As my knowledge of electronics doesn't extend far beyond soldering a few wires together, I'm looking for a bit of help.
I want to put a hidden switch in my Seaview to activate the lighting kit.

What I want to do is drill a hole in the hull somewhere out of the way and mount a pushbutton switch inside, so you can poke through the hole with a pin or something to activate it. Basically there are no unsightly switches sticking out and all the batteries etc are contained in the sub so no wires running out either.

If someone could look through this section:
http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=browseSuperSection&Ne=4294957972+4294965682&N=4294964201#


For something like this:
http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=4954412

or this
http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=0183701

I need the type of switch that, when you press it it switches on; press again and it switches off. Not sure of the terminology for such a switch. But if anyone can find one that does all the above I can order one!

Thanks in advance!

MML. Those are both what you are looking for. Be aware that the second one you show is surface mount and would be more difficult to solder wires to due to it small size.

When you are looking at them you will see terms like these:

SPST- Single pole, single throw. This is your basic on-off type switch.

The first example you showed is a double function switch. You will see NO and NC which stand for Normally Open and Normally Closed which tell you the switch status.

NO- Normally open: The switch is NOT making contact. Press it once and it closes, completing the circuit (On). Press it again and it opens the cicuit again (Off).

NC- The switch is closed so the circuit would be on until you press the switch then it would disconnect and open the circuit.

You want the SPST or NO type for a basic circuit switch. I would suggest these:

http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=4954591

They should be exactly what you are looking for.

MML. Those are both what you are looking for. Be aware that the second one you show is surface mount and would be more difficult to solder wires to due to it small size.

When you are looking at them you will see terms like these:

SPST- Single pole, single throw. This is your basic on-off type switch.

The first example you showed is a double function switch. You will see NO and NC which stand for Normally Open and Normally Closed which tell you the switch status.

NO- Normally open: The switch is NOT making contact. Press it once and it closes, completing the circuit (On). Press it again and it opens the cicuit again (Off).

NC- The switch is closed so the circuit would be on until you press the switch then it would disconnect and open the circuit.

You want the SPST or NO type for a basic circuit switch. I would suggest these:

http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=4954591

They should be exactly what you are looking for.

Whoa!
That's a fantastic answer, thanks!

I did electronics at college but this brings back to me how difficult I found it. I think it was the mathematical element that I found tough.
Anyway, I mentioned what I was looking for to an engineer here at work, he told me something to watch out for was current rating, apparently if the current was too high it might fry the switch?
The circuit is powered by a 9v battery, there are 8 LEDs and a bit of lightsheet, I don't think it would need a terribly heavy-duty switch would it??

You could use a reed switch such that setting a small magnet nearby would turn on the lighting. Then there would be no switch holes in the hull at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_switch

Whoa!
That's a fantastic answer, thanks!

I did electronics at college but this brings back to me how difficult I found it. I think it was the mathematical element that I found tough.
Anyway, I mentioned what I was looking for to an engineer here at work, he told me something to watch out for was current rating, apparently if the current was too high it might fry the switch?
The circuit is powered by a 9v battery, there are 8 LEDs and a bit of lightsheet, I don't think it would need a terribly heavy-duty switch would it??

The switch looks like it is rated at 50mA, so you would have to add up the current draw of the LED's and the light sheet. If it exceeds the switch current carrying capability you may think about a larger switch, like a slide type switch that could handle the current.

The switch looks like it is rated at 50mA, so you would have to add up the current draw of the LED's and the light sheet. If it exceeds the switch current carrying capability you may think about a larger switch, like a slide type switch that could handle the current.

Argh, that's what I thought. The kit actually has a slider switch with it, but it's a bit big and harder to hide. I wonder if there are any of those pushbuttons with a higher rating?

How would I be able to find out the current in the circuit?

Have you thought about using one of the perisopes to actuate a pushbutton switch ? I've heard of that trick before. Also, I used a pushbutton switch scavenged from a cheap booklight I got for a buck at my local Dollar Tree store to add lighting to a Glencoe Mars Liner I built. The booklight even came with 3 watch batteries all for a buck !

Have you thought about using one of the perisopes to actuate a pushbutton switch ? I've heard of that trick before.

The thought never occurred to me actually :p

That's a good find with the booklight - I was looking around for something to swipe a switch from but couldn't find anything except a cd player - it only had the hold down type though.

Paul Lubliner employed this technique to very cool effect on his movie Seaview replica. Those scopes make perfect activation points.

You should look into a reed switch which can be found in the model railroad dept.You place the reed switch next to the skin of the sub and pass a magnet to turn it on or off.alexander

Depending on how you're choosing to display the model, you could put the switch in the display base. This way you won't have to worry about mounting it into the model body itself. A friend of mine used this configuration for an airplane model he had modeled in the flying position with a working prop. Of course, he did paint the switch button the same color of the wood base. Just a thought. Don't forget the pix! :) rr

I think he wants,as I do, not to have wires attached to the sub.