Turn a log pot into a (kind of) linear pot

You'll only compound the problem by using the wrong pot.
Can't you swing a deal with the supplier to swap the audio pots you got for linear ones?
You may not think you've got an option, but if you don't fuss up to the issue, you may
lose your job before the replacement pots get there. Cause it's going to cost a lot more
to recall and retrofit the product, than getting the correct pot.
SOMEBODY out there has 250 linear pots on the shelf right now.
Get busy finding them, and rushing them to your business.
This seems bad right now, it'll get worse if you don't take steps to correct the mistake.

 

This certainly isn't a solution, But if you mechanically attach one to another that are in the exact opposite arrangement, you should have a somewhat linear pot. But that creates more problems then it solves considering you now have a shortage of pot's.

You should listen to shrtrnd and suck it up. What country are you in? Maybe someone here can help find or already knows of a supplier that might be able to help you. Only reason I can see for you not wanting to get linear pots is that you can't return the 250 you got.

 

Here under a article they can maybe help

http://www.elby-designs.com/documents/tailoringpotentionometers.pdf

Olivier

 

Guess that is pretty cool, now the question is where does the OP need his linear range Figure 6 shows that a 10% fixed resistor will give you a close approximation to a linear pot in middle. I have definitely bookmarked that page.

it is a shame we can't make this a sticky since it is a third party site. Such valuable information.

 

I hope some of you guys aren't designing my next consumer product buy.

 

"If you don't have the time to do it right the first try, when will you find the time?"

 

Yeah, it's called a logarithmic pot in a linear pot application.
You got a lot of good advice for trying to make your circuit work here. We think in
terms of adapting, modifying, and just plain MAKING things work. It's probably why
you came here asking for advice.
Unfortunately, you are designing/building for a new product. And because you made
a mistake, you're willing to risk your company rep and the ire of potential customers
by jury-rigging a fix.
I completely understand the advice you got here, and under normal situations it would
seem to me to be pretty ingenious advice. But in your situation, new product and all,
I'd advise you to bite the bullet, take some heat for a mistake, and get it right.

 

is the design working well with a linear pot?

 

Well, I certainly understand the urgency and the danger of going bankrupt -- I certainly hope it doesn't happen. However, you've been a bit remiss in asking for help here. You haven't shown a schematic of what you're dealing with nor pictures of the parts (pot, PCB, etc.) involved, along with a clear description of exactly what the problem is and the needed design fix. Note I'm not chiding you, but you've lost some precious time. A well-stated problem with good documentation often leads to a dead-on fix when a knowledgeable person sees the problem (of course, there's no guarantee a fix exists, but to paraphrase an old programming proverb, "all bugs become shallow with lots of eyes"). A good problem description (say, in a PDF) should take less than an hour to produce and might generate a work-around for you where mere words haven't sufficed. And, at the very least, you could also post the PDF on e.g. Electro-Tech and AAC and get hundreds of good eyes looking at the problem for you. That's due diligence in my book.