Hello, random Cherry switch

[ohaimark]

Found this thing kicking around in the arcade machine button drawer at my university computer club.

[Wodan]

Reminds me that Cherry was originally an American company ....

Looks like an end-switch for a Linear actuator

[ohaimark]

It's a D44 series. Super common in arcade cabs and industrial applications.

[matt3o]

My custom made arcade cabinet has a couple of dozens of them

[Wodan]

Are they from Cherry Germany or from Cherry USA?

[matt3o]

the logo on them looks like the new one

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Is 43-96, week 43, 1996? Hard to be sure, but that would put it well into the German era if so. That's the older Cherry logo.

[matt3o]

I've seen at least 3 versions of that switch, mine is the one with the cherries in the logo (to the right of the "Cherry" text), which I guess is a "modern" release

Edit:

one


two


three


there's also this that has different specs but it is still called D44X

[Daniel Beardsmore]

The logos are on the [wiki]Cherry[/wiki] wiki page. The logo typeface on ohaimark's switch goes back at least as far as 1973, when Cherry was US company, and was replaced in 2005 (although it seems the moulds were not altered). Cherry keyboard switches from the 70s were simply marked with the word "CHERRY" in a semi-condensed face, and the logo did not appear until later, with MX, then MY and ML, and one strange type of M7.

[micrex22]

I like how the red plunger hearkens to the 'cherry' name-- with a little cherry on top of the switch.

[lukenukum]

the arcade machine button drawer

sounds like an awesome drawer!

[ArtoriasEdgeworth]

Interesting switches. I only just found out, Cherry makes keycaps styled like arcade buttons! I know what's going in my next joystick build!