insomniac's notes on a switch

 Can't sleep.

(link)

A normal, everyday switch has no markings at all, (Illustration TBA)

Per my meter, the lonely-looking screw would be "Hot" to another switch,
Not a ground screw (instant disaster in my head)

 

but the dimmer has "Load," "Line."

I was careful not to put any brand-names in this soliloquy, but reading generic amazon-reviews, I'm doomed now or later. 

How can a careful shopper buy *anything*??"

Two electricians brag that they are, and then one praises the dimmer, one hates it, saying it's incompatible.

Several say it glows in the dark (You mean the bulbs or the little light on the switch?)

Or it blew up.

I wanted an analog scale, and the prices vary widely. But listening to the reviews, you'd think it would be best to forget one.
But I refuse to believe *all* analogs totally suck, there must be one people like.
10,000 reviews for one scale, and the first ones you read hate it.
So, what did they finally buy that they were happy with?
That's classified!

O M G

++

Original (old yellowy) switch is below (We've moved beyond talking about the dimmer, if you're keeping up)

Flunked math...anyway "0" can be hooked to "1" or "two", either, or, not both

There are no "on"/"off" markings on the switch, so lettuce surmise that in 1942 or whenever, this particular (the old, original) switch could go from white to emergency-red.

I am not sure that this switch qualifies as "Three-way", but I don't think so.

single pole, double switch? 

I'll look it up 

This insane diagram (insane, I say!) is beyond belief, *nothing* is this hard.

I tried to draw it, but this guy totally beats me. 

But I *think* it's two SPDT-switches tied together 

in such a way that only one path works at a time.

"P"ower to "L"ight
1. switches tied to black wire
2. switches tied to red wire   
3. light is off because switches tied to different wires

This must be on the final exam or something, or why would they obfuscate it so heavily?

Paths must be aligned exactly, and that's as far as I get, using their diagram.

Hot to red (or black) must be tied on the other end to red or black...

O...k so on switch #2, "Hot" is reversed and is on the red or black wire, 

and the bottom-black wire on #2 

("common" says a disembodied voice) 

goes to the lightbulb.

OK gotcha (ble?)

This isn't wiring a stereo, but they make dinky numbers to tag onto stereo wires, and plus, electrical wires come in more colors than black/white/red, but I suppose we're following some ancient obscure code. (But that white-taped-black wire makes little sense)

My dream of having a job I wasn't very good at, so they cut my hours drastically,

Me wondering if I had enough money to buy cigarettes as I went home dejectedly, and then returning because I'd forgotten to punch out, 

had something about bus routes that resembled the first professionally-done schematic, but the second one, hand-drawn by a palsied crayon user, would be easier to read. But it was redone to avoid the buzz of people wondering about the missing wires (it's a picture, dammit)

I've been told I use too many clauses in sentences.

&^%$