Questions about DreamArcades.com

[ItchyD]

What kind of buttons/joys are they selling here?  I am thinking about getting my set of buttons from these guys because they seem relatively cheap, but they don't list the brand.  I emailed them and got no response which is making me alittle leary. 

Since I'm building a 2 player xbox control panel I was planning to buy 2 white, red, green, blue and yellow buttons as well as 10 black ones.... I just noticed that the lighed buttons are convex, and the black buttons are concave.  Is this going to annoy me alot?  Does anyone else mix button types on their cp?  They don't sell black convex or lighted concaves unfortunately.

[Turnarcades]

Not sure about the brands from DA, but I advise against mixing button types for player controls. You may get away with using different buttons for 'admin' controls, but don't mix them for the player's main 'fire' buttons.

Concave is generally the weapon of choice for most people as they were more popular on arcades back in the day. Some people like the Jap-style convex buttons and although people say they are great for fighting games, I disagree and prefer the classic buttons as they have a softer feel. Whatever you choose, make sure you get some quiet, soft microswitches else fast gameplay will feel horrible.

[mrclean]

dream arcades i think provides acemake microswitches , my advice is order from happ.com directly or divemasterdave here on the forum with "cherry" micro switches. I might try out groovy game gears microleaf switches next, because on my other machine i have leaf buttons, which are alot better to me..or i might even just eventually switch to real leafs (bob roberts / lizard lick) for my mame cab I just prefer the feel of them better. It really boils down to personal prefrence.

[divemaster127]

They use chinese made hardware.  I would use happ hardware you get what you pay for.

[DreamArcades]

Sorry we missed your e-mail. We were swamped during the holidays and it probably got overlooked. You can always PM me here; it might take me a day or two to get back to you, but you'll reach me directly that way.

Yes, we do use acemake switches. I know some people will disagree but we find they are the best quality for the price (they cost less than Cherry brand). Remember, we use tens of thousands a year so for us the cost difference is a lot less.

That being said if you want Cherry switches we can include them for 5 cents more for each button.

Also, Happ's buttons are made in China (The button itself. I'm not 100% sure about the switches; I think they are too.) With Happs you are paying extra for the name.

-Mike

[mrclean]

take mikes advice and pay the extra couple of cents more for better microswitches TRUST me !

[Jack Burton]

The "Happ" buttons that people talk about are more often than not actually Industry Lorenzo or IL buttons as they are sometimes called. 

They are what happ used to sell before they started buying all their buttons from China.  The new china buttons have a higher profile and are inferior to the old ones.

I recommend using IL buttons and Cherry microswitches. 

Don't skimp on your controls.  Even if you pay $5 more per player the difference is well worth it. 

[Franco B]

Don't skimp on your controls.  Even if you pay $5 more per player the difference is well worth it. 

Exactly, I don't know why DA would skimp on $0.30 per player 

[daywane]

DreamArcades.com
lets look at it this way.
This man made a special run on PINK T molding
sold it cheep.
I got the pink buttons. pink joystick, pink T molding for my wife's MS PAC
She loves it.
he has done a big service for this group.
I will stand up for DreamArcades.com
and I HATE switches. I like leafs.
darn clickity, clickity , clickity, clickity

[DreamArcades]

I still have a few roles of pink left. It's not listed though, so e-mail us if you want some (or the pink buttons/sticks).

-Mike