Question Is gold plating on a PCB required for DS lite button membrane?

[RegDogg]

I ordered a few PCBs a while back for the DS lit buttons as a breakout, I didn't get gold plating, but they dons seem to work. Does gold plating make a difference for these button membranes? If so, how does it affect it?

 

[Aurelio]

I ordered a few PCBs a while back for the DS lit buttons as a breakout, I didn't get gold plating, but they dons seem to work. Does gold plating make a difference for these button membranes? If so, how does it affect it?

It helps A LOT. First of all ENIG is flatter, so rubber membranes make better contact. Secondly, ENIG conducts better.

 

[zoefoster]

amazing

 

[Elektix]

Gold plating helps a lot. I've been testing this recently, without the gold plating, the HASL finish quickly oxidises and you get resistance readings upto and exceeding 600ohm. You also need to press much harder.

Also, the membranes start to become a bit crap and don't conduct aswell. Cleaning them with some alcohol/ roughing them up helps a bit... buttt... I have a new magic solution to make all your problems go away!

Save yourself a ton of money buying gold ENIG board and buy yourself some of these little beauties. Thank me later.
They'll work with your HASL boards a treat, immediate conductivity. Seem to be very strong, hard wearing and stick like poop to a blanket.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[RegDogg]

Thanks for this! Once I can get my workstation back into play, this will be perfect for future projects!