SENSORS/ACTUATORS

Raspberry Pi - DIP Switch

DIP (Dual In-line Package) switches find widespread application in electronics for configuration tasks like establishing device addresses, toggling features, and more. This tutorial aims to delve into utilizing the DIP switch with Raspberry Pi. Specifically, we'll cover:

Understanding the DIP switch and how it works
Connecting the DIP switch to Raspberry Pi
Programming Raspberry Pi to read the ON/OFF states of the DIP switch
Programming Raspberry Pi to read the numerical values set by the DIP switch

Hardware Preparation

1	×	Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
1	×	DIP Switch
1	×	Breadboard
1	×	Jumper Wires
1	×	(Optional) Screw Terminal Block Shield for Raspberry Pi
1	×	(Optional) USB-C Power Cable with On/Off Switch for Raspberry Pi 4B
1	×	(Optional) Plastic Case and Cooling Fan for Raspberry Pi 4B
1	×	(Optional) HDMI Touch Screen Monitor for Raspberry Pi

Or you can buy the following sensor kits:

1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (30 sensors/displays)
1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)

Disclosure: Some of the links provided in this section are Amazon affiliate links. We may receive a commission for any purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Additionally, some of these links are for products from our own brand, DIYables.

Overview of DIP Switch

DIP switches are mainly used for configuring devices, allowing users to set parameters like device addresses, communication settings, security codes, operation modes, and system preferences across various industries and applications.

A DIP switch consists of several small slide switches packaged together. Each slide switch is called a "position." DIP switches come in various types depending on the number of positions they have. For example, there are 2-position, 4-position, 5-position, 6-position, 8-position, and 10-position DIP switches.

A DIP switch can represent a configurable number. Each position on the switch corresponds to a bit of the number. By toggling the positions between ON and OFF, we can set the desired number we want.

Pinout

image source: diyables.io

A DIP switch is made up of two rows of pins, with the number of pins in each row matching the available switch positions. For instance, a 4-position DIP switch includes a total of 8 pins, evenly divided with 4 pins on each side. In the DIP switch structure, every pair of pins opposite each other represents a slide switch. Notably, there's no need to differentiate between pins on the two sides as they can be interchanged.

How It Works

In DIP switches, when a switch is in the ON position, it signifies that the switch is engaged or closed. This indicates that an electrical connection is established, enabling the current to pass through the switch.

Conversely, when a switch is in the OFF position, it indicates that the switch is disengaged or open. In this state, the electrical connection is severed, and the current is unable to flow through the switch.

To clarify:

ON position: Indicates a closed circuit, permitting current flow.
OFF position: Indicates an open circuit, hindering current flow.

When we connect one side of the switch to GND and the other to a Raspberry Pi pin, then configure the Raspberry Pi pin as a pull-up digital input, the table below illustrates the relationship between the switch position and the values read from the Arduino:

DIP switch position	Binary representation	Circuit state	Raspberry Pi pin state
ON	1	CLOSED	LOW
OFF	0	OPEN	HIGH

In the next parts, we will use 4-position DIP switch for example. You can easily to adapt for 2-position DIP switches, 3-position DIP switches, 5-position DIP switches, 6-position DIP switches, 8-position DIP switches, and 10-position DIP switches...

Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

To simplify and organize your wiring setup, we recommend using a Screw Terminal Block Shield for Raspberry Pi. This shield ensures more secure and manageable connections, as shown below:

Raspberry Pi Screw Terminal Block Shield

Raspberry Pi Code - DIP Switch

We will learn through two pieces of code:

Reading the ON/OFF state of individual position on the DIP switch.
Encoding the positions into a number.

Raspberry Pi code - Reading the ON/OFF state of the DIP switch

Detailed Instructions

Make sure you have Raspbian or any other Raspberry Pi compatible operating system installed on your Pi.
Make sure your Raspberry Pi is connected to the same local network as your PC.
Make sure your Raspberry Pi is connected to the internet if you need to install some libraries.
If this is the first time you use Raspberry Pi, See how to set up the Raspberry Pi
Connect your PC to the Raspberry Pi via SSH using the built-in SSH client on Linux and macOS or PuTTY on Windows. See to how connect your PC to Raspberry Pi via SSH.
Make sure you have the RPi.GPIO library installed. If not, install it using the following command:

sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install python3-rpi.gpio

Do wiring as above wiring diagram
Create a Python script file dip_switch.py and add the following code:

