A Professional Finish

["bartmaguire" <bartmaguire@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello
I have finally got around to tidying up my cobbled together multi-
room audio system.  For four years it has been an amplifier with
dual speaker outputs fed through a speaker splitter into four
rooms.  Control has been via One4All wireless IR extenders in each
room and remembering to carry the remote control around! (or not -
in practice the remote control stays upstairs and control downstairs
is by going into the utility room, off the hall, where the hifi is)
Additional control is supplied by a
<a href="http://www.redrat.co.uk/start.htm";>Redrat</a
href> which
changes channels on the
satellite receiver, changes input sources on the hifi and switches
the system off at night and on in the morning (which means I wake up
to the World Service news)
Now I have bought two better amplifiers and a couple of audio
splitters from <a href="http://custom1.farnell.com/cpc/product.asp?
catalog%5Fname=CPC+Catalogue&category%5Fname=Audio+Video+%2D+Audio%
2DVideo+Equipment+and+Accessories+%2D+Amplifiers&product%
5Fid=276509">CPC</a href>
and an in the process of rebuilding the system.
The wireless IR extenders are not the most reliable, but they do
have the advantage that I can use the original remote and so have
all the functions available.  Hardwired extenders would be better
but seem quite expensive - anyone know of an affordable product (or
simple instructions for making one)?
I contemplated making up a <a href="http://www.schaeffer-
apparatebau.de/English/index.htm">wall-mounted keypad</a
href> with
the switches
wired back to the contacts in the amplifier, but I can't find any
buttons that would be good enough.  I have scoured the catalogues of
CPC and Farnell, Maplin,
Rapidelectronics, Keene and RS without success.  The nearest I can
find are low-profile stainless steel vandal resistant switches, but
they are all too big and rather expensive.  Anyone know a source of
small, high quality, buttons?
What I am aiming for is a panel like these:
<a href="http://www.polaron.co.uk/controls/mcpaud-1102.htm";>this
</a
href> or
<a href="http://www.librasys.com/products.html#product3
">this</a href>. I know that Richard from Librasys posts here
-
where do you get your
buttons Richard?