confused on Wiring Potentiometers

[Fndr8875]

Im confused on how to wire pots in standard fuzz pedal im building. Ive found a ton of different diagrams and explain ations.  Im using this as my wiring of 3dpt

http://gaussmarkov.net/wordpress/thoughts/wiring-up-a-1590b/

Seems most people use right angle pots and Commercial pcbs so in pics i find or searches ive done there isnt much explaination as you just insert them in the designated holes, solder and are done. Any comments immensly appreciated.

[GiovannyS10]

Hi Fndr8875, welcome to this Forum!
Man, i am really a bit confused here. You are talking about potentiometers or 3PDTs? Because in your text you mean "pots and potentiometers" but on the web link you show how to wire a 3PDT [or you are only showing how you wired you footswich?]....

And what is a standard fuzz pedal? We have a lot here. You know the name? Maybe a schematic will be good.

And normally, if you are using a ready layout to make your pcb, normally is only put the pot on their holes and solder... Will work well

Waiting..

[Fndr8875]

I mean potentiometers, the link i provided is how im wiring my offboard stuff, jacks, 3pdt led etc....the fuzz im building is one i found on here posted by dead astronaught, silicon transisters  ill post the image

[antonis]

I still don't understand your query..

If you refer to lugs numbering (order) you must have a schematic to make it clear..

Anyway, in your case the 500k Volume & 1k Fuzz pots are wired as 3-2-1 (1 -> GND/green line)

[Fndr8875]

ALso im using this kind of pcb

https://www.google.com/search?q=radioshack+ic+pc+board&espv=2&biw=1006&bih=575&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio-pmM-M7KAhXBzoMKHeh8Ak4Q_AUIBygC&dpr=1#imgrc=1a55zUBwWQW0FM%3A


Id like to order a specific pcb for the builds id like to do but i dont have the funds right now , i have a ton of caps resistors pots everything i need but i only have this kinda board right now and would like to be able to get the where i understand where everything connects so that i can use whatever i have to build with. Any again thanks for any replies

[Fndr8875]

I dont have a schematic, I have this breadboard image i found. I have trouble interpreting a schematic in terms of building it on pad per hole or the ic pcb that i currently have. I understand basically what they are showing but in terms of exact placement of connections is where i get confused as they dont include 3pdt and everyhting into to build, there are tons of different ways to wire the stomp switch. The circuit in/out wires ive seen images of everything from just having those two and power ground going to board and board having spots to wire pots to, but as a newbie im trying to build this pedal i guess the hard way to help me understand. Id be nice to have a pcb and six holes to take the wire from pots straight to, but
id still not have the ability to take anykind of layout and build the pedal on whatever kind of board i have. I have the pedal built but my soldering skills arent the best and i have solder bridges and im gonna have to redo it. I understand pots, 3 input, 2 out, 1 ground on volume, output jacks input is wired to the output of volume log, but how do i translate that to a pedal with the 3pdt

[antonis]

Now I see...

Your SILICON FUZZ FACE is on a BREADboard, which is a board with vertical connections ( ALL pads in each column are connected together..) except of first 2 upper, 2 middle and last 2 lower, which are connected horizontally..

AS you can see, the RED line is connected to +9V (Possitive) and the BLUE line to GND (Negative)..

Don't mix the horizontal blue line (which should be BLACK..) with the other blue lines..!! 

[Fndr8875]

[Fndr8875]

I fully understand what and how a breadboard is how it works etc, i dont fully understand how to take a scehmatic or breadboard layout and incorprate all the other components together to make a functional pedal. Ive posted pics of my build so far. the pot with resistor is 500k linear pot, which is what the breadboartd layout shows but id rather have it function more like a log pot, so i have used a 47k resistor to make it work more like an audio taper, per secret life of pots. I have put a ton of effort into trying to understand every aspect of how all components work, how to wire everything, but either im slow or something is just not clicking. yes i could just order a premade pcb have every hole labeled , but this is more about getting to where i dont have to search for an exact image of what i want to build, id like it get to where i could say ok id like to build this type of effect.

