Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

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KalessinDB
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Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by KalessinDB »

So yes, they exist already in 2 or 4 port quantities, usually from old computer equipment. But they're so ugly. I'm getting a big tymer 8-port SCART switch soon (tm), and I'm starting to finally think about wiring everything up and leaving it wired up. In order to do that, I need a bunch of switches and one of them is a minidin switch for my Framemeister.

Anyone think they might be able to build one that's smaller/sleeker than the existing options? Perhaps something based off an idea like this?

Just curious. I can't be the first person to consider it, and I know we have some handy folk on here...

Edit: And yes, I know, reinventing the wheel.. but aesthetics matter sometimes dangit :lol:
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Ziggy
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Re: Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by Ziggy »

You can build a simple passive switch box easy.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... ND/2054944

Just get one of those switches for every input you want. Note, the link is for a 6PDT switch (the picture is generic). The 8-pole version of that switch is in stock at Mouser, but you only need the 6. One pin of the Framemeister's mini-DIN is unused, and you don't need to switch ground (just tie them all together across all inputs). Might as well save a little money and get the 6-pole version. Also, only worrying about 6 of the pins is less work.

The upside is that the switch box will be passive so you don't have to worry about powering it. The downside is that you'll lose out on nice touches like LED indicators for which input is active as well as the fact that you'll have to manually turn switches OFF (otherwise you'll have multiple signals outputting simultaneously, which is bad). But it's a dead simple build. Just connect each input to a switch, then connect all the switches in parallel to the output. Done. And since it's less components, you can afford to use a smaller box.

edit: Just thinking, if for some reason you'll also need a switcher for composite and/or S-Video, if you got the 10-pole version of that switch you can use the extra 4 poles to add composite and/or S-Video. Again, you can just tie all the grounds together so 4 pins would be enough for this. So each switch would control a 8-pin mini-DIN input as well as a composite or S-Video input.

Second edit: You should be able to easily see visually which switch is engaged, but if you really wanted indicator lights it wouldn't be too much extra work. You'd have to get the 8 or 10-pole version of the switch. Use one of the extra poles to turn an LED on/off. You can power the LEDs with two AA batteries. The batteries wont take up much room in the case, and you still wouldn't have to worry about using a power adapter (unless you don't care about that). If you choose the right LEDs, you could probably get a couple hundred hours of battery life. You could add a battery compartment without much trouble.

Third edit: This GIF shows the simple circuit for the LED (the side with the switch is the positive side of the battery).

Image


The bus switch IC is pretty neat, but I wouldn't go that route unless I made a PCB for it. Using that particular IC in the link, you would need one per input. I don't know how many inputs you need, but I wouldn't wanna wire all that up by hand. You could get a PCB made that'll fit perfectly and mount inside a project box, so you wouldn't have to do the floating wires and hot glue mess like they did in that link. And it wouldn't cost much. OSH Park is $5 per square inch. The catch is that you have to buy a minimum of 3 boards, but if you're building multiple switch boxes this wont be a problem. Even if you're only building one, you should be able to off load the extra PCBs in the BST fairly easily.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... ND/1154207

Another edit: If using the CBT3244AD, I still see a problem with having multiple inputs activated at the same time. It would be neat to use push button momentary switches with a little extra circuitry to control the chip selection (so when you turn one IC on it turns all the others off). I wouldn't know how to do that, but this looks like the right track:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-a-M ... /?ALLSTEPS

Or, if you don't mind the aesthetic, you could select each IC with a rotary switch. That might be kinda neat if you're going for a retro look.

Also, those ICs are 8 in/out, and since you would only need 6 for the Framemeister mini-DIN, you could use the IC to turn the LED on/off as well.
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Anapan
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Re: Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by Anapan »

I see what you're looking for and I want one as-well!

If someone's seriously gonna get the shell and parts to build it with proper shielding, that would be worth a lot of moneys - possibly as much as my imported from france NIB Keene SCART Commander which I begrudgingly bought because there's nothing else like it available and it was for sale... It could make it obsolete if done right. My main concern is the signal quality. There's been so many times I traced a bad signal to a switch, hub, cable or connection. Building it right would take some harsh QC.
If done right, it'd be great if it accepted the IR codes/commands for a cheap HDMI splitter.
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bacteria
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Re: Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by bacteria »

I have bought a few 8PDT switches in the past, some great well. Others are flaky.

They are handy on things like region free switching for TurboGrafx, for example.
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Ziggy
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Re: Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by Ziggy »

Anapan wrote:My main concern is the signal quality. There's been so many times I traced a bad signal to a switch, hub, cable or connection. Building it right would take some harsh QC.


That's the best part of the passive approach using only mechanical switches. There's no circuitry to muck up the signals. It's true bypass. In other words, as far as the signal is concerned, there is no switch box.

Use a metal project box instead of plastic and mount the ground to it. Now your box is shielded.

edit: The only thing you'd have to look out for is cable length. Keep the cables as short as possible. The longer the cable, the more interference. If you plug a 6ft cable into a switch box, then have another 6ft cable from the box to the TV (or whatever) it's effectively a 12ft cable.
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KalessinDB
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Re: Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by KalessinDB »

bacteria wrote:I have bought a few 8PDT switches in the past, some great well. Others are flaky.

They are handy on things like region free switching for TurboGrafx, for example.

I use one for my TG16... it was an adventure getting it (this was a looong time ago). Ended up sweet-talking someone at a place that normally sells by the 100's, when she heard I only needed 1 she decided to just send me one as a "sample"

Good times.
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Ziggy
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Re: Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by Ziggy »

You might be interested in this: viewtopic.php?p=1049251#p1049251

But if you still wanted to make your own, I'd gladly shoot out whatever ideas/help I can offer.
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KalessinDB
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Re: Idea/WTB/Commission: 8-pin minidin switcher

Post by KalessinDB »

Ziggy587 wrote:You might be interested in this: http://racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 1#p1049251

But if you still wanted to make your own, I'd gladly shoot out whatever ideas/help I can offer.

Will keep my eyes peeled for results from that thread, thanks. Really, the guy who makes the epic 8:2 scart switch that I just preordered (the gscartsw) is planning to make a component version soon... if he could just make a mini-din version I think I'd have all my needs covered.
Gunning for a licensed NES NTSC-U set, follow the madness and poverty here!
Cheat sheet of my collection, always looking to increase it. 405/677 licensed games, 46/"95" unlicensed
Chronically out of date BST thread
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