Hi,
Im planning to build a footswitch for a digitech product clone. It requires momentary/on switches. Any recommendations?
Thanks so much for your prompt response. Is there a specific item you’d recommend? I’m far from expert in these matters…
cheers,
Iain F
Hello @Iainfisher,
Sorry I am also not an expert on stompboxes myself. The key for this will be determining what function you are looking for in the switch. Is there a specific box you are trying to replicate. You may be able to tell from the specifications what the switch functions are.
-Robert
It’s for the digitech fs3x. I understand that I need a momentary/on switch that toggles functions on a drum/bass stomp box. Hope this helps!
Cheers!
Hi Iainfisher,
After poking around a little on Google (I searched for images using the search terms “digitech fs3x footswitch schematic”, I found a few different schematics which all show that the switch you need is normally open and makes a connection (shorts internal contacts together) only when the button is pressed. As soon as it is released, the switch opens again (this is called “momentary” action).
This can be accomplished with either a Single Pole Single Throw (SPST) or Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT) switch. The SPST switch has only two contacts which are either open or closed, while the SPDT has three contacts, and one or the other of the two side contacts are connected to the center contact, depending on whether the button is pressed or not. We do not carry SPST stomp box switches, but an SPDT will work just as well as long as you connect it correctly. I would recommend the following switch:
P/N EG5495-ND 
It has three solder lugs on the bottom and its internal schematic looks like this:
You will need to connect wires to the center lug (pin 2) and to the lug which is normally not connected internally when switch is not pressed (pin 3). When you press the button, pin 2 will be connected to pin 3 internally, and it will disconnect as soon as you release the button.
I stand corrected. We do carry an SPST stomp switch in “normally open/momentary closed” action as well, in the following:
P/N 451-1199-ND. 
So, there are a couple of options available.
2 Likes
I have got to hand it to you and your team for the stellar support you provide. I think i may have a leadv on a used earlier version of this foot switch, and chances are that it might need to be modded to suit my application. In which case I’ll follow up on your excellent suggestions. Again, totally impressed with the customer service!
Iain
I’d suggest that the EG5495-ND above might be the better choice; arc resistance and corrosion resistance tend to be mutually exclusive characteristics in terms of switch contacts, so a switch rated for 15A/125V like the 451-1199-ND is more likely to become unhappy when used in (what I presume to be) a signal level application than one rated for 1A@9v. If it’s something in an audio path, a person should probably look for something with gold contacts.