Looking for an illuminated covered red pushbutton

[Tiberian Fiend]

Pref. mushroom shaped. I plan to use it on an arcade control panel. I've done exhaustive Google image and eBay searches and turned up nothing, so I thought I might check here for some leads.

 

[Ole Juul]

Pref. mushroom shaped. I plan to use it on an arcade control panel. I've done exhaustive Google image and eBay searches and turned up nothing, so I thought I might check here for some leads.

I'm assuming you mean "dome" shaped. Mushroom shaped with a head and stem (like automobile cigarette lighters) seem to be mostly automotive. Anyway, there's a lot of larger flat top illuminated push buttons around. I've dealt with this guy on eBay and this switch looks big to me.

 

[NathanAllan]

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/716/Switches-Pushbutton/1.html

I found those at All Electronics. Any of them look good to you?

http://thearcadeboneyard.com/buttons/lighted_buttons.php a few arcade buttons...

actually lots of places have arcade parts. Anything look right? In any event hope you find the buttons you're looking for.

 

[Maverick1978]

Hey, TF... just curious - are you planning to make this for general computer use, or ? What are you using to drive the electronics?

I've had two panels in mind for years, though I've only "finished" one of them. The first was essentially a Slik Stik Classic clone, Happ American parts, with a Competition Pro 8-way, convex buttons (for that classic original arcade feel), a Namco Pacman 4-way stick, USP Happ 3.5" trackball w/ buttons doubling as a mouse, arcade spinner, and external controller ports (hence the I-PAC4 for what is really just a 2-way panel). I have all the parts, I just haven't built it yet. The second was a single-player fightstick. I ended up finding a MAS Systems stick on the cheap ($40 shipped). It was one of the ones produced circa 1999/2000 as it supported Dreamcast and PS1/2 (via pad-hack, and not a common-ground pad either! - and it still worked perfectly). I ended up gutting the electronics, replacing the cherry switches with new ones (going to clean the solder off the old switches and reuse later), then I wired up several items from Toodles's godlikecontrols.com, including an MC Cthulu, Imp v2, X-Box 360 Brawlpad, and (soon) a PiiWii. Wired it all up to an 8-pin din, then soldered up my system connection wires... essentially, I've now an arcade stick that works on the computer/ps3/360 and almost every other console system out there (though tbh, I've yet to solder up any other wires outside of my USB one as of yet!)

I know that this is a bit OT from your original post - I'm just still excited about it. It's the first stick mod that I've ever attempted, and I was quite excited to discover that I actually wired it perfectly the first time and everything just worked! (I only just finished the wiring last Saturday, and yes, I fully realize that this will NEVER happen again - laugh)

FWIW, I'd love to see pix of your panel externals and internals when you complete. If you're interested in seeing mine, I'd be glad to post a few pics. Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Tiberian Fiend]

I already have lighted arcade pushbuttons in my panel, I'm looking for an emergency-stop-style button to use as an emulation stop button. Something like this, but lighted and covered:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mushroom-Cap-Self-reset-Type-Push-Button-Switch-Control-/230763986555?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35ba9afe7b

I'm using Xin-Mo PS3/PC control panels, no soldering required. I thought I posted a picture of my cabinet earlier, but here it is:

That was from a while ago. It's a little further along now. I don't have a pic of the control panel internals on-hand.

 

[Tiberian Fiend]

I found one that meets all of my qualifications, but it's made to be installed on a wall, not a panel, and it's rather expensive.
http://www.automationsource.com/p-6709-ss-2017-e-stopper-station-push-btn-wcover-emergency-red.aspx

To be clear, I'm not looking for a button of a specific size or appearance, just one that meets my requirements of being covered, illuminated, and a momentary pushbutton.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Anything at W.W. Grainger suits you?

The nice part about Grainger is that they're just about everywhere.

 

[Ole Juul]

Anything at W.W. Grainger suits you?

The nice part about Grainger is that they're just about everywhere.

I'm quite attracted to that Square D emergency button for only $186.50. And with the $35.95 extended warranty you can't really go wrong.

 

[Tiberian Fiend]

I stumbled across Grainger in my search, but none of those buttons have covers. I think that's my biggest hurdle. Are there pushbutton covers that are sold seperately? I've seen a couple on eBay, but they look cheap and small.

 

[k2x4b524[]

Why not get the button, and fabricate a cover?

 

[Ole Juul]

Why not get the button, and fabricate a cover?

Vacuform isn't rocket science. Sacrifice a toaster oven and use the vacuum cleaner. You might like the idea of making a lot of other cool things that way. Acrylic sheet is good if you want clear. You can salvage other sheet plastic in small sizes from lots of sources. Clear plastics with ability to add colour can also be poured at home. Check out hobby shops for other plastic fabricating ideas.

PS: I just did a quick Google of vacuform and here is the kitchen version - with video, even.

 

[Maverick1978]

Nice cab, TF - did you build yourself, or retrofit an existing cab? I've been considering both...and have yet to do it because of space requirements (one of the reasons I sought out the MAS for a single-player fightstick)

Ole, thanks for the link. I had personally never thought of using vacuform for anything constructive. The most I've ever done with it is heating plastic-based mini statues to go back into proper position, and back in my football days, getting a custom fit out of the mouth guards.

 

[Tiberian Fiend]

The acrylic cover on the control panel is cracked, so I'm going to have to take it off. I might try to cut and assemble a cover for my button from that.

I'm not building the cabinet, my stepfather is, which is why it's taken over a year to complete (he's quite lazy), but it is built from scratch.

 

[Tiberian Fiend]

I won't encounter any troubles using a switch that's designed for 120v with a lower-voltage system (ca. 12v), will I?

 

[Ole Juul]

I won't encounter any troubles using a switch that's designed for 120v with a lower-voltage system (ca. 12v), will I?

No. Contact is contact. Just don't go much over 120v.

 

[Tiberian Fiend]

Just checking.

 

[Tiberian Fiend]

Here's the bottom of my control panel:

 

[dave_m]

Try this cool security cap on your lighted pushbutton:

http://www.apem.com/hardware.html

 

[Lutiana]

Try the Hack-a-Day forums - http://forums.hackaday.com/ If someone will know where to find what you are looking for, or make it they would.