How to wire a 3PDT on/off/on to go to 2 optional circuits and one always on?

[aviherman5]

Hi,

I'm currently building a pedal with a 3PDT on/off/on switch to toggle between 3 modes. I want it so in the middle position there is just an always-on fuzz circuit, then the other two modes to toggle between putting a ring modulator before and a pre-volume pot before. Any ideas on how to do this? It has to be this switch because I already designed a PCB for a V1 version of this, and I'd rather keep the switch type the same. Thanks  !

[GGBB]

I don't think that can be done passively. Middle is "off" - none of the switch pins are connected - it's an open circuit. You could put the other pedals in parallel with the always on pedal. Otherwise, you would need active circuitry (and some other switch) or maybe it's possible with a 3-way 4-pole rotary switch.

[r080]

I started drawing up the possibilities. I think what you really need is a 1P3T switch. So far, I don't see how to fake that with a 3PDT on/off/on.

The way I started was to use one pole to switch between the volume and ring mod before the fuzz, then use the other poles to open a direct connection to the fuzz. I did not have the patience to get to a point where it worked.

[aviherman5]

Thanks for confirming my suspicions guys.

I think what I'll do is switch between the volume pot and the octave with the two on positions on the first two sets of lugs and then put 9vdc on the two outer lugs of the last pole to control a relay. I'll have an SPDT relay switch between the pure unaltered jack signal and the "effects output" which is from either the volume pot or octaver.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help!

[aviherman5]

*therefore, when the pot is in an effects position, the relay is turned on and the fuzz sees the volume pot or octave, and when the switch is in off mode, the relay is not powered and goes into the default "jack in" position

[GGBB]

That should work.

[r080]

I am a little confused about your requirement to use the same switch type. If your switch is mounted to the board, you already need to redesign the board. If you are adding a relay, you need to either redesign the board or put the relay on a new board. If you are not mounting the switch on the board, you presumably have enough room for a different switch, such as a rotary switch or a slide switch.