Mounting footswitches to PCBs

[mnordbye]

I'm currently considering expanding my pedalmaking and actually giving it a shot at going commercial. I'm tinkering with the idea of mounting the bypass switch to the pcb too, to minimize the need for wires.

So, some questions for you guys who have done this successfully. What switches did you use? Suggestions to what's most cost effective? Most reliable?

All info and experiences are appreciated.

Regards,
Magnus

[zeta55]

I've tried a few switches, the one in the picture was nice, just a little bit high maybe . Tried some alpha swithces to with pins and they worked just fine also.
I used the with the milleniumbypass circuit http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/millenium/millen.htm
The taiwan switch:


and the alpha switch:

[senko]

I'd advise against having your stomp switch directly mounted to the PCB where your effect circuit is.  The repeated physical trauma that the switch is going to transfer directly to the pcb can do all sorts of damage.  Wiring is the best way to segregate your sensitive components from those that take the most abuse (like switches, jacks, pots). It's also a lot easier to repair wired components than desoldering them from a PCB.   

An old Nobels pedal i was working on had a separate control/circuit pcbs.  A foot landed wrong on the pedal and one of the pots was partially ripped from the PCB, bringing some of the board and trace with it.  The switching style was very elegant, though - a spring-loaded metal plate with a protrusion that touches a PCB momentary switch to toggle a 4007 circuit. 

I've seen some sites that do offer 3pdt stomp switch PCBs to cut down on wiring up true bypass and LEDs (this would be a lifesaver; they tend to look really ugly just wired up with a resistor hanging off one of the leads).

You really want the PCB to be protected from any movement or jostling.  But yeah, well, that's like my opinion, man.

[CodeMonk]

Wouldn't most of that stress of stomping be distributed to the enclosure itself?
And the plastic washer taking some of the brunt as well?

[MarcoMike]

I guess there would be no problem at all... the stress of your stomp should go on the enclosure, not to the pcb...
moreover MXR has been doing it for quite a long time...

[mnordbye]

Thanks for the replies, people!

I've seen many footswitches mounted directly to the PCB, and I too believe that the enclosure takes most of the beating from stomping on them.

Senko: I was about to ask about those tactile switches, or what they are called. Is this kind of switching digging into digital switching? It seems like a much cleaner (and smaller) switching method.

Magnus

[DavenPaget]

Tactile switching method has been used by Boss and Ibanez ...
footswitches mounted on a PCB , the PCB takes the brunt not the enclosure .

[bsmcc2010]

The only place i've seen this done commercially before is by voodoo labs. All their switches are PCB mounted. To compensate for the strain on the PCB they use cable tie mount things to 'tie' the PCB to the enclosure.

[senko]

Hey Magnus, check out R.G. Keen's info on the switching.  If you have a digital background, it's basically just a flip-flop. 

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/bosstech.pdf

A lot of people like true bypass, so you might just want to stick with the 3PDT stompswitch.  R.G. has a ton of info on his site about this stuff. 

You might also be interested in how Voodoo Labs does their switching:
http://stinkfoot.se/archives/1005

For someone starting out building boutique pedals, I'd just stick with simple 3PDT switches wired up and work from there.  If you mount everything on a PCB, you'll have to make sure all of your dimensions are right and the drilling is precise and all jacks and switches and anything else mounted on the PCB are aligned perfectly.  It can become quite the headache when all of your perfect planning just ends up not so perfect.