As far as I was aware the only clear convex Happ-style buttons that were availible were the cheap chinese knockoffs and the ones that came with the Pelican sticks so many years years back. However, today I stumbled across this image which raised an eyebrow of mine.
http://joystickvault.com/data/799/medium/DSC05198.JPG
This guy has what looks like clear plunger Happ competition buttons on his stick, which perplexes me because I didn’t think anything like that existed outside of Pelican’s sticks. Does anyone know anything about these buttons? What brand might they be, and is it possible to find them for sale anywhere?
There’s no way those are Happ or iL brand. Look how freaking far the stick up above the rim. I’m looking at a set of Happ Comps right in from of me, and the don’t look like that.
Also, those buttons look concave to me, and Pelican’s old buttons from the Pelican Real Arcade Universal were also concave. I have a set of the buttons also.
Anyway, if they’re concave and you’re determined to get some that look like that… try this:
and add a blue insert.
(available on lizardlick)
I was going to type that those do not look like Competition also.
Just look at the Plunger.
Yeah, I know that they’re not quite like competitions, since they are up a lot higher and have a flatter surface. They don’t look concave by my eyes, though. A concave Happ button has much thicker material on the plunger, so inserts would be a lot smaller than what we see in that pic. I’ve seen a lot of Happ parts, and I have not seen any that look quite like those. The one aspect that does remind me of the Competition buttons though (aside from being flat/convex instead of concave) is that they’ve got a wider, flatter bezel, like a Competition button would.
And lookie there, after some poking around at the Joystick Vault I found more sticks w/ these mystery buttons.
http://joystickvault.com/data/500/medium/exodus_classic_MAME.jpg
http://joystickvault.com/data/798/medium/Nak-Bison-02.jpg
edit spoke too soon. The identity of the buttons remains a mystery, for now.
I found several websites that sell these buttons. They are illuminated pushbuttons, however not all websites sell them with the LED included. Also, some websites include an optional spacer for a higher profile mount, so they might be difficult to spot at a glance and differentiate from a non-gaming illuminated button.
http://www.arcadeshop.de/Illum-Buttons-Pushbutton-lit-LP-32-mm-white_458.html
http://www.ozstick.com.au/prod_btns.html
Ultimarc also sells a chrome-trimmed version and fully translucent button, but they do not sell the ones with a black bezel, and they do not include the spacer.
http://www.ultimarc.com/ultralux.html
Apparently, these buttons are easy to disassemble and are very insert-friendly, unlike their standard Happ counterparts. The big question for me though, is how they actually feel during gameplay. Are they similar to a Happ Competition button in terms of performance, or does the slightly different construction give them a notably different feel? Maybe I’ll need to order a fistful to test out for myself. These could potentially be a valid alternative to using Seimitsu buttons for Happ users who want to have translucent buttons with inserts, or they could just be a niche item that’s really not all that useful when applied to gaming. I’m interested in finding out though, because apparently some people are actually using them.
I found several websites that sell these buttons. They are illuminated pushbuttons, however not all websites sell them with the LED included. Also, some websites include an optional spacer for a higher profile mount, so they might be difficult to spot at a glance and differentiate from a non-gaming illuminated button.
http://www.arcadeshop.de/Illum-Buttons-Pushbutton-lit-LP-32-mm-white_458.html
http://www.ozstick.com.au/prod_btns.html
Ultimarc also sells a chrome-trimmed version and fully translucent button, but they do not sell the ones with a black bezel, and they do not include the spacer.
http://www.ultimarc.com/ultralux.html
Apparently, these buttons are easy to disassemble and are very insert-friendly, unlike their standard Happ counterparts. The big question for me though, is how they actually feel during gameplay. Are they similar to a Happ Competition button in terms of performance, or does the slightly different construction give them a notably different feel? Maybe I’ll need to order a fistful to test out for myself. These could potentially be a valid alternative to using Seimitsu buttons for Happ users who want to have translucent buttons with inserts, or they could just be a niche item that’s really not all that useful when applied to gaming. I’m interested in finding out though, because apparently some people are actually using them.
I could have linked you to all those Buttons.
Thought you didn’t want them. :sad:
LOL, thanks for allowing me to spend that last hour or two on a wild goose chase. It’s not like I needed the time for anything else, anyway. >:^)
BTW, would you happen to have a list of vendors who carry buttons like this? IL’s version appears to be the one used in the sticks I posted pics of, since they look like they’ve got a flatter bezel than a lot of the others I posted. Also, in my experience IL’s products have been the best quality as far as western parts go. I’d prefer not to have to go through any currency conversion, either (poor ol’ US dollar ain’t been doing so hot lately).
Here’s IL’s page for there version of the button, as well.
http://www.industrias-lorenzo.com/ingles/productos/detalleproducto.asp?id_producto=57
I also checked Happ, but in true happ fashion they have every kind of product there is except the one I want, because the one they offer with a removable spacer has a plunger that’s too low profile for gaming, and the only one with a suitable plunger for gaming does not have a removable spacer, so its too high for gaming. Sill Happ, sometimes I wish you’d go away… Or at least go back to being cool…