I got my TT2 today. . . and a couple of micro-leaf switches to evaluate. I swapped them for a couple of standard microswitches in my HotRod controller.
The micro-leaf switches are quite a bit smaller than regular microswitches. However, they require a bit more vertical clearance than the switches that were in the HotRod, due to the contacts being oriented vertically. The contacts are also quite small. The existing clips went on them okay for testing purposes. If building a CP with these you would want to get the correct size of connectors I'm sure.
Echoing what Ummon observed. . . The things I noticed most are the lack of clicky sounds and the much lighter spring resistance.
I was hoping these would allow me to rattle off rapid-fire bursts the way I remember doing on original Asteroids machines. With a real leaf-switch button, if you could get the leaves
almost in contact and then sort of jitter your wrist, it could cycle extremely fast. However. . . Looking back from today's perspective, that may be a maneuver only caffeine-and-sugar-besotted teenagers can pull off anyhow.
I didn't see any difference in my rate of fire between the regular microswitch and the micro-leaf switch. In both cases I had the button rattling up and down in its housing, and that was what determined the fire rate. There's no subtlety.
What surprised me was how much better the micro-leaf switch felt when controlling the ship's thruster. It felt more smooth, effortless and precise than the regular microswitch. So it seems that finesse is what these switches are really good for.
Regarding spring tension. . . If you are worried about accidentally brushing against a button and triggering it, then these switches are not for you. It can happen, they are that sensitive. My ideal switch would be somewhere in between: more tension than the micro-leaf switch, less than the microswitch. Given a choice between the two at hand, I'll take the micro-leaf.
It's not a slam-dunk. I wish I could tell you these switches are for everyone, and they're definitely better than regular microswitches. But you know, it's not a huge, dramatic difference, and it's going to come down to personal preferences. If you have a sort of ham-fisted approach to the controls and like to really bang on them, and you like the clicks and strong tactile feedback, then you'll prefer the regular microswitches. If you typically have a light touch on the controls and want to finesse them, the I'm sure you'll prefer the micro-leafs. I don't think the difference is likely to show up in your high scores either way, honestly. They do the same job.
I still haven't tried the leaf-switch brackets that are designed to fit microswitch pushbuttons. I'd like to give those a try sometime, if I can get my hands on them.