Maker Pro
Maker Pro

My first post here..

WalkingWithWalnuts

Nov 8, 2022
3
Joined
Nov 8, 2022
Messages
3
Welcome to the forums i guess? Thanks in advance :)

Looks like a stunning place to hang out if i want some knowledge about smal stuff which i am in to.

Only got one question right now. What is the smallest (dimensionally) potentiometer i can buy? It needs to have a mechanical lever or a screw knob but the main thing is i want it to be very small. It is for manipulating very small r/c hobby motors from 0 to 6 AA/AAA battery volts mainly. I`ve picked up some on ebay but these are a little too big for my liking and oh so generic. Are there any truly small ones on the market?

Thanks, Bjørn in Norway
 
Last edited:

Harald Kapp

Moderator
Moderator
Nov 17, 2011
13,700
Joined
Nov 17, 2011
Messages
13,700
Welcome to EP.
I don't know whether tese are the "smallest" ones, but very likely they are.
Example 1
Example 2
Naturally they come without an axle - afaik none of these small ones do as adding an axle adds size. You can add an axle by inserting a plastic stick (suitably prepared to fit the center of the pot) or simply glueing one to the center.

It is for manipulating very small r/c hobby motors from 0 to 6 AA/AAA battery volts mainly.
A typical potentiometer is not meant to control power as the power to a motor. Potentiometers are menat to be operated at virtually no power (o.k., very, very small power) to create control signals which in turn control a power driver (e.g. a motor driver) for the high powre load. Using a potentiometer directly to control motors is likely to burn the potentiometer quickly.
 

WalkingWithWalnuts

Nov 8, 2022
3
Joined
Nov 8, 2022
Messages
3
Well i`m not 100% familiar with all the terms yet, maybe it`s not called a potentiometer after all? These are what i already have.



They are too big for my needs. Maybe the ones in your link are a little too low on capacity since they are so small?

From time to time i pluck apart electronic appliances and save the itty bitty odds and ends. I found this little thing inside a dvd player once. The stick is spring loaded but i have no idea if it is a voltage regulator as such or something else. Can i buy stuff like this "loose" anywhere?
 

Attachments

  • Minisak 3.jpeg
    Minisak 3.jpeg
    161.8 KB · Views: 3
  • Minisak 2.jpeg
    Minisak 2.jpeg
    102 KB · Views: 3
  • minisak 1.jpeg
    minisak 1.jpeg
    189.1 KB · Views: 3

dragon

Oct 31, 2022
248
Joined
Oct 31, 2022
Messages
248
why do you need them so small - have u got a crazy idea? :)

One reason I can think of is if u wanted to make a really tiny robot with little dc motors and u hook em up to em for the angle sensors, but maybe little tiny hall sensors work better.

hall sensors are really small and u just hover a magnet near them and they are as good as potentiometre, they can be used for same thing.
Small voltage instead of small resistance, is just a design workaround.
 

WalkingWithWalnuts

Nov 8, 2022
3
Joined
Nov 8, 2022
Messages
3
why do you need them so small - have u got a crazy idea? :)

One reason I can think of is if u wanted to make a really tiny robot with little dc motors and u hook em up to em for the angle sensors, but maybe little tiny hall sensors work better.

hall sensors are really small and u just hover a magnet near them and they are as good as potentiometre, they can be used for same thing.
Small voltage instead of small resistance, is just a design workaround.

One reason i need them small is i work a lot with small scale static models. If i am going to integrate such a device, it would be inside a wooden piece maybe no thicker than 1cm...a display piece with batteries and a power regulator for motors & lights etc. Seems to me this is the easiest way to go about it. I want it to be wired (opposite of wireless) so i would not be able to use regular micro r/c equipment which ofcourse relies on some form of wireless communication. Never heard of hall sensors before, reading about it online now. Well it looks like a clever way to control the power of electrons, but i don`t know what type of conductor to buy if i was to build something from scratch so it would be easier for me to buy some type of switch instead. I have a lot of loose ends to cope with still, so something easy is preferrable.
 

dragon

Oct 31, 2022
248
Joined
Oct 31, 2022
Messages
248
Linear hall sensors just give you an amplitude depending on how far the magnet is away,so it works like one those thevenin's (musical instrument where you hover your hand in the air next to it to change control parametra.), if you could mount the magnet on a little slider next the sensor it would be the same as a potentiometre.
 
Top