Author Topic: Replacing X-Arcade Buttons With LED Buttons (Read 26891 times)

njay · « **on:** July 21, 2009, 04:55:03 am »

Hi All,
as my cab is build around the x-arcade i just cant swap out the whole thing.

but i want to use ledblinky because it sounds awesome to see lit up buttons.

my question what do i need to order?

do the led buttons fit in the x-arcade? how can i power them?
also do i need the led-wiz?

Regards,

Nick

Larock · « **Reply #1 on:** July 21, 2009, 05:31:28 am »

Hey

They have a complete led kit with everything you need here:

http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/products/chromeledwiringkit.htm

They also sell modified tancksticks with this kit installed so im sure the buttons will be a perfect fit

http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/products/xarcademodtankstick.htm

Franco B · « **Reply #2 on:** July 21, 2009, 06:02:13 am »

That kit uses the Pac Drive and Ultralux buttons. I wouldnt recommend the Pac Drive and I havent heard the best things about the Ultralux buttons. (Review [Here])

Quote from: njay on July 21, 2009, 04:55:03 am

my question what do i need to order?

(Ignore the LED controller section and anything about RGBs if you only plan on having your buttons lit permanently.)

LED controller(s) - either [PacDrive] or [LED Wiz]. I would go for the LED Wiz as you can vary the intensity of the LEDs for fade etc effects. The PacDrive simply has on/off outputs. If you want to light the buttons with a single colour LED you would need one LED Wiz, If you wanted to go RGB on 'all' the buttons (eight per player + start and pinball buttons) you would need two LED Wiz's as each RGB uses three ports of the 32 available ports.

LEDs - Either single colour or RGB. GGG stocks good quality [single colour and RGB LEDs] You can get them cheaper elsewhere (ebay etc) but the quality may not be as good as Randys. A word of warning, if you source your own RGB LEDs make sure you buy the common anode version as the common cathode version will not work with the LED Wiz. If you are using RGBs GGG stocks the [RGB-Drive] boards. They are available in a few versions but the top spec one includes a mounted RGB pre wired with resistors and a two foot 4-core cable that you can simply hook up to your controller. They are a good idea if you are not to keen on lots of soldering.

Buttons - Most buttons can be lit in some way but most people seem to use either [GGG's Electric Ice], [GGG's NovaGem] or the ['Happ' style translucent]. All of these buttons will fit your X-Arcade.

Other bits - If you are soldering up LEDs etc your self you will need a soldering iron etc, solder, wire, heatshrink, your LEDs and appropriate resistors + a load more stuff I'm probably forgetting.

Quote from: njay on July 21, 2009, 04:55:03 am

do the led buttons fit in the x-arcade?

Answered above.

Quote from: njay on July 21, 2009, 04:55:03 am

how can i power them?

If you are just lighting LEDs to be switched on all of the time then I would just run a 5/12v cable from your PC into the X-Arcade. You can buy a molex splitter cable and tap into that to save butchering your PC wiring if you want to avoid that.

The LED Wiz can light 5v LEDs using the power from its USB connection. However it has a limit. You need to work out how much current your LEDs are likely to draw if they were all on full intensity. USB has ~500mA available but I wouldn't draw over 400mA personally. If you do need to draw more than 400mA (which is often the case) you would need to send a 5v feed to the LED Wiz to increase the available current. You can do this the same way I described above.

Note:This is presuming you are using 5v LEDs, if you are using anything higher then you will need to supply the LED Wiz with the appropriate power and possibly use the bank select feature if working with more than one voltage.

Quote from: njay on July 21, 2009, 04:55:03 am

also do i need the led-wiz?

It should be answered above but if you want to use lighting effects and get your buttons to light up when playing games then yes you do.

