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soldering extensions onto a potentiometer

A

Adam Funk

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have a potentiometer that I unsoldered from an old circuit board
(from a junked appliance) & I'd like to play with it in circuits on my
breadboard. The potentiometer has leads bent at 90°, with holes at
the top, & looks close to this picture:

http://www.newoldsounds.com/images/EFF-D-ECB231.jpg

The leads are spaced almost exactly 1.5 times the spacing of the holes
in my breadboard, so I can't quite wedge it into them. I'm thinking
of soldering a piece of hook-up wire to each lead, but I'm not sure
how to make a mechanically sound connection, especially to the middle
one, before soldering. Suggestions?
 
M

Michael Black

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have a potentiometer that I unsoldered from an old circuit board
(from a junked appliance) & I'd like to play with it in circuits on my
breadboard. The potentiometer has leads bent at 90°, with holes at
the top, & looks close to this picture:

http://www.newoldsounds.com/images/EFF-D-ECB231.jpg

The leads are spaced almost exactly 1.5 times the spacing of the holes
in my breadboard, so I can't quite wedge it into them. I'm thinking
of soldering a piece of hook-up wire to each lead, but I'm not sure
how to make a mechanically sound connection, especially to the middle
one, before soldering. Suggestions?
It won't matter one bit.

It's for breadboarding, if/when the wire eventually breaks off (and wire
thin enough to fit breadboards is likely to break when stressed before the
joint breaks, you just resolder a new wire to the pot. It's not like it
will be in a box where access is difficult.

But "mechanically sound" is from the old days of tubes. Not only was the
wire thick (and thus putting stress on the solder connection) but the
components were big too, meaning the joint had to support the extra
weight. Some of it was overkill too, wrap the wire through the hole on
the tube socket a time or two, then solder.

SInce semiconductors took over, wire is thinner (since generally it isn't
carrying much current or voltage) and components are lighter. IN some
circumstances, like something used in a car or carried around a lot, it
probably makes sense to worry somewhat about being "mechanically sound".
But for the average home made piece of equipment solder is good enough, as
long as it's a good solder joint.

Michael
 
A

Adam Funk

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'd probably take two pair of needle-nose pliers and carefully rotate
the outer two leads by 90°, then you can bend them inward to make the
spacing.

That works! I was thinking inside the box.
 
A

Adam Funk

Jan 1, 1970
0
Great! Glad it worked for you! (I've done it before :)

And it sits reasonably firmly in the breadboard so it's easy to turn
the knob. Thanks again!
 
A

Adam Funk

Jan 1, 1970
0
It's for breadboarding, if/when the wire eventually breaks off (and wire
thin enough to fit breadboards is likely to break when stressed before the
joint breaks, you just resolder a new wire to the pot. It's not like it
will be in a box where access is difficult.

Fair point.

....
SInce semiconductors took over, wire is thinner (since generally it isn't
carrying much current or voltage) and components are lighter. IN some
circumstances, like something used in a car or carried around a lot, it
probably makes sense to worry somewhat about being "mechanically sound".
But for the average home made piece of equipment solder is good enough, as
long as it's a good solder joint.

I suppose that's true, but I was taught (not in the golden age of
valves, though) that it was important to make a mechanically sound
joint first, & it's hard to get out of that thinking even in the face
of convincing arguments.

Anyway, the idea about turning & re-bending the pins worked
brilliantly. :)
 
Fair point.

...

I suppose that's true, but I was taught (not in the golden age of
valves, though) that it was important to make a mechanically sound
joint first, & it's hard to get out of that thinking even in the face
of convincing arguments.

It wasn't useful then, either. A proper solder joint is stronger than the
component lead. The only thing it accomplished was to make sure the component
didn't move while the solder was fluid, causing a cold joint.
 
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