Recommendation: Breadboard Potentiometers

Support Product Questions
1

I’ve been using this breadboard-able potentiometer below.

It’s cool, but it’s not as nice as a ‘real’ potentiometer (e.g. like this one).

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good quality breadboard-able potentiometer?
Maybe even something like a breakout?

(Alternatively, does anyone have a technique to solder any pot to be breadboard-able).

cheers.
pix :heavy_heart_exclamation:

2

Hi Pix
I have found the length of the pins on some of these devices to be a bit short to be reliable. In the past I have soldered 3 pieces of tinned copper wire to them to get a bit of useful length.
If you want something a bit more robust solder the pot into a small piece of proto board then solder a 3 pin header to connected tracks. This will be a bit more solid.

Having said that I am not a big fan of pushing header pins into the cheaper breadboards. They are somewhat larger than component leads and these pin holes in the breadboard lose their contact “springiness” and become suspect when used with smaller diameter components.
Cheers Bob

3

That’s a great idea!
Thanks :slight_smile:

Yeah I’ve noticed that too. I just accepted that sometimes my bread board is going to stop working and I’ll have to get a new one. :slight_smile:

4

If you guys haven’t tried the BusBoard breaboards, they are well worth it - a pleasure to use, these ones:

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5

Hi Pix

When you do, do yourself a favour and send a few dollars more on something decent. I have a “Wish” board that would have to be 20 years old and I don’t think there are any suspect holes. This subject came up recently and Jeff posted that he also had a “Wish” board that was 30+ years old.
Cheers Bob

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6

Hi Pix
Add on.
I just measured some header strips I have and the pins seem to be 0.62mm square. That calculates to a diagonal dimension of 0.877mm.
I just checked those 2 that Michael linked and the data sheet says
• 21 to 26 AWG insertion wire size (0.016 - 0.028" / 0.4 - 0.7mm diameter).
So even if you don’t consider the diagonal size these pins are sailing pretty close to Max recommended.
I cannot comment on the quality of these as I have no experience with them so I just carry on with my Wish board. It is getting pretty grubby these days, has gone all yellow and the paint work is pretty skungy so I might shout myself a new one in the near future.

I have a bit of a tip. If you are going to use header pins in these boards on a regular basis have a larger board and reserve one end of it for these pins and use the rest for regular components. That way you should minimise the frustration of unreliable contacts.
Cheers Bob
PS: Or use a felt marker pen and mark the holes that are regularly used for header pins

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