Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Potentiometer terms

R

Ron J

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,

I was reading the datasheet for a potentiometer and came across this
listed feature:
"High resolution 25-turns enables precision adjustment easily."

Does this mean that there are only 25 available resistance?

Thanks!
 
D

Dan Hollands

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ron J said:
Hi all,

I was reading the datasheet for a potentiometer and came across this
listed feature:
"High resolution 25-turns enables precision adjustment easily."

Does this mean that there are only 25 available resistance?

Thanks!

No - it means you have to turn the shaft 25 complete revolutions to go from
one end of the pot to the other.

Dan


--
Dan Hollands
1120 S Creek Dr
Webster NY 14580
585-872-2606
[email protected]
www.QuickScoreRace.com
 
R

Ron J

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Dan,

Thanks! Ahh.. okay. So a 25 turn compared to a single turn translates
to a higher resistance resolution, right?

I thought it was 25 resistance values because the price was cheaper
than a single turn.
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Dan,

Thanks! Ahh.. okay. So a 25 turn compared to a single turn translates
to a higher resistance resolution, right?

Not really. Most multi-turn trimpots have enough backlash in the drive
that their resolution is no better than a single-turn pot... just a
lot more tedious to adjust.

John
 
D

Don Bowey

Jan 1, 1970
0
Not really. Most multi-turn trimpots have enough backlash in the drive
that their resolution is no better than a single-turn pot... just a
lot more tedious to adjust.

John

Go get him Phil. You can't let him get away with this misinformation.
 
J

John Fields

Jan 1, 1970
0
Not really. Most multi-turn trimpots have enough backlash in the drive
that their resolution is no better than a single-turn pot... just a
lot more tedious to adjust.

---
Resolution refers to the smallest increment of resistance achievable
in the pot, and has nothing to do with backlash. Of course, if you
go too far and then have to go even farther forward to back up to
whre you need to be, it's inconvenient, but the resolution of the
pot is still the the resolution of the pot,. A wirewound pot,for
example, will have a resolution depending on the pitch of the helix
the resistance wire is wound to, while the resistive element of a
cermet pot will have essentially infinitesimal resolution. Whether
that resolution can be achieved will be largely determined by the
'stiction' of the drive, but there will be no fixed resolution limit
as exists in a normal wirewound pot.

I think what the OP is referring to is the _sensitivity_ of the pot,
which can be described as the total resistance of the pot divided by
the total angle of rotation of the shaft. That is, a single turn
10k pot with 300 degees between stops will have a sensitivity of:

Rt 10kR
S = ------- = ------ = 33.33 ohms per degree
theta 300°


While a 25 turn 10k pot will have a sensitivity of


Rt 10kR
S = ------- = ------- = 1.11 ohm per degree
theta 9000°


Which means that if the best you can do, by hand, is a one degree
crank, with a 25 turn pot (with a resolution great enough to allow
it) you'll be able to resolve 1 ohm out of 10k, which is 0.0111%,
while with a single turn pot with 33.3 ohms out of 10k, that's
0.333%.

So, for the same angle of rotation, the 25 turn pot will have a
sensitivity 30 times greater than that of the single turn pot.
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
---
Resolution refers to the smallest increment of resistance achievable
in the pot, and has nothing to do with backlash. Of course, if you
go too far and then have to go even farther forward to back up to
whre you need to be, it's inconvenient, but the resolution of the
pot is still the the resolution of the pot,. A wirewound pot,for
example, will have a resolution depending on the pitch of the helix
the resistance wire is wound to, while the resistive element of a
cermet pot will have essentially infinitesimal resolution. Whether
that resolution can be achieved will be largely determined by the
'stiction' of the drive, but there will be no fixed resolution limit
as exists in a normal wirewound pot.

I think what the OP is referring to is the _sensitivity_ of the pot,
which can be described as the total resistance of the pot divided by
the total angle of rotation of the shaft. That is, a single turn
10k pot with 300 degees between stops will have a sensitivity of:

Rt 10kR
S = ------- = ------ = 33.33 ohms per degree
theta 300°


While a 25 turn 10k pot will have a sensitivity of


Rt 10kR
S = ------- = ------- = 1.11 ohm per degree
theta 9000°


Which means that if the best you can do, by hand, is a one degree
crank, with a 25 turn pot (with a resolution great enough to allow
it) you'll be able to resolve 1 ohm out of 10k, which is 0.0111%,
while with a single turn pot with 33.3 ohms out of 10k, that's
0.333%.

So, for the same angle of rotation, the 25 turn pot will have a
sensitivity 30 times greater than that of the single turn pot.


