Rotary switches
Rotary switches refers to switches with several, isolated switch positions, each with its own pin. The switch has one path in and several paths out, the position of the rotary knob will determine which way the signal goes.
The major strength of these switches is that the physical position of the switch rotation will match the button number. So you can label a switch with ABS 1-12, map it the same way in-game, and the ABS will be 3 when the switch points to 3. Also, they usually have great feel, with solid clicks.
The weakness of these switches are the size and the number of pins, but there are solutions to this:
The size can be worked around by spending more money - Grayhill 56 series is a good example.
The number of pins can be worked around with two different methods:
Resistor ladder: Only needs 1 analog input
Diode maze: Only needs 4 digital inputs
1. Resistor ladder / voltage divider circuit
The pin numbers can be reduced from 8/10/12/16 to 1 with voltage divider circuit, often referred to as a "resistor ladder". This circuit can be layed out on a PCB which fits the switch pins, and doesn't add anything to the size of the switch.
A voltage divider circuit in its simples form below:
Typically, "Vin" will be your +5V or +3.3V from the microcontroller. The ground symbol to "GND" on the microcontroller. "Vout" is the voltage level that you'll measure. The idea here is to divide a portion of the voltage to ground and a portion to be measured. The voltage at "Vout" depends on the size ratio of the two resistors Z1 and Z2. If Z2 is really big and Z1 small, a higher voltage is meassured at "Vout". If Z1 is big and Z2 small, a lower voltage is measured at "Vout".
The equation is like this:
Here is the same voltage divider circuit, now with the rotary switch weaved into it. All the resistors (R) have the same value. At this position, Z1 is 5R and Z2 is 6R. Changing the position of the switch will change the size of Z1 and Z2, and ultimately change the value of "Vout".
All that is left is to read "Vout" with an analog pin in each position of the switch. These values will go into the rotary switch functions. You'll notice the readout isn't 100% stable, it will fluctuate a little bit. It doesn't matter, the functions just need an approximate value.
2. Diode maze
With the resistor ladder being the standard for many years, the diode maze is much less used. That doesnt mean it doesnt work though. And if you're running out of analog inputs, this will be your solution. The principle is quite different from the resistor ladder. Here, we'll make a network of diodes to give each switch position a different 4-bit output. The outputs will follow a gray code pattern, not binary. Gray code is much more suited for switches than binary.
This circuit is for a 12-position switch. A circuit for 16-position switches have not been made, but will follow the same general idea. If you need fewer positions, just delete all paths from switch pin to BIT0, BIT1, BIT2 and BIT3 pins that are exclusive to that switch pin.
The circuit is a bit more complex than the resistor ladder, but it can also fit on a circular PCB the sits flush on the rotary switch.
These switches will use the rotarySwitch4Bit() functions, and you will plan your project/schematics as if these were 4-bit encoders.
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