Natural teacher at work here. I came here knowing what a potentiometer does ....always wondered the what & how? In ten minutes I learned so much targeted information! Wow, thank you, johnplanetz
I’m just beginning to look into these things and I agree. Thank you John Cooper and thank you chuck for saying the same thing that I was going to say. This video is extremely helpful.
My physics teacher threw a potentiometer on the speakers for the announcements. Turns the volume down to minimum and continues lessons... best hack ever.
Thanks for the accurate, and well presented video on potentiometers. This video is SO MUCH BETTER than most of the others! The great thing about CTS pots is that they can dissipate more power than most of the other audio pots (except PEC) and they can be disassembled, and reassembled to to change shaft length or style and also change resistance elements of double ganged pots.
dude...you are really good at explaining things...normally, I'll watch a video like this and the person doing it is so steeped in the subject that they just cant or don't bother to explain it in a way that's easily digestible...awesome video
Thanks for the video. I had problems with my cts pot but your video gave me confidence to open it up and fix it. Many thanks. I was nearly ordering new.
Thanks John. I went for a new push/push pot (might as well do a Gilmour mod if I've got to change the pot). Not put it on yet but the flow tests are completely different to my old pot, ie they're correct! What a relief, but interesting to know that a pot can die just like that. Love the idea of a troubleshooter vid if you're up for it. It'll save the world from restless nights and brain ache.
Thanks for your thorough explanation on those potentiometers! I need them to build my own home-made racing wheel, hadn't a clue what they were. Now this solves half of the problem already!
Thank You Sir! Bass guitar stopped working, checked everything with multimeter couldn't figure it out. Watched your vid, took mine apart and back together, tighter with the clips. I assume it just was a bad connection inside, works now and I understand pots!
Your videos have been SO helpful. I've learned a lot about the technical and physical stuff that I thought I'd never learn. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! I've been enjoying geeking out on these videos!
Ahhh very cool man!! TY for that video. I have a 16 watt tube amp I bought from Tube Depot and I'm on my 3rd Potentiometer. I keep getting the ones from Parts Express and they are total crap!! After watching your video now I have a better idea of where to look for a better POT . Thanks again!! Looking forward to watching more of your videos. Take care
Awesome vid,I had a super smooth 250k Volume pot in a Left Handed Ibanez RS135 that guitar did[very soon after buying] became sort of strat-like in looks,but not-before I stripped the 2mm resin[joking] and reshaped the body.I re-used the stock 250K volume pot.even after hacking a Seymour Duncan JB Humbucker-tilted,sounded superb,but that wonderful Vol. Pot. Wore Out 24 years later [great run!]In 2009 I eventually got from the US some 500k CTS Left Handed potentiometers-anyway man they're all irritatingly STIFF[no more"Cathedral"attempts since!],so Thank You for confirming why they is so!
Thankyou for a great video and your nice teaching. How would i use one for a balance control on a hifi amp ? Would the balance pots be different from one used as a volume control ? Or would you wire it up different i mean the pins ? Thank you very much again Great Work !!! Steve Rickards England ...Have a great day to all...
This is very usefull, Thanks. Ive got a fairly old Sony AV amp that has a bad volume control, it loses a channel and crackles when you turn the volume control. Would it be a similar potentiometer? I didnt know they were this simple. Think after watching this il give it a go and see if it'l clean up. Cant afford to lose the amp as it'l cost me a fortune to replace, its a great amp.
You are awesome. Thorough. At 6:07, when introducing the audio/log taper, I found my mind starting to ask questions that this video wasn't necessarily covering...(jsut imagine showing a class this and imagining wehre some of the minds are going at this point. You might want to experiment with the video by having a complete novice sitting there while you rehearse the video, and getting their feedback. I realize that feedback comes here...of course.
Very good videos. In one of your other videos showing an epiphone circuit being request, you have actually removed the pots and poked them through some aerated cardboard... But you didn't mention it ... That's actually a fantastically useful approach when wiring without a scratchplate... Keeps the work still and even allows you to draw the wiring between the lugs... The latter might help if you are just starting soldering.
Thanks for sharing this info. I am currently researching for a project. I am going to update an antique radio and am looking for details about how to choose the right parts for volume control, and radio dial. the radio dial i want it to still show the pin pointing at frequency but also send a digital signal to the raspberry pi, i believe that part is a rotary encoder. any suggestions on parts or similar projects would be greatly appreciated. thanks
@johnplanetz theyre both pots, tone pot has a capacitors, that's what makes it a tone pot...without the cap, it's just another volume pot (but doesn't work)
Have you ever worked with a pot that has a wire coming out of the opposite end? Mine has 3 prongs plus a wire, and I'm wondering: what is the wire for? Thank you!
other than the conceptual mistake pointed out in the video & by other commenters, this was very helpful in understanding how to properly use pots. If this had been explained before, my EE labs may have gone a little quicker!
