Potentiometer rotation angle?

[giovanni]

I recently made a faceplate where I put dots at the beginning and end of each potentiometer rotation range, similar to what Boss does. I did a quick google search and concluded that the total angle covered by a potentiometer run is 270 degrees. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the Tayda pots I got, which seem to have a slightly bigger range. Do you guys know the right value? Is it 315? Or 300? What do you guys use for your graphics?

 

[giovanni]

When in doubt, pull the data sheet:

View attachment 77517

In fact, just ALWAYS pull the data sheet. No need to to wing it these days.

That’s fair. I wonder if all Tayda pots have 300 degrees of rotation. Thank you!

 

[giovanni]

Maybe another question could be: given the pots I have in my bin, how do I measure the total run? Maybe I’ll make a little acrylic jig to do the measuring…

 

[Erik S]

I usually get the alpha ones from tayda, but sometimes get stompboxparts or tayda house brand for an odd value.

I've never noticed different knob travel when mixing brands. Checking the datasheets is definitely the move, but I wouldn't be surprised if all the 16mm pots from the regular suppliers are the same.

 

[giovanni]

Well, I just assumed 270 and I was incorrect. Can’t believe everything you read on the internet apparently!

 

[StompBoxParts]

300° is standard for the guitar pedal industry. Can't speak for other industries. Ends up working nicely for 7 o'clock minimum to 5 o'clock max.

 

[JTEX]

When in doubt, pull the data sheet:

View attachment 77517

In fact, just ALWAYS pull the data sheet. No need to to wing it these days.

Spicification: 3x extra spicy!

 

[tegendemuur]

A sidetrack on data sheet checking: you guys all just do this through a Google query a la, "component datasheet" I suppose? Are there things to look out for / be wary of? I mean, the internet is a handful of pearls within a trog of hogwash, as we all know.

 

[Erik S]

do this through a Google query a la, "component datasheet"

Yes.

things to look out for

For in-production and common stuff, Digikey and Mouser are usually in the first few search results for datasheets. Those are trustworthy and don't have a million pop up ads.

 

[tegendemuur]

Thanks! @Erik S @Big Monk. Have been making it a habit to download datasheets for all the transistors and ICs I've selectively bought. But I've been wondering if the data I'm getting through random sites really is what I should be doing.

Also, maybe we need our own version of RTFM here... RTFD?