32 contact switch

[sona1111]

Hello,

This was the closest forum i could find, so i hope i am in the right place here.

I am looking to design a 32 contact switch, as small and simple as possible. Basically i have one output two inputs (in a way) all of them have exactly 32 contact wires in parallel. I want to switch between the 32 contacts in input 1 to the 32 contacts of the output, or the 32 contacts in input 2 to the 32 contacts of the output. if this makes sense. This seems like something that should actually be not all that complicated, but i could not find a tutorial anywhere for something like it.

thanks.

[pebe]

The way you have described it, you want a 2way switch (2 inputs switched to 1 output), but each 'way' of the switch has to be made of 32 switches all in parallel.

Is that right? If so, why do you want such an unusual switch?

[sona1111]

its for a rather odd purpose. I have a nintendo ds with a r4 card (basically a card that lets you use custom software on your ds. For all of the extended functionality i have two devices that would plug into the slot-2 (game boy advance) one is a mass storage device, the other a ram expansion and rumble pack. in order to have full function in any situation, both of devices should be attached to the device at the same time. Not electrically, just physically. A switch could be attached which would switch between them easily.

to put it simply, i want to plug in two 32 contact game boy advance cartridges into one slot.

I have a dummy board from an old game i can use as a plug, the rest i would have to make myself.

[pebe]

It has a double sided contact tongue and that carries high speed signals.
It is not a practical possibility to construct a switch for it.

[sona1111]

double sided? i dont think so.

Also, the switch has been made, but not in the right form factor:

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Boy-Advance- ... B00009IM2I

Has no one here needed to switch, say, two or three circuits at the same time? the general idea could be expanded, i suppose.

[pebe]

[quote="sona1111"]double sided? i don’t think so. [/quote]
I don't own a Nintendo, so I was going by this picture on Wiki. It shows a PC plug with 16 contacts, so I was assuming the other 16 were on the reverse side of the PC board.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_D ... ge_devices

[quote]Also, the switch has been made, but not in the right form factor:
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Boy-Advance- ... B00009IM2I
Has no one here needed to switch, say, two or three circuits at the same time? the general idea could be expanded, i suppose.[/quote]
What you have pointed to is a commercially designed switch. I very much doubt whether you will find a hobbyist who has the engineering and electronics know-how to make a similar one, unless he has access to a toolroom and an electronics lab. This is not the sort of switch that can be cobled together from readily available parts. It needs very short leads, low stray capacity and the need to preserve track parameters.

Why not wait till one is available commercially.

[sona1111]

sorry, i guess i did not explain correctly. The thing that must be switched is not the slot 1 (DS cards) but is the game boy advance cards (slot-2)
: http://www.brolinembedded.se/projects/f ... c_cart.jpg

waiting for something commercially available is not viable as the DS will soon be replaced with the 3ds, which has no slot-2; IT has been many years from the system's release.

If i'm going to achieve this, i need to work on it myself. Their should be a way, even with twisting wires together, to make a switch that can switch between multiple contacts in the way i am saying. someone, somewhere, must know.

[pebe]

Sorry I cannot help. Perhaps someone else may be able to contribute.

[JMACgyver]

Sona,

I have done similar things like that before. What I do is visit my nearest resale, thrift or surplus stores and look for computer A/B switchboxes. you can find 6-contact ones for PS/2 ports, 9-pin ones for DB/serial ports,
15pin for VGA, and 25pin for parallel.

If you need 32pin+, then youre going to need a "Centronics" parallel switchbox. they come in 36 pin and 50-pin configurations. if it's good enough quality, each pin will be separately switched. (Cheap ones tie ground pins together) All else fails, you can buy it retail, but don't expect them to understand why you need that specific type or what you're going to do with it.

The only thing you'd have to do, is convert the Centronics connectors to your console connectors. ***NOTE: make SURE to label each wire before cutting it off the connector*** the switches inside those are a rats nest and the logic/layout is not normal/standard - Believe Me.

Hope this helps.
--Electro--
aka David M