I have a '78 Lincoln Continental with a dimming headlight switch. The pot that you can turn on the dashboard will dim all the clock and gauge cluster lighting. There is a "dead" spot on the pot where if I turn to that position (happens to be the max brightness). Now, if the original Ford part was like the CTS design and had the stiff bent contacts, do you think the reason there is a dead spot and slight intermittency in that area of the pot is because those stiff contacts are a little word out? I would like to replace it, but my car has an auto headlight dimmer and the headlight switch is built into the gauge cluster dimmer, so it is a hard part to find since not all models had autodim.
Usually 2 linear segments are used to approximate the audio taper. It works well enough for most applications. Exceptionally high-precision log and audio taper pots are a thing of the past.
Hey, very informative vid. Do you have any idea where I can buy a 12mm dual shaft, multi-gauged potentiometer for replacing the one on a blackstar ht dual pedal?
Thanks!! I am going to make a little headphone amp using this. If I where to attach the input in one line of tabs and the out put in another then bridge the two, would that work?
good day sir. I have "8A Automatic Adjustable Step Up Down Boost Buck Converter" and i want to replace trimpot with potentiometer ? how can i find the rating of the trimpot and what compatible rating of potentiometer and multi-turn potentiometer should i use?
great video: does the pot need to be disconnected from the guitar electrics in order to measure its resistance? Or can it be done while the pot is soldered on the circuit?
i have difficulty to find good potentiometers. When you buy a pedal or an amp, you notice how soft these potentiometers are. When I go to shop to buy them, I get always crapy stuff and after 2 days are crackling. Do you have any suggestion?
Johnplanetz I use my volume knob a lot when playing, but the the pots on my guitar do not swell my volume consistently, i get no volume until about a .25 of a turn than limited toneless and than bam! Full volume. What post do you recommend to get an even volume increase?
Hi John, Do you know what determines whether there is a centre detent on a Bourns pot? I would like to add a detent and I wondered if it's simply a case of bending a piece of metal Thanks
![Ice On My Teeth - ATEEZ エイティーズ 에이티즈 [Music Bank] | KBS WORLD TV 241115](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/c-n92OgbbwA/mqdefault.jpg)
Now this is what RUclips is all about! Great presentation, very clearly explained and extremely helpful. Many thanks!
you mean what RUclips "was" all about 😅
@@coinbird44 bro the comment is 12 years old
Natural teacher at work here. I came here knowing what a potentiometer does ....always wondered the what & how? In ten minutes I learned so much targeted information! Wow, thank you, johnplanetz
this is the best and simplest video on potentiometer....... thank u sir ........
I do tutorials myself so I know what im talking about when I say this is a very well put together tutorial, more like a small seminar :)
great job
Yes! I’ve actually watched some of your vids on the Cakewalk X2 along with a few others. Very informative and thank you.
I’m just beginning to look into these things and I agree. Thank you John Cooper and thank you chuck for saying the same thing that I was going to say. This video is extremely helpful.
Been working with pots for a while now and this was still VERY informative and easy to watch. Thanks!
My physics teacher threw a potentiometer on the speakers for the announcements. Turns the volume down to minimum and continues lessons... best hack ever.
Thanks for the accurate, and well presented video on potentiometers. This video is SO MUCH BETTER than most of the others! The great thing about CTS pots is that they can dissipate more power than most of the other audio pots (except PEC) and they can be disassembled, and reassembled to to change shaft length or style and also change resistance elements of double ganged pots.
your vid posts are like a breath of fresh air for novices like me.
Thanks for posting
So beautifully explained and so easy to grasp. Thank you for this elegant presentation!
dude...you are really good at explaining things...normally, I'll watch a video like this and the person doing it is so steeped in the subject that they just cant or don't bother to explain it in a way that's easily digestible...awesome video
I've been reading about Pots, but only after watching your video do I see and understand how they work. Thank you!!!
FINALLY, someone who explains how these things work and how to tell the difference!!! Liked.
Thanks for the video. I had problems with my cts pot but your video gave me confidence to open it up and fix it. Many thanks. I was nearly ordering new.
Thanks, Ive know how they work but your video and explanations really make it clearer in my head on how to wire pots to do different thing
Nice video - something I've often wondered about but had no idea how they worked. You explained it very well!!
Yes! Now I know why the volume on my Quasar black and white tv ain't working. Thanks, JC.
