[sdiy] Retractable mini pots

[Mike Bryant]

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My more immediate concern is figuring out a way to mount slide potentiometers to the panel PCBs, given that they are mostly too short.  Why can’t they just make panel components to a standard depth (like mini-toggle switches and pots)?  Why do they make it so hard to build things easily?  That’s not the way I was taught to engineer things.

There are actually two standard heights for most of these components.  If you want to use both with a flat front panel there is usually some wiring arrangement joining two parts of a PCB that snaps apart and then bends into position.



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From: Synth-diy <synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org> on behalf of Dixon, David via Synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
Sent: 23 August 2026 03:46
To: synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Retractable mini pots

Well, after reading all of your suggestions and having absolutely no luck finding anything suitable on the web, I have decided to just use regular old boring mini pots.  After all, I typically eschew fancy, fussy things in my electronics work.  The idea is to get something that works with a minimum of fuss and cost.

If I do eventually find something, I can simply swap out the mini pots.  I am building the DS-3100 panel in a somewhat modular format, with “islands” of circuitry mounted directly onto the back of the panel.  Hence, it will be easy to change any of the “modules.”

My more immediate concern is figuring out a way to mount slide potentiometers to the panel PCBs, given that they are mostly too short.  Why can’t they just make panel components to a standard depth (like mini-toggle switches and pots)?  Why do they make it so hard to build things easily?  That’s not the way I was taught to engineer things.

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