Bigger toggle switches for the signal-what to use?

Hi!

Lately i'm having some problems finding good quality, cheap (also big enough to look good on 2-3U chasis) toggle switches for phase reverse, pad, filter, etc.
I'm not sure if standard 3A 250V toggle switches are ok for this. I can get switches rated at 28V/200mA, but they are too small to look good on big chasis. At the moment i'm looking at this model which is big enough and very cheap:
http://www.banzaieffects.com/Heavy-Duty-DPDT-Toggle-pr-sa16274.html#tabs


Can someone please tell me if 3A 250V is too much for audio signals and why? I would also like to know what materials are normally used for contacts in toggle switches.

Btw, i checked Cayacosta's site and he suggests 6A 125V switches for bypass and similar, so i guess i will be ok with 3A 250V switches.

Miha

The big switches have their contacts plated with silver. The silver tarnishes over time and the only thing that can break through the tarnish is switching large currents. What you want is a switch that has gold plated contacts, which do not tarnish and can pass small signals. NKK makes a switch with a larger bushing/barrel that is rated for small signals. They also have a couple papers that go more in depth regarding contact materials.

I have seen 6A 250V switches used for audio/low signals successfully, but I'm afraid that over time they might start to fail.

Ian

[quote author="rotation"]Lately i'm having some problems finding good quality, cheap (also big enough to look good on 2-3U chasis) toggle switches for phase reverse, pad, filter, etc.[/quote]
Hi,

Switches for doing something w.r.t. time or phase are overkill or require additional circuitry.

A simple switch can do a polarity inversion though, I'd go for that approach.

No apologies for the nitpicking :wink:

If you really want huge switches but are worried about the "needs a higher voltage" thing Ian brought up, you could use them to switch little reed relays for the actual signal. That would also let you use SPST/SPDT big switches to control multiple relays for complicated situations.

Well, using relays is not so cheap option either and it makes builds more complicated, at least for me.
I found those papers from NKK, thanks. Apem also makes switches of this kind and they are quite easy to get in my country.
Thanks for the replies!

Miha