""" This Raspberry Pi code was developed by newbiely.com This Raspberry Pi code is made available for public use without any restriction For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: https://newbiely.com/tutorials/raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-dip-switch """ import RPi.GPIO as GPIO import time POSITION_NUM = 4 ON = GPIO.LOW OFF = GPIO.HIGH SWITCH_PINS = [23, 18, 15, 14] # Set up GPIO mode GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM) # Set the dip switch pins as inputs with pull-up resistors enabled for pin in SWITCH_PINS: GPIO.setup(pin, GPIO.IN, pull_up_down=GPIO.PUD_UP) try: while True: # Read the state of each switch position for i, pin in enumerate(SWITCH_PINS): print("position {}: {}".format(i + 1, "ON" if GPIO.input(pin) == ON else "OFF")) print() # Add a delay to prevent rapid readings time.sleep(0.5) except KeyboardInterrupt: GPIO.cleanup()

Save the file and run the Python script by executing the following command in the terminal:

python3 dip_switch.py

Switch each position on the DIP Switch to ON one by one.
See the result on the Terminal.

PuTTY - Raspberry Pi

position 1: OFF position 2: OFF position 3: OFF position 4: OFF position 1: ON position 2: OFF position 3: OFF position 4: OFF position 1: ON position 2: ON position 3: OFF position 4: OFF position 1: ON position 2: ON position 3: ON position 4: OFF position 1: ON position 2: ON position 3: ON position 4: ON

The script runs in an infinite loop continuously until you press Ctrl + C in the terminal.

Raspberry Pi code - Encoding the states of DIP switch into a number

Detailed Instructions

Create a Python script file dip_switch_encode.py and add the following code:

""" This Raspberry Pi code was developed by newbiely.com This Raspberry Pi code is made available for public use without any restriction For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: https://newbiely.com/tutorials/raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-dip-switch """ import RPi.GPIO as GPIO import time POSITION_NUM = 4 ON = GPIO.LOW OFF = GPIO.HIGH SWITCH_PINS = [23, 18, 15, 14] # Set up GPIO mode GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM) # Set the DIP switch pins as inputs with pull-up resistors enabled for pin in SWITCH_PINS: GPIO.setup(pin, GPIO.IN, pull_up_down=GPIO.PUD_UP) try: while True: encoded_state = 0 for i, pin in enumerate(SWITCH_PINS): state = GPIO.input(pin) if state == ON: encoded_state |= 1 << (POSITION_NUM - i - 1) print("encoded state: {}".format(encoded_state)) # add a delay to prevent rapid readings time.sleep(0.5) except KeyboardInterrupt: GPIO.cleanup()

Save the file and run the Python script by executing the following command in the terminal:

python3 dip_switch_encode.py

Switch each position on the DIP switch to ON one by one.
See the result on Serial Monitor, it look like below.

PuTTY - Raspberry Pi

encoded state: 0 encoded state: 1 encoded state: 2 encoded state: 3 encoded state: 4 encoded state: 5 encoded state: 6 encoded state: 7 encoded state: 8 encoded state: 9 encoded state: 10 encoded state: 11 encoded state: 12 encoded state: 13 encoded state: 14 encoded state: 15

Please note that the value depends on positions of each slide switches. The below table shows the mapping between ON/OFF position and the integer value for 4-position DIP switch:

Position-1	Position-2	Position-3	Position-4	Binary Value	Decimal Value
OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF	0000	0
OFF	OFF	OFF	ON	0001	1
OFF	OFF	ON	OFF	0010	2
OFF	OFF	ON	ON	0011	3
OFF	ON	OFF	OFF	0100	4
OFF	ON	OFF	ON	0101	5
OFF	ON	ON	OFF	0110	6
OFF	ON	ON	ON	0111	7
ON	OFF	OFF	OFF	1000	8
ON	OFF	OFF	ON	1001	9
ON	OFF	ON	OFF	1010	10
ON	OFF	ON	ON	1011	11
ON	ON	OFF	OFF	1100	12
ON	ON	OFF	ON	1101	13
ON	ON	ON	OFF	1110	14
ON	ON	ON	ON	1111	15

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