[sdiy] Pot life specifications

[Graham Atkins]

David,

On 21 Aug 2009, at 07:12, David Ingebretsen wrote:

> For argument, the Alpha 12mm pots are rated for 15,000 cycles,  
> Panasonic EVU
> snap in: 10,000, Spectrol: 100,000.
>
> How accurate/serious are these numbers?
>
> What does 10,000 cycles really mean in terms of some kind of average  
> use? I
> mean, when will an average schmuck like me get to 10,000 cycles on a  
> pot
> (well for how much I get to tweak, probably sometime in the next
> millennium)...
>
> What does 10,000 cycles mean for a performer?

"How long is a piece of string ?" as the saying goes. I assume
that a "cycle" means moving the wiper from one end of the
track (Carbon, plastic, wire or whatever) to the other. How much
of that track you regularly use depends on the function of that
control, how you use it for your sounds, temperature, humidity
etc etc. Generally you get what you pay for. If a control is
"mission critical" .... for military use for example ..... you would
use a better pot. I believe that Roger Arrick uses fairly average
pots on his modules. Not too expensive so you can afford to
keep spares in stock and if a pot shows signs of wear just
change it out.

Not a precise answer but something to think about.

Graham