I recently finished the official Arduino starter kit and just started on the Elgoo 2560 kit to learn a bit more (Elegoo 2560 kit).
Reviewing their tutorial, the lesson on tilt switches states that big ones can switch power on their own. This could be the poor English in the tutorial but wanted to check if I am missing something.
It implies big tilt switches are somehow different from smaller ones and can affect power in some way (different from smaller tilt switches); is this correct and could anyone explain to me, please?
There's nothing special - a physically larger switch has bigger contacts that can carry more current.
A small tilt switch could directly switch a load too - but only a relatively small load.
This maximum rated current will be specified in the switch's datasheet, if you can find it (as you may have noticed, locating datasheets (particularly ones in english) for the normally-chinese components we end up using can be challenging)
The "silent" light switches were basically tilt-switches. Contact was made by mercury in a glass tube. I don't know what the rating was, but obviously they could switch 100W or more of lighting.
Thanks for the replies all and yes, some of the datasheets are quite entertaining
I think it was the phrase 'on their own' that threw me, it implied smaller switches could not switch power on their own and behave differently from larger switches, but obviously all switches open and close to prevent or allow current to flow.
So it sounds like they were just highlighting the fact that large switches can handle larger currents, there is no other difference; would that be correct?
mj010273:
it sounds like they were just highlighting the fact that large switches can handle larger currents, there is no other difference; would that be correct?
Yes and No
Tiny tilt switches are usually a small metal ball (like in a ball bearing) which rolls onto a couple of contacts. They can only handle a small amount of current. They also make and break contact if you wiggle 'em.
Larger tilt switches (like the one linked by outsider) tend to be an 'ordinary' switch with a weight bolted to it. Higher current switches are designed with a 'snap' action so the contacts open and close quickly (to minimise arcing) and a spring holds the contacts together when they are ON - so larger tilt switches are largely immune to 'wiggling' and tend to need a larger swing to operate.
