Name of toggle switches (or recommendations for alternatives)

[OM222O]

Sorry if this is a really basic / off topic question but I've used these toggle switches for all my battery powered projects so far to physically disconnect the battery when turning the device on (helps a lot with battery life):


I usually buy them in packs which include a mix of momentary switches, toggle switches, etc, so I haven't been able to find the name of them yet.
now I need to buy them in bulk for an upcoming project, so buying a pack of 100 switches to use is not an option! if you know the parameters for parametric search in mouser/digikey, please list them below. otherwise if you the name of them, that would help too! When I search for toggle switches I usually find things similar to a PC power button which is not what I want!

[PTR_1275]

dpdt push on push off switch

That’s what I put into google and found a few results similar to what you’re wanting.

Hope that helps

[Ian.M]

You have a nomenclature problem.  This:


is a toggle switch.  Its (usually) one member of the category: latching switches, though spring biased momentary toggle switches do exist.

Your switches are push action latching DPDT switches.

[OM222O]

Thank you so much! I found them!

[Doctorandus_P]

I am particulary charmed by the soft power button of the obiquitous "transistor tester".

In "standby" mode the current is difficult to measure ( < 100nA) with the equipment I have.
The only current is leakage through a single PNP BJT.
BJT's have inherent lower leakage then MOSfet's and a voltage drop of a few 100mV in "on" position is also no biggy when you have plenty to burn from a 9V battery.

The Transistor tester I got does have space reserved vor the battery, but it does not have a decent way to mount the battery.
But because expected battery life is 15+ years I simply glued the battery to the PCB with hot snot. Solid enough to last many years, and still removable if needed.

As far as I know the switches from your picture come in bot latching and non-latching versions, so double check when ordering.

[OM222O]

I think you just read my mind! I'm using a 9v battery and a 5V LDO! it would be nice to use a transistor / mosfet and the button just as a signal to it's base / gate! I might consider that but I want maximum battery life and dropout is more important than leakage (about a week of on time with medium current setting, less than 24 hours on high current setting), so might use a FET! Thanks for the idea!