Trim Pots On Breadboard?

[MannequinRaces]

This might be a stupid question; can trim pots be placed on a breadboard?  I wasn't sure how they connected or if they have solder terminals or what.

Thanks,

Adam

[Tantalum7]

Most of the standard trimpots I've seen and used have pins that are arranged to fit on .1" hole spacing found on breadboards, and the pins fit fine in standard breadboards.  Just plug them in the same way that you would any other IC chips. 

[MohiZ]

And you can always solder short leads to the pins of the trimpot if it doesn't fit on the breadboard. I always do that because I buy trimpots that have too wide pins for a breadboard.

[GibsonGM]

...and I use a small pair of pliers to plug those short leads in, otherwise they'll usually bend all over the place  ;o)

[jrod]

Hey, I use standard pots on the breadboard for trimming purposes. They are much easier to use, in my opinion.

[liquids]

I agree. In early orders I was thinking that trimpots would be the way to go on breadboards, but they're actually a lot of trouble due to the way they take up space, which is not super compatible with the layout of standard breadboard.  If you have more than one control you need, I say go for using a real pot where the only space you need are the two/three points you input the wires soldered to the pot terminals onto the board, and you can do so anywhere you need rather than having to be all in a row.

If your breadboarding a lot, I say use futurlec pots, and or buy a set of pots from Smallbear in bulk (a 1 each or less if you buy ten) and some cheapo knobs in bulk (these: http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=105 are .60 cents each if you buy ten or more, for example) just for breadboarding.  It's very worth it for prototyping, modding, tweaking, and learning about circuits in general if you're going to be breadboarding for years to come.   As I often say, money spent on a good breadboarding setup may at first seem expensive/wasteful, but it's a lot cheaper than soldering and boxing up every circuit your are interested in unheard and having it sit unused in the corner!  More educational too...and if you ask me, more fun! 

[John Lyons]

Hey, I use standard pots on the breadboard for trimming purposes. They are much easier to use, in my opinion.

+1, I use regular panel pots with 3" wires soldered on.
Do yourself a favor and make a panel with as many pot
holes in as you can fit. A bent piece of aluminum bolted
to the breadboard's base works well. This way things are
a lot more solid and less fiddly when you're tweakin'.
You can mount your jacks and DC jack there as well.
Picture an amps face plate....

john

[MannequinRaces]

Thank you everyone for your replies!  The first breadboard I bought is kind of small and wiring up the pots does make sense!  Eventually I do want to make a fancier permanent solution like the Beavis board where my inputs and some pots are more stable.  Thanks everyone again for your tips and replies!  This newbie appreciates it!

[Joe Hart]

Here's what I do. The metal piece is to attach 4X4's of lumber or something
(I got it at a hardware store).







-Joe Hart

[MannequinRaces]

Here's what I do. The metal piece is to attach 4X4's of lumber or something
(I got it at a hardware store).







-Joe Hart

Cool!  Nice idea thanks for sharing!

[WLS]

... I use standard pots on the breadboard for trimming purposes. ...

Dito!

I do the same. They're not worth the trouble of fussing with soldering, pliers, and what have not to make something as simple as a pot to work.

Keep It Simple.


Bill

[aziltz]

trimpots are great for trimpots, set and forget, even on a bread board.  I'll rarely use a trim pot for an external pot.  That said, if you're working out mods, trim pots are a great way to fit a bass roll-off or whatever into a smaller space on an existing breadboard build.