Potentiometer

From HvWiki

A potentiometer is a resistor with a mechanically variable centre tap.

Contents 1 Properties 2 Linear taper 3 Logarithmic taper 4 Digitally controlled potentiometer

Properties

• The rated power of a potentiometer is for the whole resistor, if the wiper is set such that only 1% of the resistor is in use the maximum power will be derated to 1%. In some cases even measuring the resistance with a multimeter may cause the maximum rated power to be exceeded for a small part of the resistor.
• Trimming potentiometers are made to be stable and uses very high wiper pressures that causes severe wear. Their lifetime can be as low as 50 operations.

Linear taper

Logarithmic taper

Digitally controlled potentiometer