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Happ switch Illuminated button help

nickels

Mar 14, 2013
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Mar 14, 2013
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Hello, newbie here. I assure you all that I tried to google this, and I did a lot of research before asking my question. I have a few illuminated pushbuttons. I'd like them to be always off, except when pushed. Of course, I can figure out just about every other way to wire it except for this way.

Here is a generic image of my button:
5400042x.jpg


The prongs on the left and right are easy enough, they are the ground and + for the LED light inside of the button. On the bottom is the switch ground, and on the top there are the NO and NC prongs for the switch. I am connecting these buttons to an iPac. The iPac supplies 5volts to the button, and I've had it set up so they are always on (but dim) from the iPac. I can use the PC molex cable to get the 14volts to keep the LED on the button always on. I was also able to mess around with the wiring with a 9volt battery to get the button to only light when pressed, but when I replaced the battery wires with the iPac as a power supply it didn't work.

So, is there a way to wire these buttons so that they are off, but when the person presses it down it lights up? Also, if I use the 14 volt power from the PC I do not want it to fry the iPac.

Also, is this stupid of me? Should I just have them always on or on but off when pressed? I am not sure why I thought always off but lit when pushed would look best? I guess because it is the hardest wiring to figure out!

PS - I don't really know how to read wiring diagrams just yet, so please talk to me like a dipstick. EX: ipac ground to button ground, daisy chain connection to led ground. NC to ipac, NO to LED +.

Thanks!!!
 

KJ6EAD

Aug 13, 2011
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Aug 13, 2011
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First; supply the specifications from Happ Controls for the switch and LED. I'm guessing the LED has a built-in resistor for 12V but give us the spec's.

Second; what, if anything is the switch controlling; just the LED or what?

Third; what's an iPac and what connection are you making to it?

Fourth; how long do you want the LED to illuminate?
 

nickels

Mar 14, 2013
2
Joined
Mar 14, 2013
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1. These buttons come with zero, I mean zero documentation. Here is all I could find:

54v00045x_md.jpg


2. The buttons are controlling a flash game via the ipac. You push in the button and the iPac sends a letter to the PC as if you just pressed a keyboard key.

3. An iPac:
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html

Nutshell - it is mainly a mame arcade controller. You connect buttons and it sends letters to the PC.

4. I want the led to illuminate while the button is pressed. Off always, on when pushed, off when released.

I have thought about it a lot and in my mind this is the one configuration that is not possible with these buttons. It is easier to do always on, so I may just stick with that. Next is always on but off when pushed. That is more complicated but I know how to do it.

The iPac outputs 5 volts. The LED can go up to 12 volts.
 

KJ6EAD

Aug 13, 2011
1,114
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
1,114
You can do better on the technical specifications but it won't matter since you can't control the 12V for the LED and a 5V signal with a single pole switch simultaneously. You could exchange the switch to a double pole model but that's not an ideal solution either.

http://na.suzohapp.com/
 
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