Hope that is of some help

njay · « **Reply #3 on:** July 21, 2009, 06:36:59 am »

wow what a good explanation just what i needed thanks

i won't be soldering myself that much my skills are lacking in that department.

as i see with the illum buttons the microswitch has three connectors on it two of them for the button press and the third is for the led power? i looked at the ultimarc website and it seems daisy chaining the buttons for the led power seems to the trick.

if i understand correctly if i want a single button to get one color and i want to wire up the whole x-arcade i need only one 32 connector led wiz right? and if i want multiple colors per button i need more then one wiz?

so i would need to:

1. replace every single button at a time in the x-arcade and use the exisiting wiring
2. daisy chain power to all the buttons and then to the led wiz which itselfs runs with usb to my pc
3. mount the led wiz inside the x-arcade , and run some power from a molex inside the controller
4. i guess the usb connection makes my pc know i have a led wiz connected right?

thanks for all the help

this is my list from GGG:

Electric ICE™ Lightable Horizontal Pushbutton
- Microswitch E-Switch™ (Like Cherry™)

$47.84

Blue ButtonBlaster™ LED

$7.84
LED-Wiz™ 32-port USB Lighting and Output Controller
- Device Number 1 (Use if FIRST or ONLY device of this EXACT type)

$44.95

Sub-Total: $100.63

am i missing anything? what i understand is that i put the led in the button then but on the microswitch which will power the led when connected?

ow yeah what i don't see it the player one and player two buttons on that page? or can i just strip of the graphic from my existing buttons?

Franco B · « **Reply #4 on:** July 21, 2009, 07:07:03 am »

Quote from: njay on July 21, 2009, 06:36:59 am

as i see with the illum buttons the microswitch has three connectors on it two of them for the button press and the third is for the led power?

Not quite. The three terminals on microswitches are not used for LED lighting at all. The three terminals are NO (normally open), NC (normally closed) and Common. The NO and Common terminals are generally used for CP buttons (this is how your X-Arcade will be wired). NC and common terminals are generally used for door interlocks. They don't have much use in BYO cabs but some guys have used them for clever things.

If you are looking at the Ultralux buttons there is an additional two terminals on the bayonet holder that are used for LED lighting. The microswitch terminals and LED terminals are not connected in anyway.

Which ever buttons you use you want to daisy chain the anode (positive) leads together and then each individual cathode (negative) lead runs back to individual ports on the LED Wiz. Here is a diagram which may help explain things. The LEDs haven't technically been daisy chained but they are drawing power from linked terminal strips:

(apologies to whoever I stole the drawing from, its just one in my photobucket)

Quote from: njay on July 21, 2009, 06:36:59 am

if i understand correctly if i want a single button to get one color and i want to wire up the whole x-arcade i need only one 32 connector led wiz right? and if i want multiple colors per button i need more then one wiz?

so i would need to:

1. replace every single button at a time in the x-arcade and use the exisiting wiring
2. daisy chain power to all the buttons and then to the led wiz which itselfs runs with usb to my pc
3. mount the led wiz inside the x-arcade , and run some power from a molex inside the controller
4. i guess the usb connection makes my pc know i have a led wiz connected right?

Yes that's correct, just take into account what I said above.

Quote from: njay on July 21, 2009, 06:36:59 am

this is my list from GGG:

Electric ICE™ Lightable Horizontal Pushbutton
- Microswitch E-Switch™ (Like Cherry™)

$47.84

Blue ButtonBlaster™ LED

$7.84
LED-Wiz™ 32-port USB Lighting and Output Controller
- Device Number 1 (Use if FIRST or ONLY device of this EXACT type)

$44.95

Sub-Total: $100.63

am i missing anything? what i understand is that i put the led in the button then but on the microswitch which will power the led when connected?

You would need to do some soldering with those LEDs and buttons. You would be better off with the [NovaGem] buttons as they are pre wired and ready to go,

Hopefully your final question was answered above.

njay · « **Reply #5 on:** July 21, 2009, 07:16:18 am »

dude thanks for the support he is my new list:

NovaGem™ Lightable Horizontal Pushbutton
- Microswitch E-Switch™ (Like Cherry™)
- Color Red

$51.60
LED-Wiz™ 32-port USB Lighting and Output Controller
- Device Number 1 (Use if FIRST or ONLY device of this EXACT type)

$44.95
NovaGem™ Lightable Horizontal Pushbutton
- Microswitch E-Switch™ (Like Cherry™)
- Color Blue

$51.60

NovaGem™ Lightable Horizontal Pushbutton
- Microswitch E-Switch™ (Like Cherry™)
- Color Yellow

$12.90

Sub-Total: $161.05

Franco B · « **Reply #6 on:** July 21, 2009, 07:22:24 am »

Sounds good to me.

