Beginners question - long leads to a switch

I have a requirement in my project to have a couple of remote switches. The cable runs will be approx 30ft. Can I use a digital pin for these or would I best using an analog pin so that I can take into account the volt drop? Or alternatively - do it another far more sensible way that I haven't thought of....

Try it but I'm sure 30 ft leads on digital pins will be fine as long as they're not silly-thin and don't run next to interference sources.

Well I think an analogue one might be better. Also I would put a 0.1uF capacitor on the analogue input to try and remove any noise. It's the noise rather than the voltage that is the problem. Also put the pull up resistor at the arduino end.

I think you'll be fine with that length. Twisted pairs help to reduce noise picked up over the long run.

I've used ethernet (CAT5) cable for a digital signal on a 25 foot cable with no problem. You can get little breakout boards for the RJ45 connectors to interface them to your Arduino. Sparkfun has them: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=716.

.andy