Pots?

[Haible Juergen]

	>In Germany: which Potentiometers do you prefer to buy, and where
(Reichelt/Conrad)?

Personally I don't like the typical Piher and RadiOhm pots from Reichelt or
Conrad.
I'm buying pots at RS components (http://www.rs-components.de/) and 
Farnell (http://www.farnell.de/).

I'm using 11mm alps pots for non critical applications (around DM 3,- a
piece),
and Spectrol conductive polymer types for higher standards (around DM 10,-).

	>What do you do if the axis is too long, cut it?

I like plastic axis pots - better to cut them to size. I'm sometimes using a
hacksaw,
and sometimes diagonal cutting pliars work faster. Make sure that the forces
you
apply are *always* between two points of the axis, and *never* between the
axis
and the potentiometer body.

	>Are some types noisy 

Some of these cheap pots were almost driving me crazy. I started with the
RadiOhm
types which you usually find in electronics shops in Germany, but I had a
fair amount
of scratchy ones. Then I "discovered" the rectangular yellowish or black
plastic 
types from Piher, which felt much better at the beginning, but developped
horrible
noises after half a year. Meanwhile, I keep away from that crap.

Mind you, this is not against a certain manufacturer. I'm aware that most
manufacturers
have a whole range of pots from crappy to high quality. I just want to pass
on my 
experience with certain types you will most probably find in German shops.

JH.