Replacement switches for Keithley 197

[giosif]

Hi,

I am trying to restore a Keithley 197 bench meter whose "gang switches" (is that the right name for them?) have suffered quite a bit of abuse: all but 3 switches have had their shaft broken.
They all snapped in the same location (indicated with red arrows in the first picture attached).
I tried gluing a couple of these back together, but the glued joint didn't hold and easily snapped again.

Would anyone have any suggestions for replacing these switches or maybe just the shafts?

Thanks!

[inse]

This type of switch has also been very common in audio equipment.
Maybe there is a chance to scavenge the shafts from comparable parts.
These switching arrays usually have been configured for the application with a combination of common release and single switches.
Have you been able to identify the manufacturer?

[lowimpedance]

What about 3D printing  ?, do a design in one of the free CAD software's and send to a 3D printing company etc.
Otherwise  keep a look out for other similar vintage Keithley meters with these  push  buttons.
Fluke gear of this vintage also used  this style of push button.

[giosif]

Thank you both for your response!

This type of switch has also been very common in audio equipment.
Maybe there is a chance to scavenge the shafts from comparable parts.

That's what I was thinking as well, initially.
But I suspect I'm not using the correct term for this type of switches (thus my question in the OP), as web searches return everything but what I'm looking for (e.g. regular light switches you mount on the wall).

These switching arrays usually have been configured for the application with a combination of common release and single switches.
Have you been able to identify the manufacturer?

No sign of a manufacturer marking, but maybe that's because the bottom part of the switches has been potted with some red resin (probably by Keithley).

What about 3D printing  ?, do a design in one of the free CAD software's and send to a 3D printing company etc.
Otherwise  keep a look out for other similar vintage Keithley meters with these  push  buttons.
Fluke gear of this vintage also used  this style of push button.

3D printing has crossed my mind, but I eventually dropped that idea since I find it time consuming and/or possibly expensive and/or not feasible (e.g. usually, the 3D printed items I've seen are rather rough or "wavy").
Probably hunting for a parts donor device is the most practical approach.

In the meantime, I wanted to make sure the meter is otherwise functional or at least not broken at some fundamental level (e.g. dead voltage reference, dead LCD, etc.), so I soldered jumpers in place of the switches and at least DCV with auto-ranging works and is pretty accurate. 

[free_electron]

those were made by itt cannon. probably long obsolete now

[tooki]

ITT's switch division was spun off as C&K Switches 15 years ago, and they continue to sell multigang pushbutton switches (the F series). Maybe C&K can help somehow?

[lowimpedance]

Have you been able to identify the manufacturer?

No sign of a manufacturer marking, but maybe that's because the bottom part of the switches has been potted with some red resin (probably by Keithley).

Had a memory 'spark' 

Search for "Isostat Push Button"

[tooki]

Have you been able to identify the manufacturer?

No sign of a manufacturer marking, but maybe that's because the bottom part of the switches has been potted with some red resin (probably by Keithley).

Had a memory 'spark' 

Search for "Isostat Push Button"

It looks like Isostat was a Polish manufacturer/brand? The chances of Polish-made switches being used by Keithley asymptotically approaches zero. But they do print right on them “licensed”, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they’d licensed it from whatever American manufacturer made the switches Keithley used. For sure, the shaft shape seems to be a perfect match (based on images alone).

As an aside, I think someone needs to make a guide of old electronics brands and product lines, specifically with what happened to them as companies merged and divested and sold product lines. And of the second-source agreements. Until this thread, I had no idea that C&K switches was the former ITT switch division, for example.

[lowimpedance]

 Most likely there would have been multiple sources of this switch design, but information is rather hard to come by.
My suggested search name comes from a box of bits that I have with the Isostat name on it, and a shaft from these bits does indeed visually match the photo of the Keithley switch shaft above. The material quality is excellent and in my opinion would work in the Keithley.

[SpecialK]

In audio equipment they are often described as 4pdt.  Not sure if this is the Keithley arrangement.

[shakalnokturn]

Also "Dialastat".

[giosif]

Thank you all for your input!

I found some Dialastat switches on eBay, but they are probably also used in some audio equipment, as they are not cheap.
I'll keep looking, but I think my best chance is to find another dead Keithley meter or other equipment from that era.

[SpecialK]

If it were me, I think I'd replace all ten with a pair of these:



https://www.amazon.ca/uxcell%C2%AE-Interlock-Button-Switch-Piano/dp/B07PBMLKQP/ref=sr_1_36?crid=2TXELZ1L5IYYU&keywords=4pdt&qid=1643946912&sprefix=4pdt%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-36