One Switch is a little menubar app that gives easy access to a bunch of handy features, and it keeps all your powerful switches in one place. Hide Desktop Icons Hide your messy desktop with one click. Dark Mode Toggle Dark Mode at any time. Keep Awake Prevent your Mac from going to sleep or displaying the screen saver. Receptacles & Switches Are you looking to replace or update your motorhomes electrical outlets and switches. We have receptacles that have 30 and 50 Amp power supply and many switches with 1 to 3 buttons. Check out our selection of receptacles and On/Off power switches. A 16-port unmanaged switch such as this one from TP-Link should run you $50 or $60, while a 24-port unmanaged switch like this one from Netgear typically costs between $70 and $90.
- One Switch Powerful Switches In One Place 1 8 X 8
- One Switch Powerful Switches In One Place 1 8 Inch
Switch Contacts (pole, throw etc.)
Standard Switches (SPST, DPDT etc.)
Special Switches (multiway, tilt, reed etc.)
Standard Switches (SPST, DPDT etc.)
Special Switches (multiway, tilt, reed etc.)
Also see: Relays | Series & Parallel
Selecting a Switch
Features to consider when selecting a switch:
- Type of contacts such as DPDT.
- Ratings for voltage and current.
- Method of operation toggle, slide etc.
The following terms are used to identify different types of standard switches:
SPST = Single Pole, Single Throw
SPDT = Single Pole, Double Throw
DPST = Double Pole, Single Throw
DPDT = Double Pole, Double Throw
SPDT = Single Pole, Double Throw
DPST = Double Pole, Single Throw
DPDT = Double Pole, Double Throw
Switch Contacts
Several terms are used to describe switch contacts:
- Pole - number of switch contact sets.
- Throw - number of conducting positions (only used for single and double)
- Way - number of conducting positions.
- Momentary - switch returns to its normal position when released.
- Open - off position, contacts not conducting.
- Closed - on position, contacts conducting, there may be several on positions.
A simple on-off switch
A simple on-off switch has one set of contacts, single pole, and one switching position which conducts, single throw.This is type of switch is called SPST (single pole, single throw)and its action is described as ON-OFF.The switch mechanism has two positions: closed = on and open = off, but it is called 'single throw'because only one position conducts.
A simple push switch
A simple push-switch, such as one for a doorbell, has one set of contacts and the on positionis only momentary, as soon as you release the switch it goes back to off.This action is called push-to-make (push to close contacts).The momentary action is shown by using brackets like this: (ON)-OFF.
Switch Contact Ratings
Switch contacts are rated with a maximum voltage and current, and there may be differentratings for AC and DC. The AC values are higher because the current falls to zeromany times each second and an arc is less likely to form across the switch contacts.
For low voltage electronics projects the voltage rating will not matter, but you may needto check the current rating. The maximum current is less for inductive loads (coils andmotors) because they cause more sparking at the contacts when switched off.
Standard Switches
Photographs © Rapid Electronics
ON-OFF, SPST
SPST = Single Pole, Single Throw
A simple on-off switch.
This type can be used to switch the power supply to a circuit. The photograph shows a SPST toggle switch
When used with mains electricity this type of switch must be in the live wire,but it is better to use a DPST switch to isolate both live and neutral.
Rapid Electronics: SPST toggle switch
(ON)-OFF, Push-to-make, SPST Momentary
A push-to-make switch returns to its normally open = off position when you releasethe button, this is shown by the brackets around (ON). This is the standard doorbell switch.
Rapid Electronics: push-to-make switch
ON-(OFF), Push-to-break, SPST Momentary
A push-to-break switch returns to its normally closed = on position when you release the button,this is shown by the brackets around (OFF).
Rapid Electronics: push-to-break switch
ON-ON, SPDT
SPDT = Single Pole, Double Throw
This switch can be on in both positions, switching on a separate device in each case.It is also called a changeover switch.
For example, a SPDT switch can be used to switch on a red lamp in one position and a green lamp in the other position.
A SPDT toggle switch may be used as a simple on-off switch by connecting to COM and one of the A or Bterminals shown in the diagram. A and B are interchangeable so switches are usually not labelled.
SPDT is a popular type of switch and suppliers are likely to have a good variety of styles, for example:
Rapid Electronics: SPDT toggle switch
Rapid Electronics: SPDT slide switch
Rapid Electronics: SPDT rocker switch
ON-OFF-ON, SPDT Centre Off
This is a special version of the standard SPDT switch shown above.It has a third switching position in the centre which is off.
Rapid Electronics:SPDT centre off switch
Momentary (ON)-OFF-(ON) versions are also available where the switch returns to the central off position when released.The brackets are used to show the momentary action.
Rapid Electronics:(ON)-OFF-(ON) switch
Dual ON-OFF, DPST
DPST = Double Pole, Single Throw
A pair of on-off switches which operate together (shown by the dotted line in the circuit symbol).
A DPST switch is often used for mains electricity because it switches both the live and neutral connections.
Rapid Electronics:DPST rocker switch
Dual ON-ON, DPDT
DPDT = Double Pole, Double Throw
A pair of on-on switches which operate together (shown by the dotted line in the circuit symbol).
Reversing Switch
A DPDT switch can be wired up as a reversing switch for a motor as shown in the diagram below:
Rapid Electronics:DPDT slide switch
ON-OFF-ON, DPDT Centre Off
This is a special version of the standard DPDT switch shown above.It has a third switching position in the centre which is off.This can be useful for motor control because you have forward, off and reverse positions.
Rapid Electronics:DPDT centre off switch
Momentary (ON)-OFF-(ON) versions are also available where the switch returns to the central off position when released.The brackets are used to show the momentary action.
