Current control slider remote

[R3MO]

I have a very old welding power source here Heliarc 350. Its quite old and finding a hand held slider remote for this one is not really easy. I am looking for a slider type remote to fit on the torch which can be adjusted using a thumb.

I have an old knob type remote and I opened it up to have a look inside and found nothing but a simple 15kohm variable resistor (potentiometer). Now I am really having an urge to just buy a slider potentiometer and make my own remote.

The problem is that 15Kohms slider pot is not available. The closest available is 20kOhms.

My question is that does anybody have an experience doing such stuff? What can happen if I use 20kOhms resistance. The voltage divider using a 20KOhms resistor will have the same voltage. The only difference will be in the current which it draws from the power.

I know it is a crazy question but it will be really fun if I can make my own remote without getting killed or destroying the power source.

[Oscar]

I have a very old welding power source here Heliarc 350. Its quite old and finding a hand held slider remote for this one is not really easy. I am looking for a slider type remote to fit on the torch which can be adjusted using a thumb.

I have an old knob type remote and I opened it up to have a look inside and found nothing but a simple 15kohm variable resistor (potentiometer). Now I am really having an urge to just buy a slider potentiometer and make my own remote.

The problem is that 15Kohms slider pot is not available. The closest available is 20kOhms.

My question is that does anybody have an experience doing such stuff? What can happen if I use 20kOhms resistance. The voltage divider using a 20KOhms resistor will have the same voltage. The only difference will be in the current which it draws from the power.

I know it is a crazy question but it will be really fun if I can make my own remote without getting killed or destroying the power source.

Put a 60k resistor across the linear pot end terminals. That way the wiper will sweep across 0-15kΩ as needed.

Mathematically it checks out. YMMV

[Oldendum]

Put a 60k resistor across the linear pot end terminals. That way the wiper will sweep across 0-15kΩ as needed.

Mathematically it checks out. YMMV

Oscar,

[Tiggatoo]

I recommend using this calculator and their wiring schematic.

https://www.diystompboxes.com/analog...y/emh/emh.html

The result will be a close but not perfectly flat linear curve.
The output will sometimes fluctuate momentarily while the adjusting the pot(trust me I have bread boarded a few different pots using this method)