small panel mount pushbutton switches?

Thread Starter

aeroguy

Joined Sep 16, 2009
40
Hello,

Is anyone aware of where I could find some small panel mount push button switches to be use for digital I/O to a PIC?

All the buttons I've ever been able to find are rated for much higher voltages and currents than needed, and are excessively heavy, expensive, ugly, etc..

I've searched digikey and others with filters for low currents to no avail..

I only need 4 buttons, so a basic numeric keypad also falls under the "too big and ugly overkill" category..

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks!
Eric
 

Thread Starter

aeroguy

Joined Sep 16, 2009
40
For clarification, I'm mainly driven by aesthetics. Something of similar caliber to an ordinary TV remote control button would be good, for example.

These buttons will be installed on a flat surface of a small plastic enclosure, ultimately.

thanks!
Eric
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
lets see digikey... pushbutton panel mount.. switch.. in stock
Records matching criteria: 1,753
Pick one of the 1753 you like....
tons of small ones..
 

Thread Starter

aeroguy

Joined Sep 16, 2009
40
recycled printers

That's a good thought. I'll probably end up "foraging" from old electronics.

@mcgyvr: Like I said, none of the digikey ones are of interest. There are a few that are 25V 100mA push buttons, but they're still a bit big and clunky for what I'm envisioning.

thanks,
Eric
 

Thread Starter

aeroguy

Joined Sep 16, 2009
40
aeroguy: peek at what Sparkfun offers.

They "get it" when it comes to how it looks.
Thanks, Ernie. I'll check it out.

The stuff digikey sells would be great if I was making something for an industrial setting, but this needs to look slick.. ;-)
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
For your info..TV remote controls do not use individual panel mount buttons.. They typically use a rubber membrane with a conductive carbon puck on the bottom that simply creates a connection between 2 circuit board traces.. The closest you will find to that is tactile switches which require a circuit board and are not panel mount.

Good luck...
 

takao21203

Joined Apr 28, 2012
3,702
Are you interested in any of these small SMD buttons?

They would need a suitable front panel, however, with small openings, or mechanical actuators. If you are "die hard" you could mount them directly on a piece of PCB, and screw them on the front panel.

I don't use so many buttons anymore, the latest strategy is to add IR receiver to PIC circuit, and use cheap generic remote controls, instead of pushbuttons.
 

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ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
Here's one nice button I got from Sparkfun.



They are similar to small tactile buttons as they have thru hole pins to go into a backer board, but the tops are stepped nicely so these tops will poke thru your project box. They do need a supporting board to hold them and connect the wires. They will fit into a proto board with 0.1" center holes.

The big drawback is you only get 2 of each of the 6 colors. (I would have preferred 4 or 5 of the same color but I can make do with each a different color.
 
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