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Question Membrane potentiometers - Good or bad idea?

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Building Q&A / FAQ' started by RandomCoder, May 6, 2017.

  1. RandomCoder

    RandomCoder Active Member Gold Contributor

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    I know a lot of people are using hall effect rotary pots due to their accuracy and extended operating hours. But am I right to think that if the power were to be removed then the actuator would need to be re-initialised to determine its position?
    Therefore I was thinking to use a variable 10K resistor, but instead of using rotary pots I've been searching for linear options and came across the membrane resistor.
    http://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDeta...=sGAEpiMZZMvWgbUE6GM3Oc6i9sqQyBsUgR6IFjWpGVs=

    The life expectancy is only 1M operations and the tolerance is pretty poor at +/-20% but the linear repeatability is reasonable at 3% and so I'm wondering if this is a viable option? The 200mm version which is what my actuator design would require costs just £8 and therefore it wouldn't be too bad if they needed to be replaced every 12 months (so long as I make access to replace them reasonably easy).

    Has anyone any experience of using these? Should I just steer clear and use the tried and tested route?

    I welcome your thoughts!
    RandomCoder, May 6, 2017
    #1