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:

Raspberry Pi with DIP Switch

Hardware Preparation

1×Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
1×DIP Switch
1×Breadboard
1×Jumper Wires
1×(Optional) Screw Terminal Adapter for Raspberry Pi
1×(Optional) Power Adapter for Raspberry Pi 4B
1×(Optional) Plastic Case for Raspberry Pi 4B

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

DIP Switch 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

The wiring diagram between Raspberry Pi and DIP switch

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

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-1Position-2Position-3Position-4Binary ValueDecimal 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

Video Tutorial

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