Tact & Buttons

The right and wrong ways to connect buttons

Buttons, Tactile switches, Momentaries, Clickies, SPST-NO; call ’em what you will, but my world seems to be full of them right now. Wiring them or breadboarding them may not be as simple as they look.

Whether they are the tiny 6 mm ones or the less-easily-lost 12 mm ones, both types typically have four pins or legs, two on the top and two on the bottom. If your appear to have the legs on the sides, flip ’em 90°: they won’t fit in breadboard sockets the wrong way.

The pins on the left and right side are common, so connecting top left to bottom left won’t ever change state if you press the button. So use either the pins both on the same side or those diagonally opposed if you want the switch to work.

You can use these buttons on a common breadboard rail. You must remember to have only one button pin connecting to the rail; lift the other pin so it won’t connect. You can then use just one wire connected diagonally across the the common rail pin and you’ve got a working button. This is especially useful when using a microcontroller with built-in pull up resistors (that’s most of them these days).

If you connect both pins to a common rail, you’ve just made a SPST-AO (single pole, single throw – always open) switch. Those aren’t much use at all.

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