+Switches – general information

The switch is an "all-or-nothing" sensor that can take many different forms: pushbutton, momentary or permanent contact button, lever switch, slide switch, rocker switch, sensor mat, bead tilt sensor/ball switch, magnet contactor, limit switch, customized set-ups using dry contacts...

Buttons can be used in a wide variety of ways: either as stage management elements, allowing you to switch from one sequence of effects to another, or as event sensors. They can be placed on the floor, walls, furniture, in an installation, on an actor, in a costume, in a glove, under an object, etc, ... waiting for a hand or foot to be pressed, a door to be closed, an object to be moved, etc...

They are also proprioception tools in mechanical systems: along with potentiometers, they can be used to control the position or angle of motorized objects.

Our standard catalog

Push-buttons and switches

What all our switch sensors have in common is that they are "momentary/fleeting-contact", meaning they are activated only when pressed. They do not remain engaged when the hand or foot is removed.

The table below summarizes our catalog's the standard switch assembly. "Card" means that the button is soldered onto a small card which is easy to attach, screw or sew. The card also helps to prevent wires from being pulled out. This specification does not apply to a button sold as-is ("No connections").

	Button	Assembly
	Tiny button	Card
	Mini grey pushbutton	Card
	Mini blue button	Card
	Medium white button	Card
	Push-button	To be screwed

More details and photos can be found on the « Buttons and switches »page.

Special switches

Among the many possible switches, we've included a few unusual ones: a ball tilt switch, a magnetic switch and the sensitive floor mat. Classic buttons and push-buttons are detailed on other pages, as are our reed switches.

	Button	Assembly
	Reed switch - limitswitch	Card
	Ball tilt switch	Card
	Magnetic switch	Card
	Sensitive floor mat	On the ground
	Alligator clips switch	Custom tweak

Connections and sensor quantities

Units / sets

Switches with 3 point connectors or « no connections » are sold per single unit.

Switches with 10 or 16 wire ribbon cables are supplied by 4, 5 or 8.

Connections

For each switch or button, its connections can be a 3 point connector, or a flat ribbon cable with a 8 or 5 way ISP header.

The connections depend on where/what one wishes to plug the switches in :

• Analog 3 way : Some of our interface boards (such as our "2 Analog to Midi" interface, or our "MemoriZ"), only have analog inputs, their connectors are adapted for analog signals that vary. With this connector one can plug an ON/OFF sensor such as a switch or button on an analog input of these interface boards. With this option we supply the buttons by single units and not in multiple sets.
• 8 contacts 16 wire ribbon cable : for cards that have 8 or more digital inputs, (such as our "8 Ana/8 Digi to Midi" interface boards). With this option we supply a 16 wire flat gray ribbon cable clamped to an 8 way ISP female header on one side and soldered to 8 buttons on the other side. The button type can be selected in the product options, however for specific ribbon cable lengths please refer to our indications below.
• 5 contacts 10 wire ribbon cable for MiniWi : Our “MiniWi” wireless sensor interface possesses 5 digital inputs for switches, that plug onto a 5 way ISP header. With this option we supply a 10 wire flat gray ribbon cable clamped to a 5 way ISP female header on one side and soldered to 5 buttons on the other side.
• 4 contacts 10 wire ribbon cable for ZIP :Our (“ZIP”) board possesses 4 digital inputs for buttonsthat plug onto a 5 way ISP header. With this option we supply a 10 wire flat gray ribbon cable clamped to a 5 way ISP female header on one side and soldered to 4 buttons on the other side. Caution ! The ZIP connector is different to other 10 wire ribbon cable connectors such as the one for MiniWi or the one for our sensitive floor mat board, although they resemble each other very much, the switches are not wired the same way.
• No connections: the button or switch is supplied alone, as is, without any wires, headers or cards. This option requires the buyer to solder or plug the connections themselves. It's great for a project that requires specific customizing and where one wishes to do things one's self.

With the « no connections » option one can also make ones own custom button set. Interface-Z supplies various flat ribbon cables (attached to ISP headers that are compatible with our boards) one is free to solder to any button or switch one would like. For example, the buyer can create a set for an 8 analog interface board with 2 tiny buttons, 2 reed switches, 2 medium white buttons and 2 sensitive floor mats.

A 3 way connector for analog inputs

This connector let's one use the analog sensor inputs on our analog interface boards such as :« analog to midi interface » boards, our « analog to OSC » boards, our « MemoriZ » board, and our « Interactive lighting » board. On these analog inputs one must not randomly connect 2 button wires, it may cause a short circuit. Choosing the “3 way analog connector” option means we supply the button or switch with a little card that adapts the connection correctly, and has a male 3 way connector that one can plug to our standard 3 way extension cords.

3 way connector.

The button is sometimes separated from the connector and attached to a wire. Separating the connector and the button can sometimes help integrate the button in a comlicated structure, interface or costume.

The 3 way connector plugs onto 3 way extensioncord that must be bought separately.

16 wire ribbon cable 8 digital inputs

Ana/Digi to Midi, or Open Sound Control boards all have digitial inputs for button sets. The “64 switch board” (a variation of our Carpet Tile board adapted for buttons and switches) uses the same type of connector. 16 wires are soldered 2 by 2 to 8 switches.

The default ribbon cable length is 2 meters. From this page one can order the switches and the basic 2 meter ribbon cable with the right connector. To buy longer cables, one can simply go to our “4/8/12 ribbon cable” page (or our “64 switch cable” page) and choose the option “16 extra wires”, the quantity is then calculated per meter.

10 wire ribbon cable for MiniWi

Our « MiniWi » module has 5 digital all or nothing inputs. The connection uses 10 wires : 2 per switch/button.The buttons/switches use 2 cables side by side. Please take care not to confuse this connection with the one for our peripheral floor mat cards, where the 10 wires are used for 8 switches.

10 wire ribbon cable for ZIP board

The ZIP2 board has 4 digital all or nothing inputs. The connection uses 10 wires : 2 per switch/button and 2 unused. The buttons/switches use 2 cables side by side. Caution ; this is not the same connection as the other 10 wire cables.

No connections

Switches or buttons sold as-is, without cables nor sheathing.

Buttons or switches are the only sensor we can sell as kits, since soldering them being generally quite simple.

A guide for these kits is available : « Kit-boutons.pdf. ». Unfortunately it is not yet translated. The documentation refers to an older version of our 8 analog to midi interface board. For our current boards one needs a 16 wire cable with the appropriate female ISP header.