What's Wrong With Contact Switches?

Open contact switches, while often simple and cost effective, presents several drawbacks especially in high voltage applications with inductive loads. The closing of the contacts can result in arcing when high voltages are involved, causing pitting and accelerated corrosion of the contact surfaces. Additionally, when an inductive load such as an AEG motor is de-energized via an opening contact switch, further arcing can occur due to "back EMF" generated by the inductor's attempt to maintain current flow. The combination of these factors contributes to the gradual degradation of the contact surfaces, reducing their current carring capacity, hence hindering optimal AEG performance. This condition, commonly known in airsoft terminology as "burning out the contacts", can be easily remedies through the use of solid state switching ICs such as MOSFETs.