Leaf Switches vs. Micro Switches(Revisited)

D_Harris

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I have a question for those who have had a lot of experience with arcade game maintenance in the early to mid 80s.

I was wondering if anyone really attempted an in depth assessment of maintenance and replacement costs of leafs vs. micros?

From what I can tell the original sales pitch convinced the market that micro switches were better because they were cheaper and ops didn't have to keep adjusting them. (Of course they didn't give gamers who preferred the feel of leafs a say).

But I was recently told that micro switches break often enough that the cost of replacement (and possibly time spent of replacement) negates any initial cost advantage they have over leaf switches. (Of course, that was one guy's opinion).

Anyway from what I can tell, most ops who buy a lot of the switches are convinced that micro switches are not just cheaper, but less trouble. Is this really true when you take everything into consideration?

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Leaf switches go out of adjustment... microswitches do not. If a leaf switch goes out of adjustment an OP has to make a trip to adjust it. Microswtiches don't need to be adjusted. Personally, I think leaf switches last as long or longer than microswitches, but they DO need to be periodically adjusted.

Once you take in to account the travel time and expense associated with simple adjustments like leaf-switch adjustments, I think you'll see why microswitches are more desirable to OPs.
 
I'm also wondering about gold flashed contacts vs. regular contacts on leaf switches.

Has any ops had enough experience with them both to say that the ones with the gold flashed contacts are better?

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
imo everything about micro switches is better. i guess when i was growing up in arcades most games were already microswitched anyway so im used to it. but theyre cheap enough and seem to be alot less trouble
 
There are many who disagree.

Leaf switches are quiet and I've been told that even though they require occasional adjustment they actually last much longer than micro switches.

And I could probably adjust or clean dozens of leaf switches in the time it takes to replace a single micro switch.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
well i think that "click" is just part of the arcade expierence

and as far as time to replace. two tabs hold the switch to the base of the button and then you just unplut the two wires off the back of the microswitch
 
There are many who disagree.

Leaf switches are quiet and I've been told that even though they require occasional adjustment they actually last much longer than micro switches.

And I could probably adjust or clean dozens of leaf switches in the time it takes to replace a single micro switch.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

The only arcade I've had with leafs was my Asteroids. They were held in place with screws. Took a lot of time to pull them off and clean the contacts.

My Neo Geo uses microswitches, and it takes about two seconds to unplug one and it pops out of the button very easily, and a replacement is just a reverse of that.

Plus, I like the click. Probably because I'm more used to it. Just lets you know you hit the button.
 
I've always been curious whether leaf switches were more responsive than micros for games like Track and Field or hypersports. I play T&F via jamma adapter on candy cabs outfitted with micros and my times really suck...No matter what I try, my athlete is just jogging along instead of sprinting. I probably just suck at the game..but have always wondered if the microswitches just aren't designed for rapid fire accuracy. I've gotta either find someone local I can try a dedicated track and field...or have someone that is good at the game come over and try mine. Does anyone know? or would be willing to pop in some micro's to your dedicated track and field to see if there is any difference in performance?

Tom
 
T&F

I've always been curious whether leaf switches were more responsive than micros for games like Track and Field or hypersports. I play T&F via jamma adapter on candy cabs outfitted with micros and my times really suck...No matter what I try, my athlete is just jogging along instead of sprinting. I probably just suck at the game..but have always wondered if the microswitches just aren't designed for rapid fire accuracy. I've gotta either find someone local I can try a dedicated track and field...or have someone that is good at the game come over and try mine. Does anyone know? or would be willing to pop in some micro's to your dedicated track and field to see if there is any difference in performance?

Tom

I had an upright Track & Field with micros sitting next to one with leafs. Huge difference. Response time was much faster witht the leafs. Joust is another one that makes a huge difference with micros Vs leafs. i am all about the origional leaf switches. Also, I have found the failure rate is much higher on micros.

I have had several micro switches stick, or not complete the circuit at all. There is nothing you can do to them but throw them away. The same cannot be said about leafs.
 
