bourns trimpots?

CoolJohnny · June 14, 2007, 11:32:00 PM

is there any way to tell what the values of these cute little blue guys are by the seemingly random jumble of numbers and letter on them? i sorted mine a couple of years ago but either forgot how i sorted them or they got all mixed up, and i really don't feel like spending an afternoon trying to wrestle those tiny leads with my multimeter...basically, i'm lazy. okay, i admit it...there, i said it...

ulysses · June 15, 2007, 01:05:08 AM

use a multimeter

cheers
ulysses

Paul Perry (Frostwave) · June 15, 2007, 04:34:29 AM

There are three digits. The first two digits are teh first two digits of the resistance value, the third digit is the number of zeroes.
So 503 becomes 50000, that is to say 50K.
But yeah, it never hurts to measure!
Same code on pots, often with a letter at the beginning, A for log taper, B for linear (at least for the ones I get from Asia).

MartyMart · June 15, 2007, 04:39:57 AM

103 = 10k
203 = 20k
503 = 50k
104 = 100k
etc .....
MM

nebucanazza · June 15, 2007, 08:19:31 AM

Ican confirm that all my 100K Bourns trimpots have 104 in the part number. Do check with a multimeter before putting them in. Yesterday I found 4 faulty ones in my stash..they measured in at about 4.8K instead of 100K

No wonder my ROG eighteen wasn't biasing with them.

CoolJohnny · June 15, 2007, 09:23:52 AM

wow. thats a big difference in values there. okay, guess i'll have to confirm the values before i use 'em. but thanks for the numbers help...

Paul Perry (Frostwave) · June 15, 2007, 10:44:26 PM

Quote from: nebucanazza on June 15, 2007, 08:19:31 AM
Ican confirm that all my 100K Bourns trimpots have 104 in the part number. Do check with a multimeter before putting them in. Yesterday I found 4 faulty ones in my stash..they measured in at about 4.8K instead of 100K No wonder my ROG eighteen wasn't biasing with them.

Nebucanazza, I wonder if they are genuine Bourns? I've used a few thousand, and never had a problem.
On another note, I'm sure many here would like to hear what the component situation is like in India, and whether there are many locally produced stomp boxes (there sure are a lot of drone boxes & rhythm units!).

CoolJohnny · June 15, 2007, 11:18:18 PM

drone boxes? do tell...

GREEN FUZ · June 16, 2007, 04:48:20 PM

Quote from: CoolJohnny on June 15, 2007, 11:18:18 PM
drone boxes? do tell...

Drone boxes or Shruti are electronic devices used to emulate the drones commonly found in Indian music. They are principally used as a practice tool but I believe some progressive artists use them in a more creative way. I became interested in them while obsessing about a possible Sitar emulator.
This random link should give you a better idea.
http://www.gurusoundz.com/productdetails.asp?catid=12

Or ebay.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-ELECTRONIC-SHRUTI-BOX-WITH-CASE-INDIA-SITAR_W0QQitemZ330135324854QQihZ014QQcategoryZ624QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

Anyone got a schematic for one of these?

CoolJohnny · June 16, 2007, 05:53:28 PM

i thought that's what you meant but i didn't want to assume. the potential is intruiging for what one might accomplish with one of those in his rig. i did recently see something on a guitar that has drone strings running inside the neck. wonder what that might sound like?

nebucanazza · June 17, 2007, 07:23:47 PM

Quote from: Paul Perry (Frostwave) on June 15, 2007, 10:44:26 PM

Nebucanazza, I wonder if they are genuine Bourns? I've used a few thousand, and never had a problem.
On another note, I'm sure many here would like to hear what the component situation is like in India, and whether there are many locally produced stomp boxes (there sure are a lot of drone boxes & rhythm units!).

You get nothing here. There is no effects scene to speak of. All we get here is a few Boss and AMT pedals(and multifx processors too) at double the price. I got all my parts like JFETS, knobs, pots etc from the US. I did all my passives here easily. Those trimpots look to be genuine.

There is a decent market for 'effects' for Indian classical instruments, but its mostly stuff like tuners and DI boxes. Which drone boxes and rhythm units are you talking about?

Paul Perry (Frostwave) · June 17, 2007, 09:18:04 PM

http://www.mastermusiconline.com/instruments-audio/tabla-tanpura.html
is the kind of thing.
A friend who visits India was very proud of a drone box he bought back I opened it up & there was not much there but a 555 oscillator! I didn't tell him how cheaply it could have been made. But looking at recent advertisements, there seem to be more things appearing that have stored digital samples.
I'm suprised that is no local effect scene! I guess anyone who is technical, is busy doing computer stuff.

nebucanazza · June 25, 2007, 06:45:05 AM

Wow..they look pretty good. As for the effects scene, its not about people doing computer stuff all the time. You just don't get effects and amps and guitars here. People make do with whatever is available, usually multifx processors and SS amps. There is no mass market for guitar effects like say, in the US. With such limited effects exposure, having a strong DIY community is improbable. But we'll get there

flood · November 19, 2007, 06:45:56 AM

chalk one up for that last thought, venkatesh... aditya/flood here from the RSJ and gigpad forums (well, at least they used to be pretty decent). i've put my DIY stuff on hold for now, but let me get this darn thesis done with.... i'Ve collected a crapload of schematics AND parts, and can't wait to start building again!

the lack of materials is a serious problem back home, but i still have found a couple of surprises here and there... and the passive components are cheap as hell.

just don't bother looking for hammond-type enclosures or DPDT stomp switches (although the marshall factory in chennai does have a ton of those).

News:

bourns trimpots?