Rapid Electronics:DPDT centre off momentary switch
Special Switches
Photographs © Rapid Electronics
Push-Push Switch (e.g. ON-OFF, SPST)
This looks like a momentary action push switch but it is a standard SPST on-off switch:push once to switch on, push again to switch off. This is called a latching action.
Rapid Electronics: SPST push-push switch
Microswitch (usually ON-ON, SPDT)
Microswitches are designed to switch fully open or fully closed in response to small movements and small forces.They are available with levers and rollers attached.
Microswitches are often used as sensors in machinery to detect the position of parts including doors, for examplethey may be used to stop a machine if a door or panel is opened which exposes moving parts.
Normal switches are likely to suffer from damaging arcing (sparking) at their contacts whenthey are not fully open or closed, microswitches are designed to avoid this problem.
Rapid Electronics: microswitches
Key Switch
A key operated switch. The example shown is SPST.
Rapid Electronics: key switches
Tilt Switch (SPST)
Tilt switches contain a conductive liquid and when tilted this bridges the contacts inside, closing the switch.They can be used as a sensor to detect the position of an object.Some tilt switches contain mercury which is poisonous.
Reed Switch
The contacts of a reed switch are closed by bringing a small magnet near the switch.They are used in security circuits, for example to check that doors are closed.Standard reed switches are SPST (simple on-off) but SPDT (changeover) versions are also available.
Warning: reed switches have a glass body which is easily broken!For advice on handling please see the Electronics in Meccano website.
Rapid Electronics: reed switches
DIL Switch
DIL = Dual In-Line.
A DIL switch is a set of miniature SPST on-off switches, the example shown has 8 switches.The package is the same size as a standard DIL integrated circuit.
DIL switches are used to set up circuits, for example setting the code of a remote control.They are also known as DIP (Dual In-line Parallel) switches.
Rapid Electronics: DIL switches
Multi-pole Switch
The picture shows a 6-pole double throw switch, also known as a 6-pole changeover switch.It can be set to have momentary or latching action. Latching action means it behaves as a push-push switch,push once for the first position, push again for the second position etc.
Rapid Electronics:6-pole changeover switch
Multi-way Switch
Multi-way switches have 3 or more conducting positions and they may have several poles (contact sets).
The symbol shows a 1-pole 4-way switch.
A popular type has a rotary action and it is available with a range of contact arrangements from 1-pole 12-way to 4-pole 3 way.The number of ways (switch positions) may be reduced by adjusting a stop under the fixing nut.For example if you need a 2-pole 5-way switch you can buy the 2-pole 6-way version and adjust the stop.
Contrast a multi-way switch (many switch positions) with a multi-pole switch (many contact sets) described above.
Rapid Electronics: multi-way rotary switches
Rapid Electronicshave kindly allowed me to use their images on this website and I am very grateful for their support.They stock a wide range of switches and other components for electronics and I am happy torecommend them as a supplier.
Network switches are indispensable part on setting up a home network. For home Gigabit Ethernet switches, both one large single switch and multiple switch are good options. Using one large switch, the speed of data transferring could be faster but the problem is you have to run multiple lines throughout the house. Using multiple switches at home maybe redundant at some extent. So how to choose?
For choosing single large switch or multiple smaller switch applied to home network, it is not an easy question to answer. Because it involves various factors—size of the house, power consumption, fiber or copper, rack mount or not. Besides, you still need to consider how dense each part of the house will have networking. And then, in terms of this topic, we did some researches on some professional forums to investigate and congregate thoughts. Most of them prefer to use one larger switch rather than multiple smaller switches for home networking. The reasons are described in the following part.
Figure1: multiple smaller switch stack
One Switch Powerful Switches In One Place 1 8 X 8
By using a central switch you will have UPS protection, unless you have an UPS at each location of course. And using a larger switch instead of multiple smaller ones, just because you will end up using less power that way. By using multiple switches, just make sure you buy two in case of hardware failure, that is the downside of centralizing everything to one device. So in that way, you will cost more to make sure the work of the hardware. In the below statement, we would list some merits and demerits to further clarify the reason why it is better to choose one large single switch instead of multiple smaller switches for home network.
- A single switch will give you more security and better manageability, since it is centrally located.
- In case of a small building, it is feasible to have a single optical switch catering to everyone. But if the building is big, then due to distance limitation of fast Ethernet, it may not be possible for one switch to cater to all the users. In this case, you will have to go for multiple switch solution.
- One single switch will give you better performance than many switches. This is because in case of many switches, the inter-switch link is usually fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet, but when you are using a single switch, switch backbone operates at much higher speeds.
So we can infer that if you have a small network, then you can start with single switch, and then as the network grows, you can migrate to multiple switch scenario. But if you are planning for a single switch situation, please think about a backup for this switch (either automatic failover or manual failover), so that in case of failure you can switch to the backup.
Weakness of Using Multiple Switches
First of all, using multiple switches dispatched in the different places is some sort of complexity. You need to connect all of them through some paths. And then, power consumption is also a big trouble. Using multiple switches inevitably brought much more power consumption than single switches. Besides, using multiple or redundant switch is common for security specially IP camera. If one of the switch breaks, then your other camera is still accessible. Then you have the distance limitation, which if this is the case, then you don’t have a choice but to implement more switch.
Figure2: fabric of multiple switches
One Switch Powerful Switches In One Place 1 8 Inch
According to the above description and analysis, we can draw a conclusion that using a single large network switches are better than using multiple smaller switches for home networking in most cases. But if you own an extremely larger house to meet your network requirement, and then multiple smaller switches would be good options.