trim pot markings question

[PB Wilson]

I just cannibalized an old VCR and got a bunch of trim pots out of it. I think I have a hang on the markings, but wanted to run it by you folks.

103=10 with three more zeroes or 10,000, which is 10K, right?

55=5 with five zeroes, which is 500K
504 should also be 500K

If those are correct, does 201 equal a 200ohm pot? This one threw me.

[petemoore]

Last digit seems to be the decimal finder. the other two are the signifigant other two like in your examples. you figure by putting your DMM on Resistance setting and put the leads across the outside lugs...[this will tell you what the pot 'actually' measures], than it is for me to compute the 201, I've never used one marked like that, but it follows that it should be a 200R trimpot.
 You will sonn be able to recognize trimpot value markings.
 You can make a smaller pot...put a resistor across the outside lugs. Equate values the same way as you would paralleling resistors [ie paralleling reisitors].
 You can get higher variable resistance [but less range than a larger pot] out of a smaller resistor. add one leg of a resistor to the outside of the pot, then measure the seriesed resistor/pot cct. calculate like seriesing resistore [resistors in series].

[Jered]

Hi PBWilson.
     Yes you are correct.
 Jered

[PB Wilson]

Thanks guys!