Freeway Switch (Blade)

[stevewf]

Here are some internal photos of the Free-way 5B5-02 switch:

5B5-02 Internal PCB with pads:


5B5-02 Internal Slider:


The blade handle moves the slider to any of 5 detente positions Left-to-Right, and to either the Up or Down detente positions. This moves the slider's contacts, which touch pairs of the facing PCB's pads. This closes circuits to the pins at the edge of the PCB. The PCB is two-sided, with two traces going straight across the board.

The slider has three paired contacts. Each of the contacts pertains to its pair of pads on the PCB. Moving the switch up & down moves the slider slightly - only enough to make the contacts touch either the upper half of its pad pair or the lower half. You can see how each of the 6 pads are divided up, into five Left-Right sections and two Up-Down.

Some of the pads are kinda funny-shaped. I think this is for creating make-before-break (or vice-versa) action, depending on the direction of slider movement.

It's pretty much hard-printed and therefore difficult to mod, but then, it's really good at what it does, and it's more than my brain woulda cooked up!

The photo of the pads maps to the physical switch handle thus: leftmost in the photo = handle toward bridge; upward in the photo = handle away from strings.

[Yogi B]

Jun 2, 2021 20:49:18 GMT -5 stevewf said:

Freeway 5B5-02
Position#1 : OP-BH
Position#2 : OP-BH-2+
Position#3 : OP-NH-3+ , G3-BT-NT
Position#4 : OP-NH-4+
Position#5 : OP-NH
Position#6 : OP-BH-MH , GD-BT
Position#7 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NT
Position#8 : OP-MH
Position#9 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NT
Position#10 : OP-NH , GD-NT

After examination of the above PCB shot, it appears that your listed connections for positions #3, #6 & #7 are incorrect — instead the quoted table should read:

Freeway 5B5-02
Position#1 : OP-BH
Position#2 : OP-BH-2+
Position#3 : OP-BH-NH-3+ , G3-BT-NT
Position#4 : OP-NH-4+
Position#5 : OP-NH
Position#6 : OP-BH , GD-BT
Position#7 : OP-BH-MH , GD-BT
Position#8 : OP-MH
Position#9 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NT
Position#10 : OP-NH , GD-NT

(I've also quickly double checked these against Free-way's published wiring diagrams and the corrected positions appear to be a much better fit.)

[Yogi B]

Also, stevewf, have you got the PCB shot for the 5B5-01, so I can double check that too? (I think I spy that PCB on the edge of the shot of the switching mechanism.)

A while back I figured out the following:

Jan 13, 2021 6:12:25 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

For what it's worth, the following is what I could glean from the Freeway wiring diagrams -- there may be other connections which cannot be inferred from the available diagrams (such as whether BG is connected to GD in positions 1 & 2), but I suspect there are not.

SPOILER: Click to show

It's almost exactly in agreement with yours:

Jun 2, 2021 20:49:18 GMT -5 stevewf said:

Freeway 5B5-01
Position#1 : OP-BH , GD-BT
Position#2 : OP-BH-MH , GD-BT
Position#3 : OP-MH
Position#4 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NG
Position#5 : OP-NH , GD-NH   [Presumably a typo, correction: GD-NG]
Position#6 : OP-BH , B-BG , A-NG
Position#7 : OP-BH-MH-NH , GD-BT-NG
Position#8 : OP-NH , GD-BT , BH-NG
Position#9 : OP-BH-NH , GD-BT-NG
Position#10 : OP-NH , MH-NG , GD-BT

The only (real) difference being that you list an extra connection "GD-BT" in position #10.

[stevewf]

Oct 24, 2021 10:06:37 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

After examination of the above PCB shot, it appears that your listed connections for positions #3, #6 & #7 are incorrect — instead the quoted table should read:

Freeway 5B5-02
Position#1 : OP-BH
Position#2 : OP-BH-2+
Position#3 : OP-BH-NH-3+ , G3-BT-NT
Position#4 : OP-NH-4+
Position#5 : OP-NH
Position#6 : OP-BH , GD-BT
Position#7 : OP-BH-MH , GD-BT
Position#8 : OP-MH
Position#9 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NT
Position#10 : OP-NH , GD-NT

(I've also quickly double checked these against Free-way's published wiring diagrams and the corrected positions appear to be a much better fit.)

