Long wire interference

[adaschau2]

Hi all. I'm currently working on a project that requires me to place a tactile switch a sizable distance away from my microcontroller (let's ball park 10 meters for discussions sake). Should I be worried about an interference caused by running such long wires and are there any precautions or steps I can take to eliminate any complications? Thanks for the help in advance!

[Gertlex]

I've not delved into the theory or had to worry about it in practice, but from what I've read, twisted wire pairs work wonders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_pair

[Soeren]

Hi,

Hi all. I'm currently working on a project that requires me to place a tactile switch a sizable distance away from my microcontroller (let's ball park 10 meters for discussions sake). Should I be worried about an interference caused by running such long wires and are there any precautions or steps I can take to eliminate any complications? Thanks for the help in advance!

For starters, twist the wires as Gertlex said (3..4 twists/inch) and keep the impedance as low as possible (i.e. make your pull up or- down resistor as low value as current drain allows).
Whether you'll need to do more is a question on the electrical environment it will be used in, but if you run into problems with the above methods in place, "current signalling" will only take a few extra components.

[adaschau2]

Thanks for the tip Gertlex! And Soeren, I don't plan on using this in a very electrically "busy" area, so I'm not anticipating on running into too much trouble. Some more questions because I'm still new to this: Where can I get my hands on some cylindrical power connectors? I'm looking to buy a power supply like this (http://www.thaieasyelec.net/images/uploads/Product-Image/Power-Supply/EPWS013-5VDC.jpg) to power my circuit, but I can't seem to find the connector that I need. Tried searching for "male cylindrical connectors" and the like, but nothing seems to fit. Also, what exactly is "current signalling?"

[Soeren]

Hi,

Where can I get my hands on some cylindrical power connectors? I'm looking to buy a power supply like this (http://www.thaieasyelec.net/images/uploads/Product-Image/Power-Supply/EPWS013-5VDC.jpg) to power my circuit, but I can't seem to find the connector that I need. Tried searching for "male cylindrical connectors" and the like, but nothing seems to fit.

It's a regular "DC connector". Unfortunately, there are nearly endless combinations of inner diameter and outer diameter, so you need to know the exact measures of the one you need to mate - you can select from those measures at: http://dk.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?N=1524918

Also, what exactly is "current signalling?"

Using current for the long stretch instead of voltage.

[adaschau2]

Well if that just isn't the cat's pajamas! Thanks a million, that just saved me a long while of dithering around on the internet