offers yet on that ledwiz?  When does the bidding end? 

You wouldn't happen to go by lemoncade on ebay would you?

[rlehm]

the current offer is at 11.00
i have been offered 20.00 by PM here, but I do not remove auctions and make the sale, it's against ebay policies. Yes, rlehm=lemoncade


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320143507451&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=011

the auction stands at 11.00 so far. never used for more than wiring. it never had power to it, i thought the USB powered it, so no way I could have damaged it, unless hooking the provided USB to it can destroy it.

[RandyT]

These are from Pep Boys, and yes they're LED's, but thanks for the vote of stupidity. 
They're available in multiple colors too. I matched them to the button colors and they're incredibly vibrant. 7 bucks for a 3 pack. Here is a picture of the package.

Every time I post this, people seem to think I'm incorrect or the setup is inferior... Yes they're bright, yes they're cheap, and yes its as easy as stripping some wires and connecting them to an existing plug on your power supply.

Where is that "told ya so" smiley? 

No "TYS" smiley for you today.   

As I wrote earlier. I ordered two packages of these and took the $20 "bite" so hopefully others won't have to.  They arrived today.  Compared to the lights in the GGG NovaGem buttons, these LED's are L-A-A-A-A-A-ME  They are utterly inferior for button lighting, even to the "ButtonBlaster" LED's that GGG offers.  I fully encourage anyone who might be considering these to do an objective comparison between the two and post their findings.  What follows are my results.

These "12v" LEDs are nothing more than garden variety, narrow cone (poor for buttons) "high-bright" LEDs with a small resistor in-line with one of the leads.  There is a length of wire attached and the resistor / LED leads are covered in heat shrink.

They are as bright as any other cheap "high-bright" LED.  At the distance required for bottom mounting in a button, they project about a 5/8" diameter spot.  This is barely large enough to cover the clear area of the plunger, let alone the surrounding bezel.  This means that any lighting the bezel gets is incidental, and the majority of it blows right out onto the ceiling.

After what has been said about these things, I thought the first one I tested was a dud or that my power supply was whacked.  I check my voltages and tried another.  Same poor performance.  Anyone expecting these to even approach what our lighting does, should not.  They don't even come close.  The light output and angle pales tremendously next to the NG light source.  I may post some pictures in a day or two to really demonstrate this, but unfortunately no time at the moment.

RandyT

[zabrin]

Hey rlehm.. first, nice controller....second, what sticks are those and how did you light em' up....

Z.

[Green Giant]

As I wrote earlier. I ordered two packages of these and took the $20 "bite" so hopefully others won't have to.  They arrived today.  Compared to the lights in the GGG NovaGem buttons, these LED's are L-A-A-A-A-A-ME  They are utterly inferior for button lighting, even to the "ButtonBlaster" LED's that GGG offers.  I fully encourage anyone who might be considering these to do an objective comparison between the two and post their findings.  What follows are my results.

These "12v" LEDs are nothing more than garden variety, narrow cone (poor for buttons) "high-bright" LEDs with a small resistor in-line with one of the leads.  There is a length of wire attached and the resistor / LED leads are covered in heat shrink.

They are as bright as any other cheap "high-bright" LED.  At the distance required for bottom mounting in a button, they project about a 5/8" diameter spot.  This is barely large enough to cover the clear area of the plunger, let alone the surrounding bezel.  This means that any lighting the bezel gets is incidental, and the majority of it blows right out onto the ceiling.

After what has been said about these things, I thought the first one I tested was a dud or that my power supply was whacked.  I check my voltages and tried another.  Same poor performance.  Anyone expecting these to even approach what our lighting does, should not.  They don't even come close.  The light output and angle pales tremendously next to the NG light source.  I may post some pictures in a day or two to really demonstrate this, but unfortunately no time at the moment.

RandyT

Nice work checking them out before ragging on them.  I guess they are an option to use just like the novagems.

But personally I think the novagems are crap when compared to your electric ice buttons.  The multiple colors still kicks ass and blows everyone away that sees them.

Looking forward to the comparison pics.