Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: BANE on April 19, 2008, 06:30:55 PM

Title: making sensor out of pot
Post by: BANE on April 19, 2008, 06:30:55 PM

Hello, i am going to try to make a rotory sensor using a 1k potentiometer.  I want to have: ground, 5v, and signal.  Being that there are three terminals i'm not sure how to hook it up.   ???i know its really simple but i don't want to fry something

Bane

Title: Re: making sensor out of pot
Post by: BANE on April 19, 2008, 06:41:15 PM

oh never mind, found it
should have looked before i posted :-[

(http://www.csulb.edu/~bevans2/schematics/pot.jpg)

Title: Re: making sensor out of pot
Post by: JesseWelling on April 20, 2008, 01:33:27 AM

Kudos on self education  ;)
What exactly where you making by the way? A radial position sensor of some sort?

Title: Re: making sensor out of pot
Post by: BANE on April 20, 2008, 05:53:18 AM

I wanted to make the pot control a servo proportionally and just experiment around with my micro controller. :P

However, I was using a 1k pot from radioshack last night and the values aren't exactly linear.  It was like the values stepped up then down as I rotated it in one direction continuously.   ??? ???  (it said linear on the package)  Maybe i fried the thing in a previous experiment :D

bane

Title: Re: making sensor out of pot
Post by: JesseWelling on April 20, 2008, 08:59:32 AM

hmmm sounds like it's linear over 180 degrees maybe? I bet if you graphed voltage as a function of angle with a constant turn rate it would look sinusoidal...