Nedap ESD1 - printer controller - DIP switch - all off-91979

A DIP switch is a manual electric switch that is packaged with others in a group in a standard

dual in-line package In microelectronics, a dual in-line package (DIP or DIL) is an Semiconductor package, electronic component package with a rectangular housing and two parallel rows of electrical connecting pins. The package may be through-hole technology, throu ...

(DIP). The term may refer to each individual switch, or to the unit as a whole. This type of switch is designed to be used on a

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a Lamination, laminated sandwich structure of electrical conduction, conductive and Insulator (electricity), insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes ...

along with other electronic components and is commonly used to customize the behavior of an electronic device for specific situations. DIP switches are an alternative to jumper blocks. Their main advantages are that they are quicker to change and there are no parts to lose.

History

US patent 3621157, filed in 1970 by Pierre Schwab,U.S. Patent 3621157.
"Miniature switch with multiple cam-operated switch contacts", filed June 1, 1970. is the earliest known DIP switch patent, which discloses a rotary style DIP switch. US patent 4012608, filed in 1975 by Joseph Lockard,U.S. Patent 4012608.
"Miniature switch with substantial wiping action", filed March 25, 1975. is a DIP switch with sliding levers, the modern DIP switch.

Types

The slide, rocker, and piano types, which are very common, are arrays of simple single pole, single throw (SPST) contacts, each of which can be either on or off. This allows each switch to select a one-bit binary value. The values of all switches in the package can also be interpreted as one number. For example, seven switches offer 128 (2⁷) combinations, allowing them to select a standard ASCII character. Eight switches offer 256 (2⁸) combinations, which is equivalent to one

byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable un ...

. A tri-state type DIP switch can be in one of three positions (+, 0, −) which allows more codes than a binary DIP switch. For example, 8 pole tri-state DIP switches offer 6,561 (3⁸) combinations/codes compared to 8 pole binary switches' 256 (2⁸) combinations/codes. This makes them especially suitable for encoding devices such as a remote controller. Rotary DIP switches contain multiple

electrical contact An electrical contact is an Electronic component, electrical circuit component found in electrical switches, relays, Electrical connector, connectors and circuit breakers. Each contact is a piece of electrically conductive material, typically meta ...

s, one of which is selected by rotating the switch to align it with a number printed on the package. Some have a knob that can be turned by fingers, or a small slot that requires a

screwdriver A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. Description A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver ...

to change them. Typically, rotary types are available in two different types of output, 1) a binary encoded output, where 10 ( BCD) or 16 (hex) choices are encoded into a 4-bit binary output, or 5 to 8 choices are encoded into a 3-bit binary output. 2) a rotary version of a multipole slide switch where one signal has a choice between multiple connections, such as SPDT, SP3T, SP4T. The DIP switch package also has socket pins or mounting leads to provide an electrical path from the switch contacts to the circuit board. Although circuits can use the electrical contacts directly, it is more common to convert them into high and low signals. In this case, the circuit board also needs interface circuitry for the DIP switch, consisting of a series of pull-up or pull-down resistors, a buffer, decode logic, and other components.U.S. Patent 5010445.
"DIP switch with built-in active interfacing circuitry", filed January 25, 1990. Typically, the device's

firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...

reads the DIP switches when the device is powered on. Single in-line SIP switches are also available, which only have one row of pins instead of the two rows of pins in DIP packages. This saves on pins and space. One of the pins is a common. With the popularization of

surface-mount technology Surface-mount technology (SMT), originally called planar mounting, is a method in which the electrical components are mounted directly onto the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB). An electrical component mounted in this manner is referred ...

, these switches are now commonly available in non-DIP surface-mount package types. They are, however, still referred to as "DIP switches", as the term has become associated with the style of switch. RockerDipSwitch.png, Rocker DIP switch Würth 418317270912 DIP Switch 01.jpg, Piano DIP switch Sab 2PST DIP Switch.jpg, 2PST DIP switches Electronic-Component-Four-Switch.jpg Sab Rotary Switch.jpg, Rotary DIP switches: surface-mount (left),

through-hole In electronics, through-hole technology (also spelled "thru-hole") is a manufacturing scheme in which leads on the components are inserted through holes drilled in printed circuit boards (PCB) and soldered to pads on the opposite side, either ...

