Exploring Potentiometers
Posted by Rohan on Sunday, June 29, 2014 with No comments
Potentiometers come in various shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing: they allow you to vary voltage and current by varying resistance.
Most potentiometers are held together with little metal tabs. You should be able to grab hold of the tabs with your wire cutters or pliers, and bend them up and outward. If you do this, the potentiometer should open up as shown
Depending whether you have a really cheap potentiometer or a slightly more high-class version, you may find a circular track of conductive plastic or a loop of coiled wire. Either way, the principle is the same. The wire or the plastic possesses some resistance (a total of 2K ), and as you turn the shaft of the potentiometer, a wiper rubs against the resistance, giving you a shortcut to any point from the center terminal.
To test your potentiometer, set your meter to measure resistance (ohms) and touch the probes while turning the potentiometer shaft to and fro, as shown below
Most potentiometers are held together with little metal tabs. You should be able to grab hold of the tabs with your wire cutters or pliers, and bend them up and outward. If you do this, the potentiometer should open up as shown
Depending whether you have a really cheap potentiometer or a slightly more high-class version, you may find a circular track of conductive plastic or a loop of coiled wire. Either way, the principle is the same. The wire or the plastic possesses some resistance (a total of 2K ), and as you turn the shaft of the potentiometer, a wiper rubs against the resistance, giving you a shortcut to any point from the center terminal.
To test your potentiometer, set your meter to measure resistance (ohms) and touch the probes while turning the potentiometer shaft to and fro, as shown below
Categories: BasicElectronics
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