Which Slide Potentiometers

DIY STUFF
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The litany of dumbassery thread has just reminded me that I was going to ask about slide potentiometers, and where to source them. Looking through my spreadsheet from last winter, I can see that I was planning on ditching the MFOS WSG panel, in favour of making a custom one with slide potentiometers, rather than standard rotary potentiometers. I was also planning making the banks of SSO’s to go along with the WSG with slide potentiometers too, so there was just be a wall of sliders to look at, rather than knobs.

I can remember struggling to find anywhere that sold slide potentiometers in the values I need though, which means this might be a stupid idea. Maybe I’d be better off going for standard Alpha POTs from Thonk, but there’s just something about a bank of sliders…

I’m after B10K, B100K, B500K (single and dual gang), B1M and maybe a few A10K (maybe not), all in 100m travel✲. Just wondering what travel length people use for Kosmo sized panels, and where you get them from, that don’t require buying minimum quantities of 1,440…?

✲ I’m planning on wiring everything up behind the face panels, so there wont be any sockets on the front, anything less than 100m would leave too much dead space I think… :man_shrugging:

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As @devicex has learned, I’ve been using 60 mm travel sliders for Kosmo modules.

They’re the longest ones Tayda sells. Mostly $1.69. They also have 30 mm, a few 20 mm, and exactly one 45 mm. Made by Alpha.

Mouser (US site) lists a number of 100 mm sliders available in single units starting at $4.67. If I go to their site, go to passives → pots → slide pots, then filter on 100 mm and “in stock”, there are 26 results with the best selection being the PS100 series from BI Technologies (6 results) and PTB series from Bourns (4 results).

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thanks for the info . Tayda is much cheaper and are still pretty quick to deliver even to the states [ DHL as the shipper ] .

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Thanks @analogoutput, I’ve mostly been looking on https://www.mouser.co.uk/ as they seem to have the best range. The problem there is the selection of B500K, as the min order is 1,440, and I can’t find anywhere else that has them, even eBay…

I tried looking at the Tayda website, but you can’t filter on things like resistance, or length, so they can get in the sea.

Might have to spend a bit of time looking on European website, as I’d really like to not have to change this plan… :disappointed:

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Yeah, I took the trouble a while back to make a spreadsheet for the Tayda slide pots:

(and I started on one for the rotary pots but it’s incomplete)

There’s one B500k and it’s only 30 mm travel.

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Anyone know a good place to source the tiny little screws that slide pots usually take?

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The Alpha slide pots Tayda sells take M3 screws Tayda sells.

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I buy most of my small fixings from Kay’s Fasteners off eBay. Free P&P in the UK, fast and efficient.

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