Help identify this IL button?

andrewb

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I'm hoping someone out there can help me with this.

I recently refurbished a Double Dragon CP for another KLOVer. This CP did not appear to have all of the original buttons, and one button was particularly interesting. I'm trying to identify it, as I really liked it, and I'd like to find more of them. But it's unlike anything I've seen before. (Granted I'm not a fighter guy, so maybe this is obvious to some, but I searched a bit, and came up empty.)

It appears to be made by IL, which is indicated on the back. It is some kind of self-contained design, and I can't tell if it's microswitch or not, as it does not have an audible click of any kind, and feels more like a leaf. It just has two terminals on the back (see pics).

It has a short throw, but the most interesting thing about it (which is what I really like), is that it is made of some kind of very dense/hard plastic, almost like melamine or bakolite. This gives it a really nice feel.

Does anyone know what this is, and where I could get more of them?

Thanks!

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i've got a couple of these from a 1942 i restored for a friend, they're used and need a good cleaning but free if you pay shipping (as long as i can locate them)
 
PM sent.

I'd like to find a few more, if anyone else knows of any, as I'm looking to do up an Asteroids Deluxe CP with them. I would take any color also.
 
4 on the right heading your way. blue one you may want to try and take apart as it's got a bad burn mark (not shown).

Hope you find more!
 

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This is interesting - I have a double dragon control panel that I just sold and the start buttons are identical. All the other buttons are standard micro's but the start buttons are the self contained units. I thought they were replacements and maybe they are but seems kinda to coincidental that both cp's are the same.

The buttons on the control panel I have are cig burned beyond saving though.
 
This is interesting - I have a double dragon control panel that I just sold and the start buttons are identical. All the other buttons are standard micro's but the start buttons are the self contained units. I thought they were replacements and maybe they are but seems kinda to coincidental that both cp's are the same.

The buttons on the control panel I have are cig burned beyond saving though.

I swore Double Dragon came with those horrible vertical switch buttons originally. I remember reading some trivia somewhere that due to their rate of failure they were replaced a lot. I could also be entirely delusional.
 
Those are coin control buttons. I have a dedicated Bionic commando and it has the same buttons. In the manual, it shows the breakdown of the button, along with a wico button as well. I guess the kits were assembled with both types. I have had 2 dedicated BC games and they both had the coin control buttons and sticks.
 
That's interesting. I checked out the BC manual, and the diagram does appear to be the same as these buttons I'm looking for more of. However the ones I have clearly say IL on the back of them.

Were IL and Coin Controls related? (I feel like this is something Ken Layton would know.) They were both European companies (Spain and England, respectively), but beyond that, I don't know. Maybe CC had their own version of the IL button, and one was copied from the other(?)

Do the buttons in your cab have the manufacturer indicated on the back?
 
Here are the left over buttons i have from bionic commando. I'm pretty sure i removed them because they were not working. All but 1 of them have the IL marking, so you may be on to something about them being related to coin controls somehow. The oddball button is chicaco switch inc, but it just looks like a microswitch is enclosed by the button shell.
 

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I asked about these buttons back in 2011. They are on my Airwolf conversion game and I assume they came in the Airwolf kit as I don't believe it was ever made as a dedicated game.
Back then gamefixer told me "The buttons were made by Happ Controls AND SUCK REALLY HARD. Replace them ASAP and never look back."
Here's the link to that thread
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=187471&highlight=airwolf+buttons

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Here are the left over buttons i have from bionic commando. I'm pretty sure i removed them because they were not working. All but 1 of them have the IL marking, so you may be on to something about them being related to coin controls somehow. The oddball button is chicaco switch inc, but it just looks like a microswitch is enclosed by the button shell.



Wanna sell em? :) PM incoming...

Thanks for the info, guys. Yeah, I've read in several places that these buttons were notorious for failing. I'm interested to disassemble one, to better understand what the actual design flaw or failure mode is, as most buttons aren't that complicated, so it seems interesting.

Either way, I love the feel of them. Or at least the one that I found in the OP. I have a few others that I got from another forum member here, and while they're the same design and maker, the plastic seems slightly softer than the original one in the OP, which was a really dense melamine. Maybe it's manufacturing variation, or perhaps the red/yellow colored ones are a slightly different plastic. Or maybe it's just my imagination, as I don't have the actual one in the OP anymore to compare to.

Anyway, I'll take any I can get for now, if anything just for experimentation.
 
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