[antonis]

I have put a ton of effort into trying to understand every aspect of how all components work, how to wire everything, but either im slow or something is just not clicking. yes i could just order a premade pcb have every hole labeled , but this is more about getting to where i dont have to search for an exact image of what i want to build, id like it get to where i could say ok id like to build this type of effect.

Just try to transfer from the board to schematic.. Fuzz Face is a easy circuit for this..
You can use a small perfboard (independent pads) with a small amount of bridges and soldering..
If you try a little you may modify your breadboard to perfboard..


P.S.
Stop eating your nails will save you some time for practice...

[induction]

I dont have a schematic, I have this breadboard image i found. I have trouble interpreting a schematic in terms of building it on pad per hole or the ic pcb that i currently have.
...
Id be nice to have a pcb and six holes to take the wire from pots straight to, but
id still not have the ability to take anykind of layout and build the pedal on whatever kind of board i have.

I'm not sure I'm interpreting your statements correctly, but here goes...

Learning to read schematics is the key. Layouts are good for building circuits, but are usually terrible for analyzing or understanding the circuits. If you want to understand the circuit or design a layout, schematics are the only way to go. If you have a layout (breadboard, say) and want to turn it into another layout (vero, perf, turretboard, whatever), the easiest thing to do is to translate the layout into a schematic, and then use the schematic to make the new layout. Trying to translate one type of layout directly to another without a schematic is a special kind of hell, no matter how experienced you are.  There are lots of online resources for learning how to read schematics, and building circuits on the breadboard from a schematic (without a breadboard layout) is an excellent way to get some practical experience. If you're not quite ready for that, then building from breadboard layouts is a good start, but you should have the schematic available to compare to the layout so you can see how the translation works. Building anything without a schematic is not advisable.

I understand pots, 3 input, 2 out, 1 ground on volume, output jacks input is wired to the output of volume log, but how do i translate that to a pedal with the 3pdt

It's not entirely clear to me what you're confused about here (you know how pots work and how to connect them, so I'm not sure what you're unclear about), but you might get some answers (or at figure out a more specific question) here.

[GGBB]

I understand pots, 3 input, 2 out, 1 ground on volume, output jacks input is wired to the output of volume log, but how do i translate that to a pedal with the 3pdt

In your case, the two blue wires (in the breadboard diagram) on the tip connectors of the in and out jacks need to be connected to your 3PDT switch - your white (in) and purple (out) wires. So white connects to the circuit board input, and purple connects to the volume pot wiper (lug 2).

the pot with resistor is 500k linear pot, which is what the breadboartd layout shows but id rather have it function more like a log pot, so i have used a 47k resistor to make it work more like an audio taper, per secret life of pots.

If you've read secret life of pots, congrats. Many newbies here make the mistake of starting to build without understanding what does what. So don't get frustrated, you're well on your way - keep reading and building and things eventually start to fall into place mentally.

However, as useful as secret life of pots is (it was the first Geofex article I read - over and over), it's not clear on certain details (they are there but you have to do some interpretation and form the conclusions yourself). First thing to note is that when you parallel a pot with a resistor to change the taper, you also change the effective value of the pot. So you no longer have have a 500k pot - you've made a 43k pot (sort of - read on) - which probably won't sound right in this circuit.

Another problem is that this trick only works properly for pots used as variable resistors (one of the outside lugs is not used or is tied to its neighbor). It does some very funky things when used on a pot that is a divider, which is what the volume pot is in the fuzz circuit, which depending on the circuit may be problematic (you don't really want to do it in this circuit).

And one more thing - the trick only gives you a clockwise log taper when the resistor is between lugs 2&3 (clockwise rotation decreases resistance). When used between lugs 1&2 (clockwise rotation increases resistance) you get anti-log taper.

[Mark Hammer]

The main concept to consider when wiring pots is "What does 'more' consist of?".

