I never really thought about how aggressive I am on my buttons until recently. Right now I’m usnig an HRAP 3 with the stock Sanwa joystick along with 8 Sanwa OBSF-30s for my buttons.
I was wondering, based on your experience (If you’re a long-time Sanwa parts user or an experienced stick-modder) what kind of life-expectancy can I get from Sanwa parts? I’ve heard things about people’s HRAP 3s breaking within the time span of several months so I was curious as to how often I’d have to be replacing the stick / buttons if that was the case.
Are these things known for taking lots and lots of punishment?
I might be wrong, but I think regular HRAPs don’t use Sanwa buttons only Sanwa sticks. I think official sanwa buttons last for 1 million button presses.
I’ve had my HRAP2 for two years now. I’ve been using the same Seimitsu buttons and stick since the beginning (LS-32-01 and PS-14-K) and have not had any problems with it. I take relatively good care of my stick, so no cord problems (I keep it wrapped up with a twisty-tie). Guess I got lucky with the PCB?
The microswitches inside are rated to 10 million clicks. Having said that, I’ve got no idea how many “clicks” I do in an average session. I’ve got Sanwa sticks and buttons from 4 years ago in my gamesroom that are still working perfectly, but they don’t get as much use recently.
You would be right. Unless the HRAP is the SA version, they come with stock Hori buttons. I modified my HRAP 3 so that it uses Sanwas. I’m not sure where I read about this, but apparently Sanwas and Seimitsus are designed to take much more punishment than your average-joe arcade button (Whatever that may be) I just hope that really is the case.
I’ve had my HRAP 3 for about a month. So far everything seems to be working perfectly for me as well. Haven’t physically taken out my frustration on the stick yet, nor have I accidentally dropped it or anything like that (Knocks on wood)
actual Happ buttons can take more punishment. They last for 10,000,000 activations compared to 1,000,000 for regular Sanwa/Sem and 5,000,000 for Sanwa RGs. Knockoff arcade parts are the ones that can’t take it. Many people have had the knockoff buttons in the Hori Ex2/FS3 die after a few months.
I’ve been hammering away at the same Sanwa stick and buttons for almost two years now and they work as well as or better than they did the day I got 'em. Just because they play lighter than American parts, I always felt like they were delicate or something but they are really quality, really sturdy, and absolutely built to last.
You know how rough people are on an arcade stick the first few times they ever use one? Like shake-a-wooden-cabinet rough. You know how hard Marvel virgins hit the controls the first time they touch the game? Like double-fisting-Hulk-smash hard. My friends have put that thing through multiple, extended angry gorilla sessions, and they still feel like buttery perfect silk. The buttons, I mean, not my friends. I’m not sure how my friends feel.
not sure if it was the buttons or the pcb, but i had an ex2 for a week and two buttons quit working! needless to say i got a refund and waited for the hrap to be released here (US).
Can anyone comment on how Seimitsu parts perform after a long time? I have a Seimitsu stick and sanwa buttons and it definitely feels like the stick performs better after a “break in period”.
Except that Sanwa parts are used in arcade cabs. If being explicitly designed for “typical arcade settings” doesn’t make them suitable, I don’t know what will.
What’s messed up is that apparently as the Sanwa JLF and Sei LS-32 are broken in, basically the longer they get used the more they feel like each other. Most Japanese arcade players don’t really care which of the two is in the cabs they’re playing on.
Seimitsu buttons should last just as long as Sanwas and perform just as well but I’ve heard they have a tendency to change in “feel” over the course of their lifetime. Sanwas are often preferred just because they feel so consistently similar from the time they’re first installed to the day they die.
(Knocks on wood)