Well spotted, Yogi B! I've corrected the post above to match your corrections, after running the multimeter over the pads again (in the 3 positions in question here). 

[stevewf]

Oct 24, 2021 20:39:40 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

Also, stevewf, have you got the PCB shot for the 5B5-01, so I can double check that too? (I think I spy that PCB on the edge of the shot of the switching mechanism.)
[...]
It's almost exactly in agreement with yours:

Jun 2, 2021 20:49:18 GMT -5 stevewf said:

Freeway 5B5-01
Position#1 : OP-BH , GD-BT
Position#2 : OP-BH-MH , GD-BT
Position#3 : OP-MH
Position#4 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NG
Position#5 : OP-NH , GD-NH   [Presumably a typo, correction: GD-NG]
Position#6 : OP-BH , B-BG , A-NG
Position#7 : OP-BH-MH-NH , GD-BT-NG
Position#8 : OP-NH , GD-BT , BH-NG
Position#9 : OP-BH-NH , GD-BT-NG
Position#10 : OP-NH , MH-NG , GD-BT

The only (real) difference being that you list an extra connection "GD-BT" in position #10.

Alas, I can't seem to find the photos, and the switch is currently installed in a guitar (using one of Free-Way's prescribed schemes, No. B002 found here). In that guitar, Position 10 dutifully plays the Neck and Middle pickups in series; unfortunately, this can neither confirm nor deny any involvement between GD and BT in position #10.  Next time that guitar gets opened up enough, I'll run the multimeter over the pads again and hopefully replace the photos of the switch's innards.

Also, I'm about to edit my earlier for Position #5, which does look like a typo.

[Deleted]

WOW seeing that PCB i feel like i should start a Alien Cult (feel like there is a message within them signs of pads)

I dont even have a clue how the connectors move over the pads from looking at it.
going to have to read your & Yogi post when i get home
Puzzled why there are some blank spots that go no where

[stevewf]

Oct 24, 2021 20:39:40 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

Also, stevewf, have you got the PCB shot for the 5B5-01, so I can double check that too? (I think I spy that PCB on the edge of the shot of the switching mechanism.)

Oh goodie, I found the photo of the 5B5-01 [Edit: looks like this is the 3B3-01. Oops]

[stevewf]

Now this a-here, I think, is the PCB inside the Free-way 5B5-01:

On the other hand, I don't seem to have the photo of the revers side, which would show the traces there. Maybe Yogi B can sleuth 'em by more reverse engineering!
Then I found this photo:

[stevewf]

Oct 24, 2021 20:39:40 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

Also, stevewf, have you got the PCB shot for the 5B5-01...
It's almost exactly in agreement with yours...
The only (real) difference being that you list an extra connection "GD-BT" in position #10.

And it looks like Yogi B hasn't lost the touch: I'd say there's no connection GD-BT in position 10, after looking at the photos once more. If I get a confirmation, I'll edit the original post.

[Yogi B]

Nov 11, 2021 0:04:36 GMT -5 stevewf said:

Oct 24, 2021 20:39:40 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

The only (real) difference being that you list an extra connection "GD-BT" in position #10.

And it looks like Yogi B hasn't lost the touch: I'd say there's no connection GD-BT in position 10, after looking at the photos once more. If I get a confirmation, I'll edit the original post.

Actually it looks like you were right all along! Below I've overlaid coloured dots roughly where the contacts would be in position #10 (each quad of the same colour are connected), also the traces from the reverse of the board in grey. Additionally, I've given a blue tint to the sections of copper which aren't (permanently) connected to any terminal.

As you can see, the middle (green) set of contacts do, in fact, connect BT and GD.

Though, potentially, this could actually be a mistake in the board design — I can't see a reason why the section of copper under the lower left (green) contact should be separated from GD in the way in which it has. Perhaps, therefore, the area beneath the righthand contacts should also have been separated off, but this was forgotten?