(right) Miniature Rotary coded switch.jpg, Rotary DIP switches (surface-mount) Sab Tri state type DIP switch.jpg, Tri-State DIP switch (surface-mount)

Contacts

There are many different kinds of DIP switches. Some of the most common are the slide, rocker, piano (side), and rotary types. Slide / rocker / piano DIP switches are commonly available in 1 to 12 contacts (positions)

SPST SPST may refer to: * Saint Paul School of Theology, a school of higher learning in Kansas City, Missouri, United States * Cad. FAP Guillermo del Castillo Paredes Airport's ICAO code * Single pole, single throw, a type of electrical switch { ...

, though some are available as special order up to 30 contacts (positions).

Applications

DIP switches were used extensively in ISA architecture of PC

expansion card In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus sl ...

s to select IRQs and

memory address In computing, a memory address is a reference to a specific memory location in memory used by both software and hardware. These addresses are fixed-length sequences of digits, typically displayed and handled as unsigned integers. This numeric ...

es. Before the advent of cheaper, battery-backed RAM, DIP switches were also often used on

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

s in the 1980s and early 1990s to enter game settings such as difficulty or the number of credits per coin. DIP switches were very commonly used to set security codes on

garage door opener A garage door opener is a motorized device that opens and closes a garage door controlled by switches on the garage wall. Most also include a handheld radio remote control carried by the owner, which can be used to open and close the door from ...

s as well as on some early

cordless phone A cordless telephone or portable telephone has a portable telephone handset that connects by radio to a base station connected to the public telephone network. The operational range is limited, usually to the same building or within some shor ...

s. This design, which used up to 12 switches in a group, was used to avoid RF interference from other nearby door opener remotes or other devices. Current garage door openers use

rolling code A rolling code (or sometimes called a hopping code) is used in keyless entry systems to prevent a simple form of replay attack, where an eavesdropper records the transmission and replays it at a later time to cause the receiver to 'unlock'. Such ...

systems for better security. These types of switches were used on early

video card A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics accelerator, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or colloquially GPU) is a computer expansion card that generates a feed of graphics output to a displa ...

s for early computers to facilitate compatibility with other video standards. For example, CGA cards allowed for MDA compatibility. After the late 1990s, DIP switches became less common in

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

. Reasons include the trend toward smaller products, the demand for easier configuration through

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

menu In a restaurant, the menu is a list of food and beverages offered to the customer. A menu may be à la carte – which presents a list of options from which customers choose, often with prices shown – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-est ...

s or

plug and play In computing, a plug and play (PnP) device or computer bus is one with a specification that facilitates the recognition of a hardware component in a system without the need for physical device configuration or user intervention in resolving reso ...

, and the falling price of

non-volatile memory Non-volatile memory (NVM) or non-volatile storage is a type of computer memory that can retain stored information even after power is removed. In contrast, volatile memory needs constant power in order to retain data. Non-volatile memory typ ...

. However, DIP switches are still widely used in industrial equipment because they are inexpensive and easy to incorporate into circuit designs, and because they allow settings to be checked at a glance without powering the system on. DIP switches are still used in some

remote control A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...

s to prevent interference; for example, to control a

ceiling fan A ceiling fan is a mechanical fan, fan mounted on the ceiling of a room or space, usually electric power, electrically powered, that uses hub-mounted rotation, rotating blades to wikt:circulation, circulate air. They cool people effectively by ...

(and its

light fixture A light fixture (US English), light fitting (UK English), or luminaire is an electrical lighting device containing one or more light sources, such as lamps, and all the accessory components required for its operation to provide illumination to ...

) that was

retrofit Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...

ted to a single- circuit

junction box An electrical junction box (also known as a "jbox") is an enclosure housing electrical connections. Junction boxes protect the electrical connections from the weather, as well as protecting people from accidental electric shocks. Functions of ...

. The DIP switches set a different

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the u ...

or address for each

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

/ receiver pair, so that multiple units can be installed without unintentionally controlling each other.

History

Types

Contacts

Applications

References

External links