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Leaf spring switches...where'd they go?

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RandyT:
I think this is going to be ones of those "matter of taste" things.

My experiences were based on a kid (me) with serious play habits.  My system would get at least 3-4 hours of play every day.  I found myself needing to tweak the switches after only a couple of weeks at that pace.  And once you start tweaking them, you will need to keep doing it,  as every time you bend a piece of metal, it will fatigue it more and more.  Until eventually, they will need to be replaced.

Another thing that will vary is the amount of corrosion the contact points get.  If you live in a humid environment, this is likely to be more of a concern.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is a functionality problem, only a maintenance one.  There's a reason why entire industries, including the arcade one, turned their backs on these things.  And if someone thinks it was for a different reason, I'm all ears :) .

So if you are a tinkerer and/or you do more "building" than playing, you don't mind the extra costs involved and you want true retro buttons to go with the retro WICO joystick you are using, then stick to the leaf switch buttons.

But I would have a hard time recommending them to anyone else.  That's just my opinion. :)

RandyT

*EDIT*
Maybe that "optical buttons" thing that popped up a while back is the real answer to this one ;)

Wade:

--- Quote from: RandyT on December 27, 2005, 01:58:43 pm ---I think this is going to be ones of those "matter of taste" things.
...
RandyT

--- End quote ---

Definitely!  I'm sure there are people who have only played games with micro buttons, too, and those might be their preference.

A lot of people are probably like me, and I was perfectly happy with my micro buttons until I gained access to a bunch of classic games that use leaf switches.  The difference in feel was noticed immediately.

Come on Randy, really, how can you favor reliability over authenticity, when a lot of us are really into the classics?  Classics have FAR more expensive and difficult issues with reliability than tweaking a switch once every 5-10 years.  When a game breaks and it's only a switch, boy am I thrilled to repair it!! :) 

(versus a $200 game board or monitor chassis!)

Wade

RandyT:

--- Quote from: Wade on December 27, 2005, 02:14:05 pm ---Come on Randy, really, how can you favor reliability over authenticity, when a lot of us are really into the classics?

--- End quote ---

I play the classics too!  But I have never felt that the microswitch buttons detracted from them.  I actually have those icky "harder to press" vertical buttons on my cab  (I really need to replace those) but can still group those four shots in Asteroids just as tightly as I did in the old days.  And Galaga?  Is someone going to tell me that they can't play something as slow as Galaga with a microswitch button? :)  I mean, I understand the desire to re-create the memories, but a lot of my arcade memories involved playing on sub-standard equipment that was almost always in some sort of disrepair.

But I also have more practical reasons.  My cab is also a test rig.  When I'm testing an interface or a new idea, I can't have a button misfiring and sending me on a goosechase.  BTW, interface performance is  negatively impacted by long debounce delays, and nothing needs good debouncing like a leaf switch ;)

RandyT

erictrumpet:

--- Quote from: RandyT on December 27, 2005, 02:36:35 pm ---I understand the desire to re-create the memories, but a lot of my arcade memories involved playing on sub-standard equipment that was almost always in some sort of disrepair.

--- End quote ---

AMEN brother. We need to remember this! Nostalgia is great, and it is my primary motivation/inspiration in this hobby, but I also understand that what I am endeavoring to build should - nay, MUST - be BETTER than the old crappy public machines I used to play on. Micros offer many advantages over leaves, but ultimately it comes down to personal preference. Leaves in an enthusiast's scratch-built cabinet will receive much more love, attention, maintenance, and appreciation than the leaves of old. That alone means we won't be completely reliving the horrors of yesteryear. Nevertheless, Randy has hit on an important point, that what we all remember so fondly would probably make us wretch in disgust today.

Eric.

Necro:
Just a slightly OT solution to T&F: force your forearms into spasms over the buttons.  I don't know if everyone can do this, or if it's some freaky thing I can do, but it works pretty well for me (on my pinging X-arcade...that's right, I'm the white trash of BYOAC.  Leave me alone. :) )

Only hard part is stopping it and hitting the jump/whatever button dead on right. :)

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