Fitting Alpha 9mm pots without nuts!

[jimmy54]

Hi fellas,

I've just bought some Alpha 9mm pots  (like the ones in the link below) as I wish to fit five or six knobs comfortably in a small enclosure.  These pots are PCB mounted and don't have a thread/nut.  One thing I didn't consider is how to fit the knobs/ PCB to the enclosure.

Anyone got any ideas as how best to mount them?

Cheers

Jim

http://www.banzaieffects.com/Alpha-9mm-1k-lin-pr-24474.html

[petemoore]

  Looks like what is used in monitors.
  The two thick pins in the back go through copper slots, the three in front go into pad traces, the 5 pins hold the knobshaft to sticking out a hole which is maybe supposed to allow rotation, disallow excessive' flexing and STS movement, and be fairly resistant to breaking with 'push in' force.
  ie they're funky to mount, you need a PCB that matches the 5 pins.
  I've done drilling and bending on perfboard to accomodate them [sorta /], used them as internal trimpots etc.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Well, they are intended to be PCB mounted.. so the logical (though unpalatable) answer is to PCB mount them & then mount the PCB to the faceplate.
A bodgie way, is to bend the legs at right angles & solder them to vero, and run wires from the vero, and mount the vero to the face..
Not a really good idea because of the way the forces go if you push against the shaft.
With care, you can drill holes in unetched PCB material, so that the two mounting tabs go thru the PCB and the pins hang over the edge of the PCB. This will be a hassle, but strong enough.

[smallbearelec]

Maybe next time try this style:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=693

Regards
SD

[jimmy54]

Yeah, i figured I could mount the pots to vero and easily connect them to the circuit.  My difficulty will be how to fix the vero to the inside of the enclosure and be able to resist any push in force as you say Pete.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Yeah, i figured I could mount the pots to vero and easily connect them to the circuit.  My difficulty will be how to fix the vero to the inside of the enclosure and be able to resist any push in force as you say Pete.

Adhesive standoffs and plenty of them... but you probably don't have enough room.. metal standoffs with countersunk screws on the front of the box will work.

[kvb]

My difficulty will be how to fix the vero to the inside of the enclosure and be able to resist any push in force as you say Pete.

I have yet to document with pics, but I have relied on wood and epoxy to do custom stand-off type mounts. if there is room, You could glue in a strip of wood in-between the pots and run a screw through the back of the vero. this would hold everything snug up against the enclosure.

[audioguy]

Man Steve... those are so little & cute... I just wish I had a need for them!

[jimmy54]

Maybe next time try this style:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=693

Regards
SD

Thanks Steve, that was my thought exactly and I placed an order with you yesterday.  Couldn't be bothered with the hassle of coming up with a fix for the other pots.