Bill Denton wrote:
But how much is a reliable switch worth when you're truckin' through
a Class
B and all hell breaks lose?

I agree. However, a more expensive switch is not necessary more
reliable than a cheaper one. Last year, we paid something like $10 for
a PTT for the copilot side. It did not work with the intercom. I
learned from the newsgroup that it needed to be rewired. Since we could
not figure out a way to crack the plastic box opened, we took it to our
avionic guy. He convinced us to pay for a $75 PTT switch. Since it was
a newer switch, we put it in the pilot's side. Later on, I decided to
modify the cheap switch myself to keep as a backup. Anyway, few weeks
later, the spanking new switch malfunctioned and created an
embarrassment incidence where the ATC could hear everything which we
said in the cockpit. At least, we were not in a B space. It turned out
to be a bad solder joint of one of the ground wires. We resoldered it
then another solder joint broke (all within a month or two). We could
have returned it, but I decided to resolder all the wiring and added a
strain reliever (which should have been part of the design in the first
place!!). BTW, we has been using the cheap $10 PTT in the pilot's side
for the last 9 months or so and it has been working fine.