Quote:
Originally Posted by dpb
It's just not possible to have it wired conventionally no matter what
the initial configuration is w/o adding very heavy constraints on usage
and retain the possibility that turning any one switch in the down
position turns off an on light--the one closest by at the time may
already be 'down'.
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No, you're never going to be able to wire it so that no matter what the other switch toggle positions are, that you can always shut the light off by flipping any switch's toggle down. That won't work.
But, you can always return to the original situation where the light is OFF with all switch toggles down, and flipping ANY switch's toggle up turns the light on, which is what I think he wanted.
Quote:
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That's greatest schematic I've ever seen! One glance and you easily see how the multi-switch works.
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Well, you're doing better than me. I had to look at it for a while to understand that it couldn't "not work", and HAD TO work.
Think of it this way:
A) The two 3 way switches on the end are easy enough to understand. You have two conductors connecting the same terminals on both switches, and whether the light is on or off depends entirely on whether or not the two 3 way switches are set to send and recieve power through the same terminal on each switch or not.
B) The 4 way switches (however many you have of them) simply divert power to the "other" conductor every time their toggles are flipped.
So, regardless of how the two end 3-way switches are set, flipping the toggle of any of the intermediary 4 way switches will send power down the "other" conductor to the "other" terminal on the end three way switch, thereby turning the light on or off.
It's simple once you understand it. But, so is everything else on this good Earth.