[sdiy] are Mouser toggle switches really that good?!

[Tom Wiltshire]

On 29 Feb 2012, at 04:29, Mike Beauchamp wrote:

> generally I compare the datasheets to see if either give any "expected
> life" figures (how many times it can be toggled before it dies). 

I agree with Mike. Figures for switches vary widely from 10,000 cycles to 10,000,000 or more.
10,000 cycles is once a day for 30 years, which doesn't sound too bad, but if you switch it 30 times a day, you're down to a year, which sounds hopeless.

One example is the Lorlin CK series rotary switches, sometimes used for waveform selection. These say ">10,000 cycles" which is the same as saying "about 10,500 cycles" and which explains why they go funny after a while.

Aim for a million cycles if you can.

T.