Your calculations are impeccable. But the pots don't work that way. I
just tried a couple of Bourns trimpots, single and 20-turn.
Settability was similar; both have hysteresis and both have stiction.
Both are fairly easily set to 0.2%, and to 0.1% with some reasonable
teasing. The 20t is actually a bit better if you're willing to
*really* futz with it, by maybe as much as 2:1, but nothing like 25:1.

But no circuit should require a trimpot to be set to 0.1%. Trimpots
aren't stable enough to justify setting them this close.

John
 
J

John Fields

Jan 1, 1970
0
Your calculations are impeccable. But the pots don't work that way. I
just tried a couple of Bourns trimpots, single and 20-turn.
Settability was similar; both have hysteresis and both have stiction.
Both are fairly easily set to 0.2%, and to 0.1% with some reasonable
teasing. The 20t is actually a bit better if you're willing to
*really* futz with it, by maybe as much as 2:1, but nothing like 25:1.

But no circuit should require a trimpot to be set to 0.1%. Trimpots
aren't stable enough to justify setting them this close.
---
I wasn't arguing the actual settability of the pots as much as I was
the difference between 'resolution' and 'sensitivity', and I agree
with you, generally, on the stability matter.

However, once the pot is adjusted and the leadscrew glyptalled down,
there's not much which is going to affect the pot but temperature,
and if it's being used as a voltage divider unto itself, it's
internals will be pretty nearly isothermal, so the ratio of the two
resistances on either side of the wiper will stay constant, as will
the putput voltage.

Especially if it's a _good_ pot, like some of the Vishays with a
tempco of 5PPM/C°

Don't get me wrong; I don't care much for pots, but they _do_ have
their place.
 
P

Pooh Bear

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ron said:
Hi Dan,

Thanks! Ahh.. okay. So a 25 turn compared to a single turn translates
to a higher resistance resolution, right?

I thought it was 25 resistance values because the price was cheaper
than a single turn.

Multi-turn pots aren't normally cheaper than single turn ! Surplus
parts
?

Graham
 
B

Bob Masta

Jan 1, 1970
0
Multi-turn pots aren't normally cheaper than single turn ! Surplus
parts
?

Maybe he's comparing a cheap multi-turn trimpot with a
single-turn panel-mount pot?


Bob Masta
dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom

D A Q A R T A
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com
Home of DaqGen, the FREEWARE signal generator
 
R

Ron J

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks for the reply everyone!

I'm not sure about Surplus, but I saw it on Digikey.
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,

I was reading the datasheet for a potentiometer and came across this
listed feature:
"High resolution 25-turns enables precision adjustment easily."

Does this mean that there are only 25 available resistance?

Thanks!

No, it means that you have to turn the knob 25 whole 360 degree turns to
get from one end of its range to the other. You need a special,
gear-driven, turns-counting knob to use it effectively.

Hope This Helps!
Rich
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Dan,

Thanks! Ahh.. okay. So a 25 turn compared to a single turn translates to a
higher resistance resolution, right?

I thought it was 25 resistance values because the price was cheaper than a
single turn.

Oh! A TRIMPOT! In my other answer, I thought you were talking about a
PRECISION pot! What this is sounding like - is it about 3mm by 6mm by
about 20 mm long, with a screw head at one end? In that case, the screw
head is actually connected to a lead screw, that moves the wiper from one
end of the element to the other, like a FDD indexing leadscrew.

Hope This Helps!
Rich
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
Your calculations are impeccable. But the pots don't work that way. I just
tried a couple of Bourns trimpots, single and 20-turn. Settability was
similar; both have hysteresis and both have stiction. Both are fairly
easily set to 0.2%, and to 0.1% with some reasonable teasing. The 20t is
actually a bit better if you're willing to *really* futz with it, by maybe
as much as 2:1, but nothing like 25:1.

But no circuit should require a trimpot to be set to 0.1%. Trimpots aren't
stable enough to justify setting them this close.

John

Maybe not, but it sure is fun adjusting them while watching your output on
a spectrum analyzer! ;-)

Cheers!
Rich
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
Maybe not, but it sure is fun adjusting them while watching your output on
a spectrum analyzer! ;-)

Cheers!
Rich


Bob Pease (ever the voice of moderation) in his "Analog
Troubleshooting" book, claims that multiturn pots are worse longterm
than single-turns, by a factor of two or three, something about
storing stress and jumping when exposed to shock. He suggests 0.2% as
a good working resolution for trimpots.

But a 60-cent eeprom can replace 500 pots.

John
 
Top