Alternative to sanwa buttons? *Budget ASC thread*

sinbound · 07-24-2008, 09:20 PM

So I'm interested in building a IIDX ASC, but the Sanwa buttons are sooooooo expensive and I'm trying to keep my budget under my goal of $100, give or take a few bucks (which includes the wood for the case, the spare KOC, etc...)

SO, can anyone else recommend alternative buttons? Something that I can get for less than US$10 each?

I noticed that DJ dao has custom made buttons that are a third of the price of Sanwas, anyone have any experience with those? Hard to tell the difference? Barely passable?

There are also these poker buttons. In the homemade ASC thread, I noticed that someone just made recesses into their controller case to mimic the low-profile of the Sanwa buttons. After removing the springs, would these work well?

afex.racer_X · 07-24-2008, 11:59 PM

The Dao custom buttons are good quality. 7 of them plus all other supplies still might run you over 100 bucks. I wouldn't recommend the poker buttons, but if you HAVE to use them, I'm sure they'll do. What kind of micro switches do you plan on getting?

sinbound · 07-25-2008, 12:37 AM

Wait... according to Dao's order page, 7 Dao buttons will run me 30 Euros (around $47-$50)... am I missing something? The shipping cost says 0. Will he add onto the shipping cost if I only oder spare parts?

Anyways, I have a bunch of cherry switches just itching to be used.

Edit: So far I've spent $38 on the KOC to be sacrificed, the microswitches and the wood I'm going to use as the case. Anything else (connectors, solder, etc.) are just minimal expenses... The only major purchase left are the buttons.

afex.racer_X · 07-25-2008, 01:43 AM

Dao might charge for shipping, I'm not too sure though. I didn't know exactly how much the keys were but I figured they were around the $50-75 range. Also didn't know you had the switches already lol. So yeah it should work itself out to $100 more or less.

But yeah, if you can get those keys for that price I would. There's not much of a noticeable difference between his customs and Sanwas.

Also, just out of curiousity... what part of Long Beach are you in?

HIT THE KEY · 07-25-2008, 01:51 AM

Hmm... should be interesting. Post your pics once done!

afex.racer_X · 07-25-2008, 01:52 AM

If he uses the KOC turntable he'll be fine. It'll be a little small, but it should do the trick.

sinbound · 07-25-2008, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afex.racer_X

Dao might charge for shipping, I'm not too sure though. I didn't know exactly how much the keys were but I figured they were around the $50-75 range. Also didn't know you had the switches already lol. So yeah it should work itself out to $100 more or less.

But yeah, if you can get those keys for that price I would. There's not much of a noticeable difference between his customs and Sanwas.

Also, just out of curiousity... what part of Long Beach are you in?

How much does Dao usually charge for shipping? Or is it by weight?

Hopefully I pay what I see...

Anyways, I'm from North Long Beach, You?

cupcake · 08-09-2008, 02:05 AM

With considerable tweaking, you can adjust buttons - insert spacers, etc. For some people, that is definitely more time than it is worth. and custom tweaked buttons...I dunno.

If you compare nicely modded buttons to new Sanwas, I'm sure you will appreciate the added cost of the Sanwa buttons.

No! I won't get excited about buttons. But the Sanwa IIDX keys are an outstanding design and have excellent tolerances

Good luck, in any case.

Merlando · 08-09-2008, 06:58 PM

I think he charges something like 10 Eur for shipping if it's a small amount of spare parts.

Blackraven · 08-10-2008, 12:53 PM

Happ buttons and cherry microswitches

Still at least better than what you see on KOC units (Japan spec ones).

Of course, Sanwa keys and their microswitches (do these use Omron ones???) are still the best so it's better to save up for them instead if you're going for custom parts.

djdao · 08-10-2008, 07:24 PM

Sanwa buttons is come with Omron microswitch.

HIT THE KEY · 08-10-2008, 11:52 PM

Dao's replaced Cherry with Honeywell apparently. And from what I've read (and played) they're a lot better than Cherries.

Blackraven · 08-11-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djdao

Sanwa buttons is come with Omron microswitch.

Quote:

Dao's replaced Cherry with Honeywell apparently. And from what I've read (and played) they're a lot better than Cherries.

Oh I see.

Thanks for the clarifications then