How to order a switch

[NikkiC]

I'm confused about how to order switches online from  sources like Mouser.  My project needs a simple illuminated SPST panel switch to turn my project OFF/ON.  You know,  you press the button and it turns the project ON and illuminates.  Press it again and it turns off.  What could be simpler right?

Well I am really confused by the nomenclature used when describing the switch function.

Such as:  OFF - (ON) , or  OFF - ON.  Which one is momentary and which one isn't?   WTF they can't just say it is a momentary switch or not instead of making it a secret squirrel grab bag? I'm a bit frustrated by such a simple thing.   So I am going to make an educated guess and say the one I am looking for (which is definitely NOT a momentary) would be OFF - ON.   I am assuming the parentheses implies momentary.   I would appreciate it if someone could confirm this is correct or not.   Such a simple thing, but not necessarily so if you don't know the nomenclature.

TIA
Nikki

[Ysjoelfir]

Correct, the parenthesis indicates a momentary position for the switch.

[rrinker]

 That's pretty much standard notation, a position with parentheses is momentary, without is latched. Much cleaner to put parentheses around something instead of making a database field for momentary - and there are many variations wit momentary positions - you can get switches that are (ON)-OFF-ON, for example, double through momentary one way, or fixed on position the other.

 Something else you can do is, if you see one that looks nice, pull up the manufacturer's data sheet and see if it is available in the style you want, SPST illuminated. Though the parametric search on Mouser and Digikey can do a pretty good job of pointing to exactly those that meet your criteria. But if you see one that looks like it would match your project design but are unsure, the data sheet would tell you if the manufacturer makes a switch that looks like that and has the function you are looking for. The datasheet will give you a part number, based on the options you want, and then you can search by that part number to find price and stock status.

 Dave did a video a while back on doing parametric searches on the distributor web sites like Mouser and Digikey - worth watching if this is fairly new to you.