Sanwa OBSFE Silent 30mm Pushbuttons: Dark Red

Please Note

Sanwa plungers within our Mix & Match Plunger category - while compatible with the OBSFE button housing - will not silence the button in the same manner.  The OBSFE's redesigned plunger is responsible for the OBSFE's silencing capabilities.

For players desiring a quieter button without the need for a foam pad, Sanwa introduces the second generation of their silent button series, the OBSFE.

New Material, Newly Designed Plunger

Sanwa's original model, the OBSFS, utilizes a circular foam padding to dampen the clacking sound caused by the plastic internals of the plunger hitting the bottom of the button housing.  In Gen 2, the plunger's housing is redesigned specifically to avoid "bottoming out", or hitting the button housing with the same force as the original models.  Instead it stops specifically at a point determined by the reinforced structure near its center where it connects to the Sanwa's input-sensitive SW-68 microswitch. 

Of note, in our tests it is possible remove the plunger from OBFSE's housing by squeezing the tabs under the SW-68 microswitch and pushing upward.  You cannot remove the plunger traditionally by using a mini screwdriver or other object to push the tabs upwards, as no tabs exist on the OBSFE's plunger.

In addition, a new softer and rubberized material is used to construct the button plunger.  You can actually bend and squeeze the bottom portion of the button without much fear of breaking the bottom supports. A clearcoat is placed atop the plunger to replicate the feel of Sanwa's original model.

Overall, the new plunger is the defining feature of the OBSFE - it is how Sanwa's second generation button achieves its new sound dampening method without the use of a foam pad.

Silence is (Still) Golden

The SANWA OBSFE-30 continues as the standard in high-quality Japanese arcade and commercial joystick pushbuttons. These buttons are compatible with the MadCatz line of FightSticks, Qanba FightSicks and Hori Fightstick, plus custom joysticks that use a metal control panel.

24 vs 30mm

When processing orders, a frequent mistake we found among new players is choosing the wrong size for action buttons, such as punch and kick. Within the fighting game genre, Japanese arcade buttons commonly consist of two diameter sizes: 24 millimeter and 30 milllimeter (mm). In most configurations, 30mm represents your action button.  These are front facing, appearing most prominent on your Fightstick control panel.  Option button, such as "Start", "Select", or more recently "Option", "Touch", or "Share" are usually 24mm. UPDATE: Owners of Neo Geo AES Joysticks will need 24mm pushbuttons instead of 30mm (Thanks SRK's DEZALB) Below is a visual representation of a common Fightstick control panel.  Throughout this article, we will mark 24mm in green, and 30mm in Orange. Checking the Proper Size Another way that players can misinterpret the pushbutton size is by measuring the pushbutton plunger.  Have a look at the diagram at right. The plunger - the part that you press down to represent an input - is 25mm or a bit smaller in most 30mm pushbuttons.  Often this leads to the conclusion that one needs a 24mm button and not 30mm. Similarly measuring the button rim can lead to confusion, as it is intentionally larger than the button hole it is placed in.  You don't want to use these measurements.  Instead, review the button housing diameter, or the hole the button will be placed in.  You can do this with a caliper - a digital caliper is often quite helpful for this and other arcade-related projects. Control Panel Configuration Most Fightsticks from MadCatz, Hori, Qanba, and similar will use these two sizes.  How the buttons are used will depend on the model joystick that you own. Over time, we'll provide example configurations for specific popular Fightstick models and arcade cabinets using the color key for 24mm (green) and 30mm (orange).  We'll also expand the key for future models if another size is introduced, and we offer for sale.