I still don’t have the slider pots for constructing my variable HH pedal controller yet. So I used a microswitch I had laying around from a paintball marker project a few years ago and wired it to a mono jack with stiff wire, then laid it inside the hihat. It gets smashed when I close the hats, trips the microswitch, and gives me a horribly annoying 2-way open/close to hold me over. Just like the S&S kit 2-way footswitch I’ve hated since day 1. 
I wouldn’t suggest this as a permenant option as I can’t imagine the microswitch connectors can take the direct compression for long. But it works, and the use of stiff wires (which I wrapped around the hihat plunger pole to keep it from moving much) keeps the switch placed well.
Does make me thing about how to put the slider pot INSIDE the hats somehow. Though it sounds like it’d be tricky for how to connect the slider to the top hat or plunger pole successfully to actuate the slider. But I’m sure someone’s done it before. Just might look nicer than a box U-bolted to the bottom of the stand and tied to your foot pedal chain. All nice and tidy and invisible inside the hats.
Thought I’d share anyway.
Christopher Graham
