Precision potentiometer
PARTS AND MATERIALS
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Two single-turn, linear-taper
potentiometers, 5 kΩ each (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1714)
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One single-turn, linear-taper
potentiometer, 50 kΩ (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1716)
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Plastic or metal mounting box
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Three "banana" jack style binding posts,
or other terminal hardware, for connection to
potentiometer circuit (Radio Shack catalog # 274-662 or
equivalent)
This is a project useful to those who want a
precision potentiometer without spending a lot of money.
Ordinarily, multi-turn potentiometers are used to obtain
precise voltage division ratios, but a cheaper alternative
exists using multiple, single-turn (sometimes called
"3/4-turn") potentiometers connected together in a compound
divider network.
Because this is a useful project, I
recommend building it in permanent form using some form of
project enclosure. Suppliers such as Radio Shack offer nice
project boxes, but boxes purchased at a general hardware
store are much less expensive, if a bit ugly. The ultimate
in low cost for a new box are the plastic boxes sold as
light switch and receptacle boxes for household electrical
wiring.
"Banana" jacks allow for the temporary
connection of test leads and jumper wires equipped with
matching "banana" plug ends. Most multimeter test leads have
this style of plug for insertion into the meter jacks.
Banana plugs are so named because of their oblong appearance
formed by spring steel strips, which maintain firm contact
with the jack walls when inserted. Some banana jacks are
called binding posts because they also allow plain
wires to be firmly attached. Binding posts have screw-on
sleeves that fit over a metal post. The sleeve is used as a
nut to secure a wire wrapped around the post, or inserted
through a perpendicular hole drilled through the post. A
brief inspection of any binding post will clarify this
verbal description.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume
1, chapter 6: "Divider Circuits and Kirchhoff's Laws"
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
ILLUSTRATION
INSTRUCTIONS
It is essential that the connecting wires be
soldered to the potentiometer terminals, not twisted
or taped. Since potentiometer action is dependent on
resistance, the resistance of all wiring connections must be
carefully controlled to a bare minimum. Soldering ensures a
condition of low resistance between joined conductors, and
also provides very good mechanical strength for the
connections.
When the circuit is assembled, connect a
6-volt battery to the outer two binding posts. Connect a
voltmeter between the "wiper" post and the battery's
negative (-) terminal. This voltmeter will measure the
"output" of the circuit.
The circuit works on the principle of
compressed range: the voltage output range of this circuit
available by adjusting potentiometer R3 is
restricted between the limits set by potentiometers R1
and R2. In other words, if R1 and R2
were set to output 5 volts and 3 volts, respectively, from a
6-volt battery, the range of output voltages obtainable by
adjusting R3 would be restricted from 3 to 5
volts for the full rotation of that potentiometer. If only a
single potentiometer were used instead of this
three-potentiometer circuit, full rotation would produce an
output voltage from 0 volts to full battery voltage. The
"range compression" afforded by this circuit allows for more
precise voltage adjustment than would be normally obtainable
using a single potentiometer.
Operating this potentiometer network is more
complex than using a single potentiometer. To begin, turn
the R3 potentiometer fully clockwise, so that its
wiper is in the full "up" position as referenced to the
schematic diagram (electrically "closest" to R1's
wiper terminal). Adjust potentiometer R1 until
the upper voltage limit is reached, as indicated by the
voltmeter.
Turn the R3 potentiometer fully
counter-clockwise, so that its wiper is in the full "down"
position as referenced to the schematic diagram
(electrically "closest" to R2's wiper terminal).
Adjust potentiometer R2 until the lower voltage
limit is reached, as indicated by the voltmeter.
When either the R1 or the R2
potentiometer is adjusted, it interferes with the prior
setting of the other. In other words, if R1 is
initially adjusted to provide an upper voltage limit of
5.000 volts from a 6 volt battery, and then R2 is
adjusted to provide some lower limit voltage different from
what it was before, R1 will no longer be set to
5.000 volts.
To obtain precise upper and lower voltage
limits, turn R3 fully clockwise to read and
adjust the voltage of R1, then turn R3
fully counter-clockwise to read and adjust the voltage of R2,
repeating as necessary.
Technically, this phenomenon of one
adjustment affecting the other is known as interaction,
and it is usually undesirable due to the extra effort
required to set and re-set the adjustments. The reason that
R1 and R2 were specified as 10 times
less resistance than R3 is to minimize this
effect. If all three potentiometers were of equal resistance
value, the interaction between R1 and R2
would be more severe, though manageable with patience. Bear
in mind that the upper and lower voltage limits need not be
set precisely in order for this circuit to achieve its goal
of increased precision. So long as R3's
adjustment range is compressed to some lesser value than
full battery voltage, we will enjoy greater precision than a
single potentiometer could provide.
Once the upper and lower voltage limits have
been set, potentiometer R3 may be adjusted to
produce an output voltage anywhere between those limi
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