You may want to get an in line fuse holder and fuse to protect the LED Wiz and maybe some terminal strips or bus bars but apart from that you should be good to go.

njay · « **Reply #7 on:** July 21, 2009, 07:32:53 am »

thanks

i will order when i get back from vacation

Kman-Sweden · « **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2009, 08:41:26 am »

I replaced mine with RGB LED's. Have a look using the link I have to my Arcade PC, here below.

njay · « **Reply #9 on:** July 21, 2009, 08:50:28 am »

well i almost orderd them but then i got a nast bite..

the taxes in holland are ---smurfin--- crazy i need to pay another 50 euro's of import tax over total of 187 dollars
if i am correct..

how much did you pay for it regarding taxes?

i will still order ofcourse but just to know

Franco B · « **Reply #10 on:** July 21, 2009, 09:15:17 am »

Yeah I always get stung ordering from GGG to the UK (though its no fault of GGGs).

I end up paying ~15% extra plus £25 'handling' charge from ParcelFarce, sorry Force.

The £:$ doesnt help at the moment either but It's just the price you have to pay for bling

garnerb350 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 21, 2009, 10:07:50 am »

Quote from: Kman_Sweden on July 21, 2009, 08:41:26 am

I replaced mine with RGB LED's. Have a look using the link I have to my Arcade PC, here below.

Kman, you got the Electric Ice w/ the RGB right?
Did you replace the side ones (pushbuttons)also?

See I am thinking of doing the same and also having the trackball to light up...
But I was told that i would probley have to get 2 led wiz...

When you hooked up yours, did you use all the hookups or did you have any to spare ( on the led-wiz)?
What was the total list that you got from Randy?

(on a side note, thanks Kman...your tutorial on keyboard hacking helped me out alot!)

Beretta · « **Reply #12 on:** July 21, 2009, 02:04:16 pm »

speaking of lit push buttons whats the difference between novagem, electric blue, and happ translucent?

im planing on using them not on my first project but on my 2nd.

garnerb350 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 21, 2009, 02:07:41 pm »

njay....
Double check on what you need...I was told differently...I also have a x-arcade tankstick and i was told that ( by arzoo) if i wanted to have RGBs for pushbuttons and also RGB for trackball...

X-arcade tankstick has 22 pushbuttons ( that includes Player 1 & 2 pushbuttons)

"22 RGB buttons plus the RGB TB would require 69 ports (3 x 23). To light them all you would need two 32-port LEDWiz's and one 16-port LEDWiz. That gives you 80 ports (but you'll only use 69 of them).
Now when i was told this, I decided that I would just do the buttons on top + trackball...
(18 pushbuttons)
I am going to place single led for the player start buttons...so that would be.....

"So you'll need 48 ports for the 16 RGB buttons (16x3), plus 3 ports for the RGB trackball, plus 2 ports for the player 1/2 single LED buttons. That's a total of 53 ports. You need two 32-port LEDWiz's and you'll have 11 ports unused for future expansion!"
"Remember when you buy the two LEDWiz's to specify them as device #1 and device #2 on the GGG order page."

garnerb350 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 21, 2009, 02:20:17 pm »

Quote from: Beretta on July 21, 2009, 02:04:16 pm

speaking of lit push buttons whats the difference between novagem, electric blue, and happ translucent?

im planing on using them not on my first project but on my 2nd.

NovaGem is a translucent pushbutton that has everything built on it...just plug in and go....
Electric Ice is milky white pushbutton that when lit...everything turn to that color...
Happs Translucent is clear pushbuttons and are made in different colors...

NovaGem

Electric Ice

Happs translucent

Franco B · « **Reply #15 on:** July 21, 2009, 02:24:09 pm »

Does the X-Arcade have two pinball buttons each side? If so I guess that does make 22 buttons (16 action, two start and four pinball) I was thinking it only had one pinball button either side.

In that case you would need three LED Wiz's for full RGB (66 outputs) but it seems pointless to buy a third LED Wiz to light one extra button.

njay's X-Aracade doesn't have a trackball and he is planning on single colour LEDs so he should be fine with one LED Wiz.

garnerb350 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 21, 2009, 02:44:55 pm »

Quote from: Franco B on July 21, 2009, 02:24:09 pm

Does the X-Arcade have two pinball buttons each side?

