WHAT ON EARTH IS A "CATS EYE"PUSH BUTTON?
Wink wink, nudge nudge - say no more .... (some also call these Wink pushbuttons!)
These are special indicating buttons that were designed and manufactured by Toneluck. Very similar in concept and operation to the Schadow switches of the 1980's, I am pretty sure that Toneluck "borrowed" the concept from Schadow.
Schadow (Rudolf Schadow Company) were based in Germany but now seem to have been acquired by the C & K Group
These indicating switches from Toneluck work in a very similar manner, when the switch button is pushed inwards, a section inside the button "flips over" and the user can easily see the "state" from the colour that shows through the clear front window of the button.
Nice mechanical indicator, no additional wiring, no LED's etc are required.
We used these in some audio products quite a while back (around the late 1990's) and they are reliable and did not have structural failures! These are constructed entirely of plastic (except for a single compression spring) and the two side arms in particular need to be strong - these push buttons stood the test of time in our experience.
The push button is a friction fit onto the toneluck switch shaft, much like any other push button fitting. The grip is TIGHT so removal of the push button from the shaft needs some force (and care!) - these push buttons certainly will not fall off the shaft!
Brilliant concept and they look super retro as well!
Ex workshop spare parts and small manufacturing production stock
ALL components have been sourced through reputable local distributors such as RS Electronics, Farnell, WES and Rockby (Victoria)
Never heard of Toneluck?
They are a Taiwanese OEM of high quality switches, their products are often found in 3rd party products, such as the DBX160/161 compressor/limiters and so many others.
Their website is HERE
While manufactured for use with the Toneluck switches, it is "possible" that this special button will fit other switch shafts ....see dimensions below to work out if these may be useful for other, non-Toneluck, switches.
TONELUCK - "Cats Eye" Push Button
Rectangular
Part # BCR BLU
Colour: BLACK - BLUE (.ACTIVATED or PUSH BUTTON LOCKED IN THE ON POSITION)
DIMENSIONS:
Button: 17mm wide x 8mm height
Button "eye": 13.5mm wide x 6mm height
Total length (Front to Back): 28mm
Push button only: 17.5mm
The remaining 10.5mm of the total length is used by the two activation side fingers and the switch shaft female socket
This was fitted to Toneluck multi-contact push button switches which has a plastic shaft, one of which is HERE (and there are other switching configurations available)
The cat's eye push button has a rectangular female receptacle at the rear to accept the push button shaft. I cannot accurately measure the internal dimensions of the buttons but the switch shaft that this button fits onto measures: 3.33mm wide x 3.33mm height (square) OD
When pushed onto the Toneluck switch shaft, the fitting is TIGHT and secure.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
NEW
Old Stock
CLEAN
These push button(s) will be supplied in a sealed clear plastic packet
*** Where the photograph shows multiple rectangular Cats Eyes, the advertised price is for ONE "eye" ONLY not all that are shown ***
