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Nonlinear Taper Potentiometers

PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:47 pm
by rocknrollkat
Okay gang, here's another goody (2, actually) that I think you will find useful.
I've never seen 'em before in Flowstone, only in real life.
Yup, like the title says, they're nonlinear taper pots !
And I needed a couple for a project I'm working on.
So I decided that it was time to build 'em, and this morning I built 'em and tested 'em.
For those of you who are wondering, here's what they're used for.
There are circuits in this world that have about 90% of their usefulness in the last (or first) 20% of the pot's rotation.
How many times have you fiddled with that minuscule 20% shaft rotation to get the setting you needed ?
These pots provide the antidote, the inverse curve that will linearize the pot's rotation so 50% rotation equals 50% effect.
Let's say you have a circuit with a logarithmic response curve.
Use an antilogarithmic pot to solve the problem !
Yea, I know these are square and square root functions, but they mimic the log curves pretty well.
Not to cheap out, I've included cube and cube root functions as well for those really tricky response curves !
And as always, they're Dead SIMPLE !

Enjoy 'em !

ROXY :D

Re: Nonlinear Taper Potentiometers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 5:12 am
by martinvicanek
rocknrollkat wrote:How many times have you fiddled with that minuscule 20% shaft rotation to get the setting you needed ?

So true! Thanks for sharing.
In this context you may also want to check out some more rant and material. ;)

Re: Nonlinear Taper Potentiometers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 1:13 pm
by rocknrollkat
martinvicanek wrote:
rocknrollkat wrote:How many times have you fiddled with that minuscule 20% shaft rotation to get the setting you needed ?

So true! Thanks for sharing.
In this context you may also want to check out some more rant and material. ;)


Hi Martin !
Thanks for your response and yes, I read the articles you mentioned, archived 'em a well
and of course downloaded your excellent examples.
Your math is much stronger than mine, and I am struggling to get myself up to speed
on this stuff (at 70 years old !)
Thanks again for your generosity !

Bill (ROXY) :D