Has anyone ever seen a switch that goes to multiple positions (two or more) with a slider that travels through a maze-ish contraption?
Hard to explain. I have attached a sketch to this post. I can’t find what to google, of anyone sells them, or really anything about it. Anyone know the terms I should be looking for? Or ran into them somewhere?
Reminds me of a stick shift for a car transmission.
Have not seen this but could this be built using something like a RC gimbal switch with a surface that has a Z shaped channel cut in it. You’d need some sort of A-D to register the various X and Y values that are valid. Hmmm … Arduino?
It does, but googling around there’s no name for a physical stopped switch…
no need to get that complicated! I could just have it in an insulated track and have a different conductor at every corner, it’s then basically a switch with a more complicated travel! Or even a brush under going over contact plates… As long as I feed power through the top plate it’s closing the circuit
For the shift lever in Mercedes-Benz and other makes of cars with an automatic transmission, I have heard it called a zigzag pattern, if that helps at all? Specific examples of models of cars using this pattern include the 2006 Mercedes-Benz B200 and the Hyundai Elantra Touring (all model years, which is only 2009 to 2012).
Haven’t come across one of those in my travels, but you could rig one up easily enough with a series of microswitches at the different positions.
Or if you wanted to go contactless use a series of reed switches at the corners with a magnet in the activator shaft. Use an I2C port expander on the reeds and you can get the whole thing down to 2 pins on your micro controller.
I would call it a 1P3T or Off-ON-ON-On slide switch with a zig zag pattern.
What’s the use case? Do you have something with one in it and looking for a replacement or are you looking for one just because? Four position slide switches are common but the zig zag pattern is not. Also are you looking for something small like 1x1 inches or big like an arcade joy stick or automotive stick shift. You are right, simple googles don’t seem to indicate such a beast exists so probably a custom order or build.