Yeah 2 on each side...left side is # 3 & mouse left click....right side is #4 and right mouse click...

Yeah i was really wanting to figure out what was what because i want to do the same thing...this is next on my checklist...

njay · « **Reply #17 on:** July 21, 2009, 04:51:49 pm »

i was plan on only use of 1 color per button so one led wiz is good.

if you want rgb colors per led then you indeed need two led wiz

dafelandry · « **Reply #18 on:** July 22, 2009, 10:45:12 am »

right on! Very good post! I want to LED mine and possibly gut it....or i wouldnt mind changing the panel on it... kinda sick of staring at that X (now to find that post)

Beretta · « **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2009, 02:23:11 pm »

thanks for clearing that up, with the price of the novagem is sounds like the electic blue is the way the go.

i wanna put RGB on my 2nd project.. anyway grovygamer also sells lenses you put in to diffuse the light.. are those really necessary to get it glowing good?

lit buttons get expensive quickly i was thinking of getting just the RGB and do the wiring my self they also sell it with a board that will snap right on.. would save time but also cost 2 bucks more.

garnerb350 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2009, 03:03:04 pm »

Quote from: Beretta on July 22, 2009, 02:23:11 pm

thanks for clearing that up, with the price of the novagem is sounds like the electic blue is the way the go.

i wanna put RGB on my 2nd project.. anyway grovygamer also sells lenses you put in to diffuse the light.. are those really necessary to get it glowing good?

lit buttons get expensive quickly i was thinking of getting just the RGB and do the wiring my self they also sell it with a board that will snap right on.. would save time but also cost 2 bucks more.

Yeah I was wanting to do the same, but after doing the math...I've got to go cheap!!!...
I figured I would do red leds for the pushbuttons, and do white for the trackball...I heard that you can take regular pushbuttons ( except black) and take a 3/16 drill bit and drill the holes to insert LEDS into the pushbutton ( which is what i am going to do with the Player1/2 buttons)...

Those lenses you are refering to are diffusers...I think that the sole purpose of those are for the Happs translucent pushbuttons...With the Electric Ice and NovaGems, I dont think you would need the diffusers....

Beretta · « **Reply #21 on:** July 22, 2009, 03:20:33 pm »

cool looks like i'll need 38 buttons for my 2nd project so not buying those lenses will save about 12 bucks.

as for regular push buttons are you saying you can light up regular buttons with a led?
the plastic looks pretty sold and thick.. would think you'ed need A LOT of light to get anything though'em.

garnerb350 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 22, 2009, 04:02:17 pm »

Do a search, because I am not "exactly" sure...( i'm trying to use common sense

) but I guess if you take a white led...it could make the pushbuttons glow (not as bright)....but i know it wont work on black pushbuttons... I could be wrong, but I swore i thought i read it somewhere....
here is a link to the info about drilling ....http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Lighting_Microswitch_Buttons

njay · « **Reply #23 on:** July 22, 2009, 04:33:12 pm »

well if anyone from the netherlands here want to share shipping and import costs?

lol

well im going to egypte in a few days so i will order when im back from ggg

another question:

does anyone have the dimensions of the x-arcade dual? or the CAD drawing , scott from mamemarquees.com is willing to cut out a new overlay panel for me if he has those.

Quote from: dafelandry on July 22, 2009, 10:45:12 am

right on! Very good post! I want to LED mine and possibly gut it....or i wouldnt mind changing the panel on it... kinda sick of staring at that X (now to find that post)

dude i just mailed x-arcade for the cad drawing or dimensions if we get them we both can ask scott to make us a cpo overlay for our dual x-arcade

Kman-Sweden · « **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2009, 03:33:07 am »

Quote from: garnerb350 on July 21, 2009, 10:07:50 am

Quote from: Kman_Sweden on July 21, 2009, 08:41:26 am
I replaced mine with RGB LED's. Have a look using the link I have to my Arcade PC, here below.

Kman, you got the Electric Ice w/ the RGB right?
Did you replace the side ones (pushbuttons)also?