---

This also means the diagram (with additional blender pot switching) that I drew for anxullxxhi, will work slightly differently that I intended in position #10.

[stevewf]

Yes, now we can all see Position#10, including BT-GD, thanks! 

I think the dots added to the photo help to see how the switch's electrical connections work with the blade position. Here's a word (or three), in case it helps visualize further:

We can see within the pads (by the notches and cuts) a 5x2 layout, which offers the 10 advertised positions (it looks like 5x3, but the 2 overlap a little). Each pad has these ten little zones. In many cases, some of the ten zones are joined, resulting in the odd-shaped lobes in the pads. We can see the pads arranged in two columns by three rows. Yogi's dots are arranged likewise. Six pads, six pairs of dots.

As yogi says, the four green dots are all connected to one another electrically on a sort of conductive shuttle (pictured here), the blues in another, separate connection, and the reds likewise.

When the player moves the switch blade, the shuttle moves the dots move across the pads, thereby breaking and/or making some connections to the terminals on the PCB. The dots all move the same direction, the same amount, corresponding to the blade movement.

As an example, Yogi's dots are pictured in P#10, and we can trace three connections between terminals: OP-NH , MH-NG  and GD-BT.

Move the blade from P#10 to P#9. The six pairs of dots move one notch on their pads to the left in the photo, making OP-BH-NH  and GD-BT-NG.
Move from P#9 to P#4, which moves the dots downward in the photo, to the lower part of their respective pad, making OP-MH-NH and GD-NG.
If anyone can suss the break-before-make and mbb aspects, bonus points. Only orthogonal, no diagonal moves, please, or you'll make me bust my knuckles testing it.

Yogi's dots and reverse-side traces made it a lot easier to visualize.

By the way, I hadn't bothered to try to surmise the pinouts like yogi did; I waited until the switch got here, opened it up and did my best off that, verifying it later with the multimeter. Yogi's way seems a lot harder, bravo!

[newey]

stevewf, Yogi B:

The OP who wanted a wiring scheme never came back with any details, and this thread then veered off into researching the switch- not a bad thing since it needed to be done and the OP is apparently gone anyway.

But it would be nice if one of you would repost a digested post of this switch's logic in the Reference session. I have the feeling we'll have questions about these switches in the future.

[stevewf]

Good idea, newey. I'd wanna make sure it get organized well, especially considering:

- We've got the guts for the full line of Free-Way blade switches (at least the full line as at this date, i.e. 3B3-01 5B5-01 and 5B5-02), but not the three (or four, even) LP-style toggle switches. Because of this unfinished business, to make a summary of findings, we might have to make two separate threads, one for Blade and another (yet to be made) for Toggle... or a separate thread for each model?

- I might not be the best for determining where to put the thread, me being kinda new here. I'd be willing to [help] fill in the content, but placement is important too. I see a couple-years-old thread in the reference section, but the stuff we've posted here might not belong in that thread. Can an experienced Nut help determine where?

[newey]

It should go in the References section. Concurrently with this, the staff has been discussing adding a separate sub-board in the references for "switch logic" threads, so we can find the info without scrolling through all the Reference section threads. So, if you post the 10-way switch logic, I'll add it into the new sub-board if/when we get that up and running.

I think separate threads for the Freeway Lever switches and for their toggles would be preferable.

[stevewf]

Here's a summary of this our findings on the Free-Way Blade switches so far. Props to Yogi B for intense cross-checking and for highlighting traces.

"Truth Tables":
These tables show which terminals get connected within the switch, for each position.

