Change a Pot Value

[Guybrush]

Hey all
A quick and possibly stupid question.

I have a 10k Log slide pot that I want to magic into a 5K. Is this possible?

Thanks in advance

[RobA]

Hey all
A quick and possibly stupid question.

I have a 10k Log slide pot that I want to magic into a 5K. Is this possible?

Thanks in advance

You can't do it and keep the same taper. Doing it all depends on what you need it for, voltage divider versus variable resistor.

Also, it may not be that important to have it exact, depending on what you need it for. What are you using it in?

[sumac]

this might help
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=70732.0

[Guybrush]

Cheers guys.

It's for a SHO. The build calls for a 5K Rev Log pot which I can't find in a slider. I went for the 10K standard Log but all volume change happens right at the end of the slide. Just wanted to see what a 5K standard Log would be like. They don't seem to be available to buy.

[mgwhit]

The article that really explores this is The Secret Life of Pots.  In short:

• yes, you can change the effective resistance value of the pot
• yes, it will affect the taper
• there may be impedance issues

Edit: I think converting a linear to reverse log in a SHO would be the perfect application for this, but you might need a higher than 10K linear to start with.

[RobA]

Cheers guys.

It's for a SHO. The build calls for a 5K Rev Log pot which I can't find in a slider. I went for the 10K standard Log but all volume change happens right at the end of the slide. Just wanted to see what a 5K standard Log would be like. They don't seem to be available to buy.

You can wire the log pot backwards and it'll work like a reverse log, but you have to move it the opposite direction, so for a slide pot, you'd just need to wire it backwards and then flip it upside down.

Going with a linear pot would be a better choice than using a log pot in this case. A log pot will cause the bunching to be even worse than a linear would.

Since this is used as a variable resistor, you could do the reverse log trick that is described in the Geofex page. But, you won't be able to go with a very good reverse log taper and keep the 5k value with a 10k pot.

Another possibility is to go with a smaller value linear pot. It depends on where you tend to have the gain set, but if you go with more gain out of it, then something like a 2k linear pot might actually feel better and have a nicer control over the gain setting.

[Guybrush]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. Really appreciate it.

I'll get tinkering!