Spent far too much time looking into this myself last summer, but was looking for several colors, not just red. What I found was that C&K is the only current option, other than used/NOS stuff. I’ve read conflicting information that C&K have/haven’t discontinued them. I wasn’t able to find any alternatives that fit the switches that also fit existing chassis holes and came in different colors. Hopefully someone else has come across substitutes.
For anyone looking for the schadow-type buttons, here’s what i’ve learned. Maybe it’ll save someone time/mental health.
The reality is, you can still get them new from the usual sources. I ended up buying a lot of them in case they are actually discontinued. Mouser and Digi-key quantities have been low, which may indicate that they are just selling off existing stock. I’ve had a backorder in for the blue button model for 7 months now, and the expected delivery date from the factory keeps getting pushed out. But I’ve yet to get the dreaded “we give up” cancellation notice. But i was able to stock up on the orange, white, green and yellow varieties between Mouser and a Digi-key. C&K don’t have red as an option any more based on the current catalog (see below).
Be sure to get the F11 variety and not the F8 models (unless you know that’s specifically what you need). The F11 don’t have the little external arm on them that connects to the chassis and will work with nearly any switch they fit onto. The F8s (with the external arm) require specific switch models to work.
Here’s a link to the C&K catalog section/datasheets. There’s a table towards the end with the available colors and their numeric codes. Your choices of colors are white, yellow, blue, green and orange. (But like I said, I’ve been waiting on the blue color for months). I ended up searching the web for the specific model numbers for each button color, and all roads lead back to the sources above (along with Newark/Farnell)
https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/60/fpush-965301.pdf
Button model number: F110101XX (where XX= button color code):
02=white
06=yellow
07=blue
08=green
12=orange
I’ve picked up red F11 style buttons on eBay, but of course it’s hit or miss there.
Not wanting to sidetrack the thread, just hoping to save others time on this topic. Hopefully someone can help Dreams with his quest for alternatives.
Good luck!