See I am thinking of doing the same and also having the trackball to light up...
But I was told that i would probley have to get 2 led wiz...

When you hooked up yours, did you use all the hookups or did you have any to spare ( on the led-wiz)?
What was the total list that you got from Randy?

(on a side note, thanks Kman...your tutorial on keyboard hacking helped me out alot!)

Nice to hear that I could help. I only bought one ledwiz and with RGB-LEDs You need 3 ports for every button. So I connected player1's and player2's buttons in pairs so that the ledwiz light up both players buttons at the same time... Could you follow that?

By doing so i could light up the mouse and pinball buttons (also in pairs)... I'm gonna order a second one when I build my own CP.
16 player buttons in pairs = 8 buttons connected + 4 mouse/pinball buttons in pairs = 2 buttons connected = 10 buttons in total.
10 buttons * 3 colors = 30 ports used, so I actually have 2 ports to spare (2 one color LED's).

Oh and by the way.. I power it from a usb port... no 5V power hacks needed.

Beretta · « **Reply #25 on:** July 23, 2009, 04:26:22 am »

Quote from: Kman_Sweden on July 23, 2009, 03:33:07 am

I only bought one ledwiz and with RGB-LEDs You need 3 ports for every button. So I connected player1's and player2's buttons in pairs so that the ledwiz light up both players buttons at the same time.

hmm that is actually a pretty clever way to save some money.. not quite as flexible but i kinda like that idea, when i do mine im gonna need 2 led wiz.. this might be a way to cut down on wiring and cost

garnerb350 · « **Reply #26 on:** July 23, 2009, 08:06:04 am »

Quote from: Kman_Sweden on July 21, 2009, 08:41:26 am

Nice to hear that I could help. I only bought one ledwiz and with RGB-LEDs You need 3 ports for every button. So I connected player1's and player2's buttons in pairs so that the ledwiz light up both players buttons at the same time... Could you follow that?
By doing so i could light up the mouse and pinball buttons (also in pairs)... I'm gonna order a second one when I build my own CP.
16 player buttons in pairs = 8 buttons connected + 4 mouse/pinball buttons in pairs = 2 buttons connected = 10 buttons in total.
10 buttons * 3 colors = 30 ports used, so I actually have 2 ports to spare (2 one color LED's).

Oh and by the way.. I power it from a usb port... no 5V power hacks needed.

LOL....man having A.D.D sucks...I was blown away by that ...I didnt even think of that...( probley because I dont have a led-wiz yet)...

njay · « **Reply #27 on:** July 23, 2009, 08:10:39 am »

can anyone help with the the exact measurements or cad drawing for the x-arcade dual?
scott of mamemarquees.com is willing to make me a custom cpo

nevermind got em

if anyone want the cad drawing for the x-arcade please let me know and i will post them on my site.

arzoo · « **Reply #28 on:** July 23, 2009, 08:51:53 am »

Quote from: Kman_Sweden on July 23, 2009, 03:33:07 am

Oh and by the way.. I power it from a usb port... no 5V power hacks needed.

I surprised it's working. With usb only providing the power, I believe the max draw is 500ma. Each EE RGB pulls 60ma. With 20 buttons you're at 1200ma!

Franco B · « **Reply #29 on:** July 23, 2009, 09:14:43 am »

Yep 20 buttons would be 1200mA if each cathode was drawing 20mA (white).

Maybe he has just been lucky and has not reached ~500mA with his lighting/sequences.

njay · « **Reply #30 on:** August 25, 2009, 03:09:20 am »

wohoo !

GGG finally shipped my order to the netherlands yesterday
now hopefully customs will be good to me

i will keep you posted with pics etc !!

to bad i hear nothing from mamemarquees.com for my cpo layout...

njay · « **Reply #31 on:** August 29, 2009, 10:41:17 am »

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LIy4sQ63Ws[/youtube]

Franco B · « **Reply #32 on:** August 29, 2009, 11:05:36 am »

Great job

You can have lots of fun programming some nice sequences now

njay · « **Reply #33 on:** August 29, 2009, 11:08:31 am »

Thanks, i will do ofcourse

but i am having troubles running ledblinky with MA
Arzoo is looking into it


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