Thanks John. I went for a new push/push pot (might as well do a Gilmour mod if I've got to change the pot). Not put it on yet but the flow tests are completely different to my old pot, ie they're correct! What a relief, but interesting to know that a pot can die just like that. Love the idea of a troubleshooter vid if you're up for it. It'll save the world from restless nights and brain ache.
excellent explanations and demonstration on how the variety of pots work and how they're manufactured.
Thanks for your thorough explanation on those potentiometers! I need them to build my own home-made racing wheel, hadn't a clue what they were. Now this solves half of the problem already!
Very precise and awesome presentation
Thank You Sir! Bass guitar stopped working, checked everything with multimeter couldn't figure it out. Watched your vid, took mine apart and back together, tighter with the clips. I assume it just was a bad connection inside, works now and I understand pots!
Very well explained in layman's terms. Greetings from Kolkata, India.
hello, i want to say that i really appreciate your effort you put into these videos, these are really helpful!
Your videos have been SO helpful. I've learned a lot about the technical and physical stuff that I thought I'd never learn. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! I've been enjoying geeking out on these videos!
it is so nice to see you are informing us on these simple things
Thanks for taking the time to do this for others. It was very informative and well done.
Great job, crystal clear explanation, thanks.
Thank you very much John Cooper.👍🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thanks for the video, pots make a lot more sense now.
Thx after your vid here i did managed to "repair" him. Thx. Works again flawless
Thanks for this excellent tutorial! It is a great help in diagnosing a volume control problem for a virtual organ!
Hi John, thanks for making this video, very well explained and helpful.
Clean explanation. Makes sense to lay-folk like me. Nice work!
Ahhh very cool man!! TY for that video. I have a 16 watt tube amp I bought from Tube Depot and I'm on my 3rd Potentiometer. I keep getting the ones from Parts Express and they are total crap!! After watching your video now I have a better idea of where to look for a better POT . Thanks again!! Looking forward to watching more of your videos. Take care
good stuff, man, artfully presented, professionally researched. Loves
Excellent tutorial. Thanks for taking the time to help educate us all.
No BS, pure gold! Thank you! Keep doing this! Rock ON!
Very pleasant voice - can very well listened (is important in tutorials:-) )
Nice work I really enjoyed your video!
Good narration
Very informative! Thanks for taking the time to produce the vid.
Thank you I really had hard time understanding how pots work but now its piece of cake thanks to you :-)
Awesome vid,I had a super smooth 250k Volume pot in a Left Handed Ibanez RS135 that guitar did[very soon after buying] became sort of strat-like in looks,but not-before I stripped the 2mm resin[joking] and reshaped the body.I re-used the stock 250K volume pot.even after hacking a Seymour Duncan JB Humbucker-tilted,sounded superb,but that wonderful Vol. Pot. Wore Out 24 years later [great run!]In 2009 I eventually got from the US some 500k CTS Left Handed potentiometers-anyway man they're all irritatingly STIFF[no more"Cathedral"attempts since!],so Thank You for confirming why they is so!
cheers mate, this really helped with my coursework
Learning. Thank you brother.
Thankyou for a great video and your nice teaching.
How would i use one for a balance control on a hifi amp ?
Would the balance pots be different from one used as a volume control ? Or would you wire it up different i mean the pins ?
Thank you very much again Great Work !!!
Steve Rickards England ...Have a great day to all...
Really cool video man. Thorough and simple.
This is very usefull, Thanks. Ive got a fairly old Sony AV amp that has a bad volume control, it loses a channel and crackles when you turn the volume control. Would it be a similar potentiometer? I didnt know they were this simple. Think after watching this il give it a go and see if it'l clean up. Cant afford to lose the amp as it'l cost me a fortune to replace, its a great amp.
Well explained 🙏
Perfect explanation, I'm sharing it on my facebook and twitter for my students. Thanks!
great explanation simple and easy to understand...love electronics
You are awesome. Thorough. At 6:07, when introducing the audio/log taper, I found my mind starting to ask questions that this video wasn't necessarily covering...(jsut imagine showing a class this and imagining wehre some of the minds are going at this point. You might want to experiment with the video by having a complete novice sitting there while you rehearse the video, and getting their feedback. I realize that feedback comes here...of course.
Thanks for sharing your gift for teaching!
Thank you Mr. Cooper.
thank mate you are spot on i had some cts pot 500k where well under not now i did what you said now they are over 500k now thanks
Is for this I prefer linear for volumes and audio for tones, imo and taste this way you can get a better control over each one. Nice video!
great vid!! so that's what A and B stands for!
Phily Cheezesteak A= audio, B= linear
Very, very helpful John. I learned a lot. Best wishes and thank you.
