Arcade pots - which contact is 5v which one is ground

[rmwilson]

hey folks trying to connect up some sega pots and I am not sure which one is ground which one is 5v is there any way to tell ... they do have 1,2,3,  on the pot near contacts?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ryan

[baritonomarchetto]

Go the trial and error way: if your car/bike turns the opposite way you expect, the pot is reversed. Resistances have no polarity so you are not going to brake anything

[Slippyblade]

Just break out your meter and test.

Most pots don't care though.  Pick one of the sides as your ground.  The other side is the full resistance of the pot, the middle is the variable.

[PL1]

hey folks trying to connect up some sega pots and I am not sure which one is ground which one is 5v is there any way to tell ... they do have 1,2,3,  on the pot near contacts?

Did you take a picture before desoldering the wires on the old pot?

If not, have you looked at the schematic?

The center tab, 2, is always wiper. (variable voltage output)

Depending on the game and orientation of the pot, 5v will be on either 1 or 3 and ground will be on the other.

The good news is that resistors aren't polarized so you won't hurt the game if you accidently swap 1 and 3 -- the control will just work backwards.

Swap 1 and 3 to reverse the axis.   


Scott

[rmwilson]

Awesome thanks Guys for all the help !