[sdiy] Cheap Switches

[Scott Stites]

Hi again,

After Jay pointed out the cheap switches at electronix.com, I ordered some.
I'd say 30 seconds after I placed my order, Jim's message came through about
his bad experiences with cheap switches from Jameco.  Talk about 'doh!'.
But, he did ring some bells for me - I've ordered very few switches from
Jameco, and never put any on a module - I was using them for breadboarding.
But I did have one of them fail on me, also, after very little use - I just
thought maybe it was 'Something I Did'.

Anyway, the electronix.com switches arrived today.  I ordered some of each
variety they had (there were four varieties).  These switches have blue
casing and no manufacturer name anywhere on them.  They are a different
construction (on the exterior) than the Jameco switches, and they have at
least have a good 'feel' when they're switched.  But, then again, so did the
Jameco switches.  BTW, the Jameco switch I'm referring has a little logo on
the the side that looks like a cursive 'LL'(?).

Along with the switches I ordered from Electronic Goldmine, I also ordered
some of the 'normal' two throw DPDT switches they have.  These also are
blue, and have the manufacturer 'Alco' stamped on them.  They're pretty
stiff switches.  The exterior of them seems to have the same construction
type as these switches from electronix.com.

Long and short of it is, if I have any luck (good or bad) with these
switches, I'll let the list know.  I have used cheap switches on two modules
and have *so far* lucked out.  I can't remember where these switches came
from (All Electronics and Hosfelt, I believe).  So far, they're holding out.
Four of them get regular workouts because they're the range select switches
on my quad LFO.  Four others are used less often as they're used to select
between log and linear responses on my VCA's.

I'm not recommending any of these switches, BTW - Jim's got a point - if you
can afford it, buy the good ones.  Unless you don't mind pulling your synth
apart from time to time.

One more thing - the only down side (for me) for these Electronic Goldmine
C&K switches is that the shaft of them is so long, and only one nut was
supplied for each switch.  Does anybody know of a good place to get similar
nuts so I can put the switches flush with the front of the panel instead of
having the shaft sticking out?

Cheers,
Scott