Latching reed switch?

[Scodiddly]

I've been thinking about microphone pad switches... but I hate the idea of making a hole and actually having a switch. Is there such a thing as a latching reed switch, so that the pad could be enabled/disabled by waving a magnet over the right spot on the housing? I'm sure it could be done with an actual little logic circuit, but I'm always looking to make things as simple as possible.

I guess the 'B' option would be having some little magnet deal that clipped on when a pad was needed.

 

[bcarso]

There are reed switches with bias magnets---also you can make your own. You just need a reversing coil (or big external magnet) to change the state.

 

[Scodiddly]

Of course now I'm worried about how you'd tell which position switch was in without powering it up and trying both ways. But I guess a properly packaged magnet would solve that - until the magnet gets lost, of course. :roll:

OK, I'll dig around in the Mouser catalog since I'm building up an order anyway.

 

[CJ]

Weller sends out magnets on a stick for locking temp settings on their irons. Maybe you could work with a similar plan. Keep the magnet away from any hard drives.
cj

 

[Scodiddly]

[quote author="CJ"]Weller sends out magnets on a stick for locking temp settings on their irons. Maybe you could work with a similar plan. Keep the magnet away from any hard drives.
cj[/quote]

That's partially where I got the idea, though the Sennheiser MD-431 also had a neat magnet switch setup - reed switch hidden in the body, with a removeable on/off switch containing the magnet.

 

[bcarso]

CJ makes a good point though---permanent magnets can cause havoc if you get them close enough to magnetic media, CRTs, or the now very rare purely mechanical wristwatch. The key is to keep them far enough away and in some cases just a big cover/pouch etc. would be sufficient---and don't get one any more powerful than required.

Put a direction marking (a subtle one if you like) on the equipment with the biased latching reed that corresponds with a similar marking on your magnet. If you're uncertain about the state of the attenuator just "set" it again, or "reset" it again. Or, install a super-efficient little pinpoint LED (hate to pull any current away from the electronics though).

Reminds me of these people I see all day long repetitively punching the crosswalk signal buttons. Whenever I have the opportunity I tell them that they should push it once. And push it again only if they don't think they pushed it the first time. I would be dishonest if I told them that it actually slows the signal timing down by repetitive pushing, although perhaps it does by a nanosecond or two ;-)