Variable Resistors & Their Techniques

By Author: Salvatore Andrea
Total Articles: 6261
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There is hardly any dearth of variable resistor varieties available in the market today. From carbon film resistors to wire wound resistors, the list is huge. Variable resistors are used primarily to manage sound volume in radios, stereos, and television and augment the brightness of GPS devices, cell phones and PDAs. Apart from brightness and sound control, these resistors also serve to make temperature adjustments inside your house, automobile and swimming pool. Therefore, if you wish to become a good electronic circuit designer, it is important to know the different kinds of variable resistors that exist today, together with their designing techniques.

Adjustable variable resistors are undoubtedly one of the most common generic types in the category. You can easily attach a knob to them- a major reason why they have become so popular among people. As you turn the knob around, there is a change in resistance values.

The preset variable resistor is again another commonly found variety. However, in sharp ...
... contrast to an adjustable variable resistor, here the mechanical design is not done to be attached to knobs. Instead, the preset resistor’s value is adjusted with the help of a screwdriver. These resistors are primarily used for tuning of electronic gadgets. For instance, before a producer gets its stereo range shipped to stores, the preset variable resistor is adjusted. A professional will get the resistors adjusted to improve the frequency response of the stereo’s audio.

Keyboards and buttons are mainly used to manage the value of digital variable resistors. The whole mechanism is computer controlled. A soon as you press the volume control button on your television’s remote control, a signal is sent out to the digital variable resistor networks. The signal is then decoded and the resistor value switched on to the electronic circuits.

Accurate and precise adjustments to resistors should be made in electronic circuits in order to compensate for certain tolerances. These functions are carried out through the precision variable resistor. They are often found flaunting extremely low maximum values.