2P5T or 3P5T?

Phrazemaster said:

I'm sure this is a stupid question, but I'm looking at a rotary switch and the seller lists it as 3 pole 5 positions.

I'm looking at the bottom of the wafer and it looks like only 2 poles.

1. Wouldn't a 3 Pole switch have the contacts divided into 3 at the bottom?

2. Also, I get kind of dyslexic when it comes to this stuff - is a 3P5T switch the same as a 3 pole 5 position switch?

Thx

Mike

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wlinart said:

As far as i know 3P5T stands for 3 pole 5 throw, which is the same as 3 pole 5 position. You see that there are in total 18 contacts (some pointing up, some down) which would make sense for a 3P5T switch (3 poles with 6 contacts each). So my guess is that it's indeed a 3P5T.

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Phrazemaster said:

Got it - some of the contacts must be above the deck and not visible in the pic. Makes sense. And your explanation was clear, so thank-you.

Even after all this time in DIY I still have to google the switch types to figure it out...I'm sure it's like tying a shoe to many.

thanks again,

Mike

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wlinart said:

You're very welcome, i know that feeling too.
If you look at the attached picture you can see that i circled the contacts above the deck. And you can recognize where they are on the deck thanks to the rivet kind of thing.

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