switches

Mercury Switch Doorbell

Mercury Switch Doorbell

Mercury has been used for everything from pipe organs and furnaces to simple switches. Here we take a look at a basic mercury tilt switch and use it to operate a mechanical doorbell (with video).

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How-To: Phone Plug Tilt Switch

How-To: Phone Plug Tilt Switch

Here’s another cool improvised switch hack from Forrest Mims. All it requires is a spare tip/shield connector with a removable housing, and a BB or other conductive metal ball.

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How-To: Mystery Electronic Switches

How-To: Mystery Electronic Switches

What can you make using the circuit from a blinky greeting card, a clear plastic antiperspirant container, and 8 switches? Mystery Electronic Switches: A great prank project that taps the qualities of magnetic reed switches. From maker Jeff Tregre’s intro: Everyone loves a good mystery. Give someone this nifty magic gadget and tell them there’s […]

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How-To: Ball-in-Cage Switch

How-To: Ball-in-Cage Switch

A ball-in-cage switch is a mechanical alarm switch that works on an ingenious principle. It has a single relatively unstable “open” position, in which a metal ball rests in a small divot in an insulating base, inside a cage made from two U-shaped metal staples that overlap one another without contacting. The ball is too […]

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Switches Made Simple

Switches Made Simple

In this video, Collin gives a comprehensive overview of the humble switch, demonstrating switches of the toggle, DIP, slide, rocker, rotary, and momentary variety, and explains the difference between SPST and DPDT switches in the process.

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How-To: Forrest Mims Puff Switch

How-To: Forrest Mims Puff Switch

A puff switch can be useful when a user cannot be expected to activate a switch by more conventional means.

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Component of the Month: The Switch

Component of the Month: The Switch

Switches are a fundamental electronic component, they come in a variety of styles and configurations, and they have many different uses. From turning on a light to controlling a robotic arm, switches are the ideal control mechanism. At the physical layer, switches control the flow of information on the Internet and launch the rockets we send off into space.

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