Difference between revisions of "Potentiometers"
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A potentiometer is a manually-adjustable, variable resistor of the type that is commonly used for volume and tone controls in stereo equipment. Potentiometers are variable resistors. They have three terminals with the center terminal being a center tap contact that slides across an element of constant resistance. |
A potentiometer is a manually-adjustable, variable resistor of the type that is commonly used for volume and tone controls in stereo equipment. Potentiometers are variable resistors. They have three terminals with the center terminal being a center tap contact that slides across an element of constant resistance. |
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[image:potentiometer4.jpg|61px] |
[[image:potentiometer4.jpg|61px]] |
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<H4>Applications</H4> |
<H4>Applications</H4> |
Revision as of 15:10, 8 June 2006
A potentiometer is a manually-adjustable, variable resistor of the type that is commonly used for volume and tone controls in stereo equipment. Potentiometers are variable resistors. They have three terminals with the center terminal being a center tap contact that slides across an element of constant resistance.
Applications
A rotary potentiometer can be used to measure the rotation of a shaft. It is easiest to use if the shaft being measured does not need to rotate continuously, but rather would rotate back and forth (as in a sensor "radar dish"). Use of gears is a simple way to lock the rotation of the shaft being measured to the potentiometer. By using a gear ratio other than 1:1, a shaft that needed to rotate more than the 270 degrees or so of the pot could be measured.
Connecting the potentiometer to the PC/104 Stack
In order to use a potentiometer with the PC/104 stack, you will connect it to an Analog In port in parallel with a pull-up resistor. The potentiometer then functions as a voltage divider.