So, if you want  more volume, 'more' consists of less resistance between the input and output (which is going to be the wiper), and more resistance between the output and ground.  If we're looking at the shaft side of the pot with the lugs pointing down, that makes "input" the lug on the right that you move the wiper towards, and ground the lug on the left, that you move the wiper towards when you want less output.

Suppose 'more' is faster speed. In the vast majority of instances, your modulation source will be an LFO whose frequency will depend on how fast a capacitor charges.  It will always charge faster when there is less resistance blocking the source of current to charge it.  So, in most instances, you'll get faster speeds when turning in a clockwise direction if the resistance gets *smaller*.  How do we do choose among the three solder lugs?  One of them obviously has to be the wiper.  Looking at the shaft side of the pot, with the lugs pointing down, if we use the wiper and left lug, that will make the resistance get larger as we turn clockwise, which will make the speed get slower...which is not what we want.  So, we use the wiper and right lug, that yields smaller resistances as we go clockwise.

BUT, you say, the circuit calls for an anti-log C-taper and I only have an A-taper log pot of that value.  Do I need to order a pot and wait?  No.  You can make the taper of the pot you have work for you by flipping lugs and changing your notion of what 'more' is.  Make that control a 'slow down' control, such that clockwise is slower.  The resistance you vary is now that between the wiper and the *left* lug, such that resistance between those two lugs gets larger as you go clockwise.  The distribution of resistance in that pot will now allow for better dialability of speeds.

Like I say, the concept to master is what 'more' consists of and how the resistance/s achieved as you rotate clockwise will change.

[Fndr8875]

The circuit Calls for a 500k A, I have a 500kB pot. I first tryed tthis in my guitar, and it worked well, I A/B ed it with a 500kA  pot and the audio taper wasn't as smooth but yeilded better results than the linear taper. If it was changing the pot to 43k I'd think I would have noticed a huge difference in sound. I tried a 250k A pot and I noticed a huge difference. Guitar has humbuckers.

[GGBB]

The circuit Calls for a 500k A, I have a 500kB pot. I first tryed tthis in my guitar, and it worked well, I A/B ed it with a 500kA  pot and the audio taper wasn't as smooth but yeilded better results than the linear taper. If it was changing the pot to 43k I'd think I would have noticed a huge difference in sound. I tried a 250k A pot and I noticed a huge difference. Guitar has humbuckers.

Do some reading on resistances in parallel.

[deadastronaut]

before you put it in a box with the 3pdt /led etc test it

to make sure it works first...this will save a lot of debugging later...


hook up the in/out...9v+ and join ALL grounds together..

if it works..great...

if not you have less to worry about ok...you'll get there. 

[Dito]

I read The Secret Life of Pots as well, but nothing explained the situation as good as this diagram from Electronics Projects for Musicians:



When you turn the knob (and move the wiper), you're changing the distance between the wiper (lug 2) and either end of the pot (1 & 3), and that distance changes the resistance. Like a speedometer showing 0 to 100. Or, 0K to 500K ohms.


As for "A" (audio) pots versus "B" pots... as you probably know, A pots are logarithmic. The reason they're used for volume controls is because of how the human ear works:



I don't know if that helps or not - maybe I'm just in the mood to show off my scanner. I dunno. It helped me make sense of things.


-Dito

[Fast Pistoleros]

what are the characteristic curves of a C and a W potentiometer ?

[Dito]

A "C" pot is reverse logarithmic. It's the same curve as an "A", but inverted. It's #4 in this diagram from Secret Life Of Pots.



I can tell you what they are, but I'm unable to explain much further. I'm not an engineer or a mathematician.

[duck_arse]

a "W" - take curve 4 and reduce by half, so it sits under the middle + in that dia. then take the curve 2 and reduce it by half, stack it on top of the 1/2 4 curve. now rotating the shaft from ccw to cw, the resistance change goes fast - slow - slow - fast, it plateau[dunno how to finish spelling plateaux] in the middle of rotation.

or it might be the reverse of this. I'm not eng or maths either.