While experimenting with a DV Camcorder as an optional method of taking still photos, I started tearing appart anything that had me curious. After examining the switch for a few minutes, I realized that it would be unusable after dissection. The back, which is a separate piece is glued in. The dimple suggested that perhaps the shaft for the lever was micro-welded or the dimple was just that--a dimple. In either case, it was also apparent that the body of the switch is not air tight. I actually figured that there would be ducting work opposite the lever side.
I wanted to preserve the switch as much as possible, so I used a hobby knife chisel-type blade and gently wiggled it down between the halves at the seam. I kept the beveled edge of the blade on the inside of the switch so it would also help to push the black lever assembly (and any other parts) away from the slicing action of the blade. It took a little while to open it up because I was trying to be as delicate as possible. Finally, a glimpse of the inside:
Nope, no duct work. But, the dimple is part of a shaft that goes through th lever. It's hard to see in the picture above, but the outter section of the shaft is part of the port half of the switch. The center post was part of the back half, but that is now severed. Naturally, the next step is to remove the lever assembly:
On the port side of the lever assembly, there is a semi-circle recess that holds a removable rubber piece. Both halves of the "valve" are identical. The wide area in the middle is what connects the center stem to either the right or left stems (depending on position). When the switch is flipped to the extremes, the port in use is blocked by the appropriate circle. If the switch is centered, all three wells block each of the three ports. The switch action is stiff because the valve piece is thick so it can prevent unwanted air leakage.
Further examination of the lever assembly reveals the center position detent. It only spans half the width of the lever and is directly below the valves.
A recap... The switch is made of 4 pieces - A lever, a rubber valve piece, and two body halves. The port half has three humps on the long closed side directly under each port hole. Two of them (the longer ones) are used to keep the lever in proper alignment. The short one is for the center detent position. Here are the pieces next to each other (minus the back):
Here are a couple shots showing the damage from this endeavor:
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While it has become evident that the stiff action of the switch cannot be changed, it should be pretty easy to remove that center detent by carefully cutting away the plastic. I'll save that for the next update of this page...