Electronics help - Lumin Disc

[Franco B]

I'm after a little electronics help if possible.

I'm making some Space Invaders stools and the Space Invaders are back lit by a 10" lumin disc. The discs have a three position switch on them - on, on sound sensitive and off.

As the discs are inside the stools I want to extend the switch to the outside. This is a pic of the underside of where the switch is mounted:



If I call the legs:

12
34
56

It appears that pins 1 and 3 are connected together, leg 2 is not used and legs 4, 5 and 6 are connected to separate traces. Correct me if I'm wrong but I should just be able to desolder the switch and then run some wires from the new switch position to the corresponding holes in the PCB, correct?

My other question is that the disc can be set to be sound activated. This is a feature I would like to keep but I think I will lose it when the discs are set inside the stool. I presume there must be some kind of sound sensor the PCB to register the sound?

This is the component side of the PCB, is there anything that looks like a sound sensor? Could it be the large round component on the left near the switch or possibly the one on the right?



Would it be possible to desolder this component (once identified) and mount it to the underside of the stools with some extended wires?

[Kevin Mullins]

On the extending wires aspect..... yes on both counts.

As for the sound activation, I would assume one of those round object is a microphone type element.
Hard to tell which from that angle, best guess would be the one with the felt looking material over it.

[Franco B]

Thanks Kevin.

I figured as much but I thought I had better check first. Yeah the one on the left has some kind of felt material on it which I thought would be the culprit.

Thanks again 

[Franco B]

Well I desoldered the switch and the 'microphone' and extended the wires and it works great. I would like to change the switch with one with vertical terminals rather than right angled PCB terminals. Do you know what type of switch it will be? There are three posistions, on is in the center and the other two are sound activated and off.

[whines]

Sounds like a single-pole, dual-throw switch (SPDT)...should be easy to find. In one bosition it bridges the middle contact with the right one, and in the other with the left one. Should be easy to find at the local electronics store!

(in house wiring these are called 'three-way' switches)

[Franco B]

I'm not so sue it will be a SPDT. The switch you describe has two positions. The one I have has three. All of the SPST switches I have been looking at have three terminals. The one on this PCB has six terminals.

This is the layout of the switch:

----

AB

12
34
56

CD

----

A, B, C and D are the four corner terminals of the switch. Only D is soldered to a trace but this is the outer metal shell of the switch so A, B, C and D are all connected.

Pins 1 and 3 are bridged to one trace and then pins 4, 5 and 6 are connected to different traces.

Any ideas?

[Kevin Mullins]

Three position DPDT (double pole double throw)

[Franco B]

Thanks Kevin.

So would any DPDT switch work? A search on ebay gives me lots of different DPDT switches. Some of them look a lot different to what I am after. Some are classified as ON OFF ON where as I want ON ON OFF. Could a 'standard' DPDT switch be configured in this way? Maybe something like [this] one?

[Kevin Mullins]

Could a 'standard' DPDT switch be configured in this way?

To a point.... the number one thing is making sure it's a three position switch first off.
The ones you pointed to look like two position, just judging by the size of the "switch" and the slot is has to travel in.