Giant rotary switch teardown

[Mysion]

The unboxing

I ordered a 10 position switch for a project expecting a normal sized switch. I did not check the scale the item and ended up with this beast! I was trying to figure out what the box was for and and ended up with a switch that fill my hand. It's got some weight to it too.

My initial impression is that it's used but still in great shape. The action is REALLY satisfying, it's got a good cur chunk to it.



Rear of switch

From the number of wires I'm guessing it's a 2 pole switch. The wires are still in good shape and it looks clean here too. The screws holding on the rear mounting bar were in threaded inserts surprisingly enough.




With front dial removed

The front dial was held on my a large flat head screw and indexed onto the shaft with the rod seen here.

The reason for the satisfying feel is now apparent. The spring pushes the ball against the grove in the front dial. For a simple system it works really well.



Inside of the switch

Now that we are in we can see the REALLY beefy contacts in side. The huge copper leafs are angled on the contacts to get the most contact area. They are doubled up as well. There's a second leaf under each of the ones you can see here.

Even after all these years it still moves smoothly. I imagine this thing can handle tons of current.

The screws holding the case together used threaded inserts same the the back. They really spared no expense. I would love to know who made it and how much it cost but I can't even recognize the logo.

10/10 Best impulse purchase ever. It was only ~16$ after shipping too!

TLDR: I love big knobs and I can not lie.

Any one have any idea who made this? Or where to find more?

Full Size Album

[edavid]

Leeds & Northrup

[Alex Eisenhut]

[Vgkid]

I was looking at that one on fleabay. That is an older one, as they switched to silver contacts, then to the type 31.

[Mysion]

edavid

Thanks for the name! Going on ebay it looks like they made high end test equipment! I might have to pick one of those items up some time.

Alex Eisenhut

That about sums up my reaction when I took it out of the box. I was expecting a normal sized switch not this giant beast!

Vgkid

Do you know what time period or is there a way to find out? Would the 30's - 40's be a good guess based on your experience?

Any recommendations on maintenance. Do I need to oil the contact or clean them or should it be good to go?

[calexanian]

I can feel the quality through the screen. Good stress relief spinning that thing all day.