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I am working on a school project. I want to change tracks/signals but am struggling to find a solution for it.

What I want to do is have say 6 input signals/tracks which are then shifted between 12 outputs with a push button or a switch. I can then go between the breadboards without plugging and unplugging the wires

I made this diagram here:

enter image description here

I was doing some research and saw these multiplexers. You can control them with high/low and so on but with multiplexers it says it can only have 1 output so not sure if it will work. That is how far I have gotten. I am at a road block so came here for some help.

enter image description here

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  • \$\begingroup\$ use a 6PDT switch \$\endgroup\$
    – jsotola
    Apr 16, 2022 at 0:19

3 Answers 3

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You want a 2:1 multiplexer or demultiplexer or analog switch with 6 channels.

It may be easier to use 2 "quad"/4 channel switches as those are plentiful. Just tie the enable/switch pins together. A pair of TS3A5018 modules would do nicely.

Photo of TS3A508 module

(Image source: Ebay - "SPDT Development Board SPDT Analog Switch Replacement Multipurpose Accuracy For")

Partial schematic showing TS3A5018 Quad SPDT Analog Switch

(Image source: TI E2E Forum - TS3A5018: Can this device be used for PCIe reference clock 100MHz differential?)

Obviously if you are making your own board you can source a 6 or 8 channel one from say TI or Onsemi or whatever brand semiconductor manufacturer has one.

This is assuming you are switching simple signals and not power lines. Keep in mind any analog switch or multiplexer has limits on the power and bandwidth of the lines they are switching. Otherwise you may need mechanical relays or complicated transistor/mosfet circuits for high power switching.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks @passerby for the reply. I am a bit confused with"You want a 2:1 multiplexer or demultiplexer....." My understanding, probably wrong, was that these multiplexes can have many input signals but can only output one and we use 0/1 to determine the output. Input: ABCDEFG but I can only output one track or in this example one letter with 0/1? I will need to look into quad channel, but based on your suggestions I found these "Bus Switch, also known as a Digital Switch is a semiconductor device that turns on and off an electrical connection" and this does look ideal & cheap. thoughts? \$\endgroup\$
    – Will
    Apr 16, 2022 at 2:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ @will you described a 7:1 mux. Abcdefg > output. That's just one channel or circuit. You can have multiple of those channels, ie. A1B1 > Output1, A2B2 > output2. Yes a bus switch is another name for the same thing. And for the bandwidth thing, that matters more when we are talking about high frequency signals like video or PCI etc. \$\endgroup\$
    – Passerby
    Apr 16, 2022 at 3:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ @will a channel covers the input and output number (a 2:1 channel would have 3 pins associated with it). you can control them with a mechanical switch, you don't need a microcontroller. If you want to implement this with a microcontroller, they don't work the same as an analog switch. You can't connect pin a with pin b directly. You would have to read the pin state and then replicate it on the other side and it gets complicated fast with fast changing signals. You'd be reinventing the wheel. \$\endgroup\$
    – Passerby
    Apr 16, 2022 at 14:19
  • \$\begingroup\$ thanks for all help and advice, accepted as answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – Will
    Apr 16, 2022 at 22:00
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While passerby's suggestion of using analog switches or mux/demuxes would work, I think it'd be much easier to just use a simple 6PDT switch. They're not even that expensive.

This exact model is one I actually used in a project not that long ago. Push the button to toggle between two switch positions for all six contacts; it's not a push-pull one, more like clicking a pen.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ thanks. I was speaking to passerby about: "A Bus Switch, also known as a Digital Switch is a semiconductor device that turns on and off an electrical connection. Bus Switches are PCB mount devices that act in the same way as a normal mechanical switch. Unlike a mechanical switch, a Bus Switch has no moving parts, ensuring greater performance." would this be ideal because it does look very cheap and appears promising? your thoughts I think i would prefer to do something with an ic but exploring all options \$\endgroup\$
    – Will
    Apr 16, 2022 at 3:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ I almost always prefer mechanical switches (or relays) when possible--but my use case involves voltages and currents significantly higher than you're likely to use if this is some kind of digital circuit. Most semiconductor switches are going to be limited to only a few volts, maybe 5 or 6 max, and often can't even deal with negative voltages; what I usually deal with tends to fall in the range of -10 to 25 volts, so those little switch ICs aren't very useful to me, and I don't have much knowledge of them. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Apr 16, 2022 at 4:12
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An equally effective approach is to use a tristate buffer, such as 74C244. Using the output enable lines, two of these can direct 8 signals to one of two targets. Furthermore, these devices have buffered outputs which can drive most logic loads.

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