2 other considerations...
Translucent leaf buttons look MUCH cooler than the new IL translucent buttons, there's that 3 spoke pattern on the top of the button that makes the old Williams start buttons (and after market multi colored) look super cool when lit up, IL look nice and are much easier to light up but not quite as cool.
Hand/finger fatigue; When I try playing Asteroids or Gravitar with the old leaf switches, I get hand fatigue and can't fire as fast as I would like to. For whatever physical reason, mico switches and X-Arcade micro switches in particular, allow me to fire much faster and I get NO hand fatigue.

Funny thing though, my Stargate has the original leafs and I would never change them and I don't get any fatigue with Stargate since the leafs are so well broken in and obviously I'm firing a lot and very fast while playing Stargate...
 
I could probably adjust or clean dozens of leaf switches in the time it takes to replace a single micro switch.

A microswitch on a button takes about 2 seconds to change. On a joystick it might take 20-25 seconds. I prefer leafs on most games, but they are definitely a little bit higher maintenance.
 
I had an upright Track & Field with micros sitting next to one with leafs. Huge difference. Response time was much faster witht the leafs. Joust is another one that makes a huge difference with micros Vs leafs. i am all about the origional leaf switches. Also, I have found the failure rate is much higher on micros.

I have had several micro switches stick, or not complete the circuit at all. There is nothing you can do to them but throw them away. The same cannot be said about leafs.

7146aaron

These are my positions exactly.

First, it is well established that any game that requires very fast consecutive button presses, like Track & Field, Galaga, Asteroids, ect., will suffer when micro switch buttons are used instead of leafs.

Tonym

As far as replacing. I can actulaly get a leaf switch off faster with a screw driver for the screw that holds it. The micro switches are a little more tricky and require bending of the button plastic when taking them off and putting them on. But then again, I guess there nay be different types of micro switches.(?) (You can actually solder or use tabs for both).

Mindl3ss

I can see that you and Tonym are part of the younger generation of gamers. Us older gamers don't need a click for reassurance. We know when we hit the button. :D

Secondly, you do not have to remove leaf switches to clean them. You just press the button while sliding a business card between the contacts. You may consider occasional adjustment of leaf switches a negative, but it is also a positive in that you can adjust them to your liking.

And my main point is that you will have to replace the micro switches multiple times over the course of the life of a leaf switch. So therein lies the comparisons.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
First, it is well established that any game that requires very fast consecutive button presses, like Track & Field, Galaga, Asteroids, ect., will suffer when micro switch buttons are used instead of leafs.

I agree! I tried to play a game of Joust on a multicade and you cannot actually play the game very long with a micro. I have my leaf switches adjusted very tight so it takes very little pressure to activate. Very important when you get into the later levels.
 
No comparison in game play.

I used to have a few multis set up with micros. They are fine for other people, but as soon as I decided to play them I had to switch to leafs.

As far as maintenance, I have had dead micros, never seen a dead leaf yet.
 
maintenance wise, leafs aren't that bad. for cleaning, i use a very small file and gently squeeze the leafs around it. cleans them up nice and also quick. only negative i have is that they can be a bitch to adjust, atleast on joysticks.
 
I use black emerycloth(?)between the points and gently squeeze them together and pull it thru a few time.(just did it on my Asteroids fire button). I also use a small leaf adjustment tool....looks like an allen wrench with a split end. Old school leafs are best IMO , but my machines are HUO so longevity is not an issue.
 
The micro-leaf is just a small and quiet microswitch. It still clicks a little bit IIRC.
 
I've tried the Micro-Leafs, and I've also tried these:

http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/microswitches/36-rollie-leaf-switch-for-pushbutton.html

The micro-leafs were an improvement over the standard microswitch, but the Rollie's were pretty much as good as it gets short of having an actual old-school leaf.

The Track and Field example is a very good one, I built a dedicated panel for my MAME for Track and Field using both the Micro-Leafs and the Rollie's, one type for player 1, the other type for player 2, so I did a direct side-by-side comparison, the difference in performance was unmistakable in that example.

In my opinion games like Track and Field, Defender, Asteroids, Joust as well as many, many more are essentially unplayable on microswitches, there's really no other way to say it.
 
I get games with defective microswitches all the time. I can only ever remember getting one game with a bad leaf switch (it had broken off).
 
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