PSA: Alpha 2P5T rotary switch with knurled shaft

[davidofchatham]

I came across the Alpha SR2511F-0205-32K0A-S8-N-W-294 on Mouser:




I'm not sure how it caught my attention, but I worked out from the datasheet that it had a knurled shaft end that should fit a press-on knob — and it does! (The product image on Mouser is incorrect.) I thought it might be of interest to others who may not want to use a set-screw knob.

The only difficulty for my application is that the threaded portion of the shaft is about 11/16", which is much longer than I need, but I should be able to drill a little piece of wood or find something to work as a spacer between it and the top of the guitar.

I'll post an update if it turns out to be too difficult to operate with a regular knob, but it hasn't felt too bad with my quick in-the-hand test.

[JohnH]

Useful! Looks like it might fit in a standard LP, where a long-shaft pot would usually go?

[leansteelbean]

May 17, 2023 16:33:28 GMT -5 JohnH said:

Useful! Looks like it might fit in a standard LP, where a long-shaft pot would usually go?

Yes! Any guitar with a thick top, really. Not just the standard, but the LP custom, studio, traditional, classic and double-cut all came with long-shaft pots after 1977. Not the Epiphone ones though. You can use a second nut to adjust the height and fit it in pretty much any guitar as long as there is enough space in the cavity, even if mounted on a pickguard

[davidofchatham]

Sorry for the delayed response....

May 17, 2023 16:33:28 GMT -5 JohnH said:

Useful! Looks like it might fit in a standard LP, where a long-shaft pot would usually go?

Yes, it looks like it. Might be good for a stealth modification!

May 18, 2023 12:19:09 GMT -5 leansteelbean said:

You can use a second nut to adjust the height and fit it in pretty much any guitar as long as there is enough space in the cavity, even if mounted on a pickguard

Duh... why didn't I think of that?! Surprisingly, I happened to have a leftover brass fitting from a dishwasher installation kit that looks very close to being a perfectly-sized spacer for my guitar, but I may end up using the nuts top and bottom myself to get a secure fit — we'll see. Thanks for posting that.