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Unread 02-27-2011, 11:44 PM
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Re: Suggested Resistor values for 3.3V resistor ladder?

If I follow what you want to do correctly, it's much simpler than you think.

All you are doing is making a voltage divider. If you use equal values of resistors, the voltage will be equally divided. Four resistors would give you voltages of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and the full source voltage. The actual value of the resistors is immaterial as long as they are equal.

Where it does matter is the total resistance determines the amount of current your voltages divider uses to create the division. You don't want to use excessive current, but you want to use enough that the voltages are stiff enough to not be affected by the inputs they are connected to.

In other words, if you close a switch connected to a point that is 1.0v, you don't want the act of closing the switch to change the current paths and end up with 0.8v In most cases, the inputs you are feeding are high impedance enough and draw so little current themselves, that it's not a consideration.

Use what you have on hand. I'd grab a bunch of 100 ohm resistors and see what happens. At 3.3v, you're not going to draw much current.
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