I am wondering if there is a component that one could call a shiftier, that would work like a switch on a railway track
except for every train on a certain part of the railway, redirecting every train either to the left or the right simultaneously (regardless of their "cargo").
Redirecting: not stopping, and letting go. So basically a switch for multiple inputs, I understand how to implement one
physically:

And I understand that this could probably be done with a lot of logic components, or a few transistors. My question is: is there a single component or
technique that does not require a multitude of components?

 

Both the question and the drawing are unclear. A demultiplexer (demux) can take an input (a serial data stream, a parallel data byte, an analog signal, etc.) and switch it to one of two or more outputs. Depending on your signal requirements, this can be a single chip.

"either to the left or the right simultaneously" sounds like a contradiction. Please rephrase.

ak

 

SN74LS139 is a dual 2-line to 4-line decoder/multiplexer

Or you can use SN74HC125 and SN74HC126 3-state bus drivers.

 

Are the signals you want to switch analog, digital, optical, RF ... ?

ak

 

@AnalogKid Thank you, sorry for the lack of clarity, and I am looking for digital, what I am looking to do is to be able to put a bunch of SBC's on a single PCB and have them either talk directly to each-other or be slaved/talk to a single master at any given time (be given direct access to one of them at any given time as opposed to going through the other ones).
@MrChips Thank you, I assume on SN74HC126 where in the data sheet I see this:

"Z" on the function table refers to whatever is going through A as !A?

 

@AnalogKid"Z" on the function table refers to whatever is going through A as !A?

No. Z means a high-impedance output that is neither high nor low. A device that has this third output type is called "tri-state".

Also, what does SBC stand for? In my world it means Single Board Computer. If you are combining multiple independent computers, have you considered a backplane arrangement? There are many industry standard structures that are very well documented and handle multi-mastering.

If you want any SBC to be able to "open a channel" to any other computer directly (without going through other computers in series), that is called a mesh architecture. This is how PCIe (PCI Express), 1 G and 10 G Ethernet, and other gigabit speed backplanes are arranged.

How many signals are being switched from one SBC to another, and what is the max data speed?

ak

 

Thank you, sorry for the lack of clarity, and I am looking for digital, what I am looking to do is to be able to put a bunch of SBC's on a single PCB and have them either talk directly to each-other or be slaved/talk to a single master at any given time (be given direct access to one of them at any given time as opposed to going through the other ones).

As always, it is best to state up front exactly what you are attempting to do. This would avoid us having to play the game of 101 questions and answers.

What MCU are you using for your bunch of SBCs?

The simple straight forward solution is to use on-board UARTs and to tie all RxD and TxD lines together. Normally, all TxD lines are disabled and all UART receivers are enabled. Any one MCU (usually the MASTER) will begin transmission and only the designated recipient is allowed to respond.

You do not need any additional hardware for this.

 

@AnalogKid @MrChips
Thank you both for the responses:

Yes SBC means Single Board Computer, specifically the Onion Omega 2: https://onion.io/omega2/ (though recently they jumped in
price so I am thinking about switching).

That is true, in my original design I was thinking of tieing specific ports for other boards, and others for the master board, however I have wondered what I should do if I want to use the same pin as another board is using for some reasons.

Sorry for the late reply

 

You can create an interface similar to 1-Wire. All processors are tied together using a single GP I/O pin.
In the idle state, all pins are configured as inputs.

When one device needs to communicate with another, it configures its pin as output and starts sending data using a phase-encoded protocol.

 

Even though it's only one wire it still is a parallel bus, and that means collisions and arbitration. Mesh networks can have complex wiring, but they are well-behaved. OTOH, if you don't need super speed you could string everything together on the I2C bus.

ak

 

Thank you guys for that, what I dont understand is how this works with 3 or more outputs going to the same place, I understand 2 because the signal would become 11/00 or 10/01, when it should be 10/01, 11/00 (respectively) but with 3+ there is the possibility of a triple negation.