Slide potentiometers

Sliding Potentiometers

Potentiometer

Potentiometer is an electronic element that is used to control and regulate electrical devices, as changing the electrical resistance can change the output electrical voltage. The potentiometer is a passive element consisting of a drive mechanism that moves on a scale and works as a voltage divider.

Moveable, sliding potentiometers

Moving potentiometers are types of potentiometers and find a number of applications in electronics and are part of quite a few electrical devices. Sliding potentiometers, unlike rotary ones, which rotate by means of a scale, movable ones move in a groove and along a given scale in a row. Their most popular application in audio systems is volume control, frequency shifters, various consoles, but they can also be used in a variety of other applications.

Type of sliding potentiometer

• linear;
• logarithmic;

 

• monocarbon;
• stereocarbon;

Different types of potentiometers can be combined depending on the application and the type of work they have to do and also come with different characteristics. Slide potentiometers are a rectangular housing with a movable knob in a groove, and the more specific thing about them is that they can be linear and logarithmic.

Linear and logarithmic

Linear potentiometers are controls that move in uniform, staggered steps, meaning that when the rotary knob is in the middle of the scale it is assumed to be 50% or half of the maximum on the dial. With logarithmic potentiometers, the adjustment of moves in uneven steps that progress to a certain degree and grow along the length of the dial. This means that when the pointer of the potentiometer has reached the middle of the scale it may mean that it is using 25 or 30% of the maximum possible force.