SPOILER: Click to show

Freeway 3B3-01
Position#1 : OP-BH
Position#2 : OP-BH-NH , GD-NG
Position#3 : OP-NH , GD-NG
Position#4 : OP-BH-A , GD-NH
Position#5 : OP-A-B , NH-BH
Position#6 : OP-NH-A-B , BH-NG

Freeway 5B5-01
Position#1 : OP-BH , GD-BT
Position#2 : OP-BH-MH , GD-BT
Position#3 : OP-MH
Position#4 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NG
Position#5 : OP-NH , GD-NG
Position#6 : OP-BH , B-BG , A-NG
Position#7 : OP-BH-MH-NH , GD-BT-NG
Position#8 : OP-NH , GD-BT , BH-NG
Position#9 : OP-BH-NH , GD-BT-NG
Position#10 : OP-NH , MH-NG , GD-BT

Freeway 5B5-02
Position#1 : OP-BH
Position#2 : OP-BH-2+
Position#3 : OP-BH-NH-3+ , G3-BT-NT
Position#4 : OP-NH-4+
Position#5 : OP-NH
Position#6 : OP-BH , GD-BT
Position#7 : OP-BH-MH , GD-BT
Position#8 : OP-MH
Position#9 : OP-MH-NH , GD-NT
Position#10 : OP-NH , GD-NT

Photos/Illustrations:

Typical "Contact Shuttle":
What I call the "shuttle" moves inside the switch body when the player moves the blade handle. The shuttle carries three sets of contacts, which touch the pads on the switch's PCB, which makes electrical connections between the terminals.

Above: The Contact Shuttle shown inside a 5B5-01 switch. The other blade models have a similar shuttle.

3B3-01 PCB:

Above: The PCB of the 3B3-01


Above: The PCB of the 3B3-01, showing the traces on the reverse side, plus some shading to help see the circuits

5B5-01 PCB:

Above: the PCB of the 5B5-01


Above: the PCB of the 5B5-01 with reverse traces shown, plus position of the shuttle contacts in Position#10

5B5-02 PCB:

Above: PCB of the 5B5-02


Above: PCB of the 5B5-02 with reverse-side traces shown

[Yogi B]

Apologies for not properly looking at the 3B3-01 until today — having now done so, I reckon that position #6 should be "OP-NH-B , BH-NG" i.e. "A" isn't connected.

And though I'm fine with your representation of the connected groups, maybe wrapping the separate 'connection groups' in parentheses would help to see at a glance how many of said groups there were. Additionally this could then mean that the hyphens could be replaced by spaces, which I think would also aid legibility. Though potentially a 2 by 5 (or 2 by 3) table would be the best purely textual representation, but the layout I have in mind would be difficult enough with full HTML, let alone the limited subset available via BBCode.

Also I've updated my previous pictorial version and produced similar for the other switches. Below are those for the 5B5-01 and 5B5-02, I'll hold off positing that for the 3B3-01 until we have a consensus on position #6.

[stevewf]

Attn: Summary in a new Reference Article: Free-Way Blade Switches: Truth Tables and Photos

Contains:
Truth Tables & diagrams
Photos
Other stuff intrinsic to the switches

In short, though, I have corrected the table for 3B3-01 because, as yogiB points out, Position#6 needs correction. I got out the multimeter, and confirmed that terminal "A" is not connected to any other terminal in that position, so I've edited the original 3B3-01 table in this thread as well as in the new Reference article.

A second thread? I don't wanna have to update the tables in two threads if there are corrections later, so I went back and edited some of the posts in this thread, pointing to the Reference thread. The latter will be the one to update the tables in.

Meanwhile, I also think the two Switching Operation diagrams made by Yogi B are very easy to use, so I'm gonna include them them in that Reference article, hoping for no objection from the author. Hopefully, there'll be a similar one for the 3B3-01 soon, having reached consensus on Position#6.

[newey]

All good, stevewf. We now "have the goods" on these switches for future inquiries.

[Yogi B]

Nov 16, 2021 17:25:33 GMT -5 stevewf said:

Meanwhile, I also think the two Switching Operation diagrams made by Yogi B are very easy to use, so I'm gonna include them them in that Reference article, hoping for no objection from the author. Hopefully, there'll be a similar one for the 3B3-01 soon, having reached consensus on Position#6.

Putting them in your post is fine and mirroring the colouring is a nice touch (which could otherwise be lost on the reader if my diagrams were in a follow-up post).

Here's the one for the 3B3-01:

---

Edit:

Nov 17, 2021 15:07:36 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

Putting them in your post is fine

And, in fact, I've taken the liberty to put the latest there myself.