Quick updates.
This what i used to mount the monetary switch to the back of the keyboard drawer to trigger the neon light.
L-Bracket
Monetary switch
The predrilled holes in the bracket were a perfect fit
Pulled out
Pushed in
I pondered on how I was going to mount the smoked glass over the monitor. Took a stroll in Home Depot and came across shelving brackets, already painted in semigloss black and comes in 5ft. lengths.
small left over piece
I simply cut to size drilled wood screws through the holes in the brackets into the admin panel, i did the same for the speaker panel. this is a test fit, i plan to fill in the gap behind the glass with weather stipping, so there shouldnt be any rattling.
Top mounted my Sanwa j-stick panels ala Franco B's tutorial, his baby, so i'll just post photos to illustrate the concept.
this pic may be confusing, this is how i lined up the base to draw the cutout. I did this after i routed out the top layer, this pic just doesnt show that. Anyhow, i just looked for the daylight in the holes so i knew it was lined up to draw the template.
about as flush as you can get with screws
I've seen a few button mods to tone down the brightness of the led in a pushbutton. So I tried to come up with my own as far as i know, if someone else has done it. I apologize, but haven't seen this simple mod to get a different look out of a button and at a cheaper price.
My concept is use what you have, just swap em out....
I bought 15 black buttons and 16 clear buttons (on order)....I had enough parts on hand to make one test piece.
I've seen most mods create the ring effect around the button to get rid of that intense glare when lighting underneath. So I just took the clear casing and installed the black button. These will be for my gaming buttons p1,p2, spinner, p1 & p2 start(which will be black also.)
These will be fore my pinball buttons, (admin panel, pause and coin buttons - these buttons will have coin inserts naming each button appropriately)....
I'll be doing some serious soldering for the leds and resistors, but that's the fun of it, and 31 buttons with this look for $80.00, is a great deal.
If I stole someone elses idea, someone let me know I just haven't seen this done, not saying it hasn't and credit should be given to the right person. It's so simple but sometimes we overlook the obvious.