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Potentiometer wattage

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  • Potentiometer wattage

    Is a 2 watt potentiometer really necessary? most of the old fender schematics have 1/2 watt ratings for nearly all resistors and a potentiometer is just a variable voltage divider so why such a high wattage? most suppliers seem to mainly stock 1/2 watt potentiometers does that mean that 1/2 watt is ok to use?

  • #2
    Potentiometers in general are not expected to dissipate significant power, so "whatever's usual" is what´s normally available.
    Maybe 1/2W for large 25mm pots and 1/4W for smaller 16 mm ones and they are not expectd to reach even that, by a large margin.
    Juan Manuel Fahey

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    • #3
      Who's commanding 2W pots? And who's selling them? Most of the run of the mill pots I know of are 1/2 watt for linear taper and 1/4 watt for audio.
      "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

      "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

      "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
      You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
        Who's commanding 2W pots? And who's selling them? Most of the run of the mill pots I know of are 1/2 watt for linear taper and 1/4 watt for audio.
        Well if you must know, I’m commanding them. I’ve been building an army of 2W Potentiometers to lead them in a war against reason and affordability.
        If I have a 50% chance of guessing the right answer, I guess wrong 80% of the time.

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        • #5
          Snort, my Rheostat Warriors will totally resist your lowly pots.

          Viva la resistance.
          Viva El Pad.
          Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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          • #6
            Can't remember where I read it now unfortunately and having purchased the allen bradley 2w pots after much searching I now feel rather foolish looks like the hard way is how I'm going to learn.
            Soul fetish if you need any new recruits let me know I've got a small platoon ready for action

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            • #7
              Bearing In mind that " a man who never makes any mistakes never makes anything"

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              • #8
                In one of my parts bins there are some old AB pots, salvaged from an old something-or-other. I haven't used them simply because they have long 2" shafts. I'm sure if I had them in a build, they'd still be going strong after the cockroaches have risen to be the dominant species on the planet.

                There's a school of thought among engineers that "if it's worth designing, it's worth over-designing". Nothing wrong with that...as long as money is no object. I selected PEC pots for my first build; haven't done so since
                If it still won't get loud enough, it's probably broken. - Steve Conner
                If the thing works, stop fixing it. - Enzo
                We need more chaos in music, in art... I'm here to make it. - Justin Thomas
                MANY things in human experience can be easily differentiated, yet *impossible* to express as a measurement. - Juan Fahey

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Enzo View Post
                  Snort, my Rheostat Warriors will totally resist your lowly pots.

                  Viva la resistance.
                  Viva El Pad.
                  You and those relics are tough, I’ll give you that. You got sand, Enzo (and it’s adorable). But PWM is giving you about all you can handle at this point. You think you can win a war on two fronts?
                  Join me...
                  If I have a 50% chance of guessing the right answer, I guess wrong 80% of the time.

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                  • #10
                    Well... sometimes I get wired and all wound up. I'll try to regain my composition. But I am flame proof on this.
                    Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Jarvini View Post
                      Can't remember where I read it now unfortunately and having purchased the allen bradley 2w pots after much searching I now feel rather foolish looks like the hard way is how I'm going to learn.
                      Soul fetish if you need any new recruits let me know I've got a small platoon ready for action
                      Nothing wrong with idealizing. I'm sure they're great pots. So, you're pots are better than mine, and most. That's worth something. It's all in where YOU want to draw the line on the quality issue. I figure the real difference will be in longevity and reliability. Probably the quality of the tapers too. It all matters or everyone would be buying the cheapest possible part for every application.
                      "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                      "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                      "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                      You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

                      Comment

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