Hi All,
I am looking for a multicolored illuminated push button. My intended use is for a car-to-pit-to-car communication system. I would like a to place a button in the cockpit of the car which would signal the driver when to pit by lighting up. The driver would then push the button to acknowledge the instruction. When the driver presses the button, the button would change color to indicate a change in status.
The button would also be used for the driver to indicate when he wanted to pit. The driver would push the button. A similar button would light up in the pits and when the pit crew were ready for the driver they would push their button which would change the color of the driver’s button indicating that they can now pit.
It’s pretty straight forward stuff. I need a button whose illumination can be controlled separately from the button push for this to work. I have looked at the specs for the ScreenKey buttons and they are pretty close to what I want except I don’t need to have changable graphics and they are probably a little small.
If anyone has any ideas, or would to consider this as a new product, I’d love to hear from you.
Regards,
Andy
Is there a particular reason why the light needs to be physically part of the button? It seems to me that any button will do if paired with a separate set of colored lights. You’ll save a bundle that way, have a LOT more choices, and have a system that would be functionally the same, right?
There’s no huge reason why the lights need to be part of the button, but it will mean that the driver will only have to worry about one area (even if the lights and the button) are close together. Having it all as one unit would just be tidier too.
A.
Sounds like you need something like this:
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/inde … cts_id=238
It’s kind of pricey, but it’s dead easy to use. The RGB Drive circuit board sits between the bottom of the button and the microswitch and already has resistors and a multi-color LED on it. All you have to do is provide +5V and sink current from the RGB lines to light it up, 20mA each so it’s microcontroller friendly. The microswitch itself has NO and NC terminals so you can use whichever is easier for you.
That site also has single-color LEDs, but I’ve never bought any so I don’t know if they include the convenient PCB.
For a car you can also raid some arcade supply shops checking out http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/ and find some “illuminated pushbuttons” in a larger variety of sizes and potentially cheaper… although those typically use 12V lamp bulbs and aren’t as neat as multicolor LEDs.