Panel display for 10K pot

[plumberben]

Hello all,

I am caught in a project that I am certain will seem laughable to most of you, but I am at a loss as to what I need.
I have installed linear actuators on a project, they each have an on board 10K pot built into them. I need a small inexpensive panel display to give a number value to track the location of the actuator. (not necessarily any scale, can be an arbitrary number, its just a reference) I bought a device I was told would do the job, (actually two of them because I have 2 actuators.) I can not get them to work and the company has been absolutely no help at all. I am not opposed to changing to a different device, but would rather not throw away a bunch more money.

http://thesensorconnection.com/sign...versal-input-mini-digital-panel-meter-display

This is the device I bought, but it shows it accepts 0 - 375 Ohms. Is there a way I can make this work, or is there something better suited.

I do already have the holes cut in the panel, so something the same size would be awesome!

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Best,

Ben

 

[Kiwi]

You could try connecting the 10K pot to a regulated 5volt DC source, eg 7805 regulator.
The wiper from the pot would be the input to the display.
Set the display to Volts(DC) and Range to 0-5V.

 

[Bluejets]

Arduino and a small program can track a pot position and return a number that represents the voltage level on the wiper (0 to 1023)
This could then be used as a reference to drive an LCD.
Voltage on the pot is limited to 5v dc though.
If you require different numbers you can "map" it to suit whatever you need.

 

[GPG]

You could try connecting the 10K pot to a regulated 5volt DC source, eg 7805 regulator.
The wiper from the pot would be the input to the display.
Set the display to Volts(DC) and Range to 0-5V.

If you make it 10V it will show as a percentage
Could have saved a few bucks by using a couple of these
http://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/pdf/8898/NSC/LM3914.html
.dot mode would give a good indication of position.

 

[plumberben]

Thank you all for your help. I will try the 5V supply. I misunderstood what the manual was telling me. Ill give it a whirl the right way. Thanks again for everyones suggestions.

Ben