I appreciate this video. Fantastic, thank you.
Very good videos. In one of your other videos showing an epiphone circuit being request, you have actually removed the pots and poked them through some aerated cardboard... But you didn't mention it ... That's actually a fantastically useful approach when wiring without a scratchplate... Keeps the work still and even allows you to draw the wiring between the lugs... The latter might help if you are just starting soldering.
This helped answer many questions I had..
Excellent Video, very complete!
really interesting video. are the types of potentiometers you showed 360 degree continious potentiometers? if not what type are they
Thanks for sharing this info. I am currently researching for a project. I am going to update an antique radio and am looking for details about how to choose the right parts for volume control, and radio dial. the radio dial i want it to still show the pin pointing at frequency but also send a digital signal to the raspberry pi, i believe that part is a rotary encoder. any suggestions on parts or similar projects would be greatly appreciated. thanks
Well explained my friend. Thank you
Thank you! You are an awesome teacher
Thanks man!
👍Very well explained.
Nice video. If I want something ( dc motor) to be less sensitive in its zero state, can I use a less resistive pot? Thanks
Thanks, I learnt a lot from this.
Very well explained. Very useful video!
@johnplanetz theyre both pots, tone pot has a capacitors, that's what makes it a tone pot...without the cap, it's just another volume pot (but doesn't work)
great explanation of pots....nice one man...
thanks this vid really helped because im a beginner
Fantastic video sir... it was helpful thank you.....and Stay safe.....:)
Thanks very much. You explained it very well :)
Thank you a lot I'm fixing up an old ibanez blazer bass and i really need those nuts and washers for it .
Fantasic Video please do a updated version
Have you ever worked with a pot that has a wire coming out of the opposite end? Mine has 3 prongs plus a wire, and I'm wondering: what is the wire for? Thank you!
This is a really well made video.
Thanks John!
other than the conceptual mistake pointed out in the video & by other commenters, this was very helpful in understanding how to properly use pots. If this had been explained before, my EE labs may have gone a little quicker!
Fantastic videos mate.
Great job. Sorry I'm late to join you. You're an excellent teacher. I hope you're doing it at a college somewhere.
Super Clear! Thanks----
Very well explained.
Thanks
Bass broke so I figured I'd learn all about the parts, thanks for the details, I've been playing with the pots for days XD
I have a '78 Lincoln Continental with a dimming headlight switch. The pot that you can turn on the dashboard will dim all the clock and gauge cluster lighting. There is a "dead" spot on the pot where if I turn to that position (happens to be the max brightness). Now, if the original Ford part was like the CTS design and had the stiff bent contacts, do you think the reason there is a dead spot and slight intermittency in that area of the pot is because those stiff contacts are a little word out? I would like to replace it, but my car has an auto headlight dimmer and the headlight switch is built into the gauge cluster dimmer, so it is a hard part to find since not all models had autodim.
well explained john
Usually 2 linear segments are used to approximate the audio taper. It works well enough for most applications. Exceptionally high-precision log and audio taper pots are a thing of the past.
Hey, very informative vid. Do you have any idea where I can buy a 12mm dual shaft, multi-gauged potentiometer for replacing the one on a blackstar ht dual pedal?
Thanks!! I am going to make a little headphone amp using this. If I where to attach the input in one line of tabs and the out put in another then bridge the two, would that work?
Thanks for putting the time in this very well done video : )
excellent teaching, dude
Great video. Thank you for making this.
good day sir. I have "8A Automatic Adjustable Step Up Down Boost Buck Converter" and i want to replace trimpot with potentiometer ? how can i find the rating of the trimpot and what compatible rating of potentiometer and multi-turn potentiometer should i use?
Thank you for this video! Which pot do you prefer? Is one smoother than the other by feel and taper? Thanks so much!
All The Best,
Sam
Thank you so much for taking the time to rite me back and i find your reply rely helpful, thanks.
great video: does the pot need to be disconnected from the guitar electrics in order to measure its resistance? Or can it be done while the pot is soldered on the circuit?
i have difficulty to find good potentiometers. When you buy a pedal or an amp, you notice how soft these potentiometers are. When I go to shop to buy them, I get always crapy stuff and after 2 days are crackling. Do you have any suggestion?
Johnplanetz I use my volume knob a lot when playing, but the the pots on my guitar do not swell my volume consistently, i get no volume until about a .25 of a turn than limited toneless and than bam! Full volume. What post do you recommend to get an even volume increase?
Hi John,
Do you know what determines whether there is a centre detent on a Bourns pot?
I would like to add a detent and I wondered if it's simply a case of bending a piece of metal
Thanks