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Unread 05-02-2007, 12:17
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Re: Limited OI Range From Linear Slide Potentiometers

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Anderson View Post
When I said "low end", I meant the end of the pot that you had connected to ground (as opposed to the "high end" which you had connected to +5).

The "wiper" is the traveling contact inside the pot that sees a different resistance to the ends of the pot based on its position. I think you called its pin the "signal".

I suggested 22k ohms because that way your total resistance will change between about 22k and 72k, with center being approximately 50k. The standard 100k joystick pot also has the center being approximately 50k. You will seea limited range of values being read by the OI, from about 60-190 instead of 0-254, but you should get usable values from the full range of travel on the slider.
Alan,

Of course this will approximately center the pot's range in the reported A/D value range, it does so at the expense of cutting the resolution in half.

I'm not certain that this was clear in your origional post.

I do agree that it is an entirely practical and workable solution, but if one is concerned with being able to generate a full range of values, then one end of the pot needs to be lifted with a series resistor to accomplish that goal.

Thanks,
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