Poor switch documentation

[mudpuppy]

I've been an electronics hobbiest for over 40 years (as well as being a current ieee member), and am pretty confident about being able to figure just about any guitar wiring problem. One exception to this might be getting coil phase relationships right.

The thing that bugs me is the crappy documentation that vendors provide on their websites on terminal assignments on their switches. A bunch of diagrams with example applications is not an acceptable substitute for clear documentation of terminal assignments. I did a quick survey of two of my favorite vendors: Wymore and StewMac. Of all the switch offerings, I found only ONE EXAMPLE of what I consider good documentation. This was for a 4P5T "Super Switch". In contrast, the various "Mega Switches" might be great gear, but I would never order one because of the poor documentation.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Poor switch documentation

Agreed. I have a Salecom branded 3-way On/On/On DPDT mini-toggle (model T80-T) and in an effort to better understand what goes on with Series/Split/Parallel wiring, I decided to look up that switch online. I finally found the PDF spec sheet for it, and it shows how the internals behave in relation to the contacts on the outside when the switch is flipped to either of the 3 positions.

That info was nearly impossible to find: no tech data at StewMac, Radio Shack, WIKI, or even guitarelectronics (you'd think that a site with an Albert Einstein logo as well as a sweet collection of other resources would include more technical info on switches and such).


It irks me how so much stuff is just thrown out there with the notion of "don't worry about how it works, just accept that it does". While most folks enjoy sheeping through life not knowing what's under the hood, I wanna know what's under the hood.
In fact, years ago I took apart a DPDT stomp switch because I wanted to know how it worked and couldn't find that info readily. I've taken apart pots and jacks and toggle switches, too, to see what's going on because no one bothered to make that info available. Exploded diagrams do little for me. They help, but not as much as having each piece on a table in front of me so I can see how they go together and why they work.

 

[mudpuppy]

Re: Poor switch documentation

Thanks for the response, Dr. It's good not know that someone else gets a little P.O.'d about these things. If you have a switch in hand you can always go through all of the switch postition and test continuity between every possible pair of terminals. That's a little tedious, but no big deal. That approach does absolutely nothing for you if you're making a decision based on a catalog or web site. Standard switches, where each 'common' terminal only connects to one other (per position) are not as much cause for concern as when there are multiple connections ( like the center position of an on-on-on toggle.)

I also don't want to sound like I'm beating up on the folks at Wymore and StewMac. I realize that they depend on their suppliers to provide documentation.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Poor switch documentation

yeah, you speak truth ... i have always done as you say - just ohm it out to see what i am really working with ... but youre right, that dont help when you are lookin online to spec parts for a project

we do what we gotta

t4d