[TheSloth]

I'm trying to understand the impedance value on volume pots, eg. a 10k pot, 50k pot or 100k pot. What exactly is that impedance referring to?

 

[mrdelayer]

It's the amount by which the resistor/potentiometer is, well, resisting the flow of electric current.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistance can probably explain it better than I can.

EDIT: Rather, it's the maximum value of resistance for that given pot.

 

[splaz]

Well as said it's the maximum value, so say a 100k pot would be 0-100k ohms theoritically, realistically they're not perfect.

Graphs are a good way to imagine the two most common types I know if there are others.

Linear is well a constant change in resistance accross the pots travel.

Audio however uses log pots, the resistance changes like a log graph, so you get a lot of fine control in the middle of travel and then at the start and end of travel the resistance increases/decrease in leaps and bounds.

I've got to ring up some wreckers at the moment, but if anyone hasn't already I'll get up a graph of each later.

 

[mrdelayer]

Yeah, probably should have mentioned that audio pots are logarithmic rather than linear (because the decibel scale is also logarithmic).

 

[fordgtlover]

How's this:

Source: http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folder...s/potscret.htm