How do I wire a potentiometer to a hobby motor?

[froggy]

Well you guessed it, I'm a noob. I've gone all over the web trying to figure out this simple thing. I can't read schematics very well yet. Can somebody tell me in words how to wire up a 3-prong pot? I feel really dumb, sorry.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

Problem is you'll need a wirewound or high current pot to control even a small motor. Those 1/4W ones that are common will burn out pretty easy.


**broken link removed**

 

[froggy]

Bill, thanks a million.

 

[HiTech]

Wirewound pots are expensive and do not provide fine control of a motor's RPMs. A motor speed control circuit is a better choice, if your project requires more precise speed control. A search from your browser will provide you with scores of links to such a circuit.

 

[dknguyen]

Use this instead. More efficient:

**broken link removed**

Instead of burning extra energy in the potentiometer to make the motor run slower, it uses the potentiometer to vary the resistance that the capacitor charges through which controls energy pulses (for simplicity) to the motor to control the speed. This way you don't burn off extra energy so it's more efficient and things can be smaller and simpler because they don't get as hot.

THe schematic in the link shows you what each of the 3 prongs of a pot stand for- the ends of the voltage divider, and the wiper that varies along the middle to change the ratio.