Can I Replace a Mechanical POT With A Digital One On My Delay Pedal?

[Pjames79]

Hi All,

I'm inventing something for the effects pedal market. As in distortion pedal, delay pedal etc. I know only a bit about electronics and circuitry. Engineers will help me later. For now I'm just trying to understand this:

Is it possible to remove any given pot from a pcb, as in the "Time Knob" on a delay pedal, and replace it with a digital means of parameter control?

If so, how?

Can the now empty points extruding from the pcb be connected to a DAC of some sort, thereby opening the possibility digital control?

I'm knew to this forum thing.. please be gentle. 🙂

Thanks in advance.

Pete

 

[rfbrw]

Yes but the how of an existing design will be different to that of a design from scratch.
https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/articles/the-fundamentals-of-digital-potentiometers

 

[rayma]

There will be additional circuitry needed. For a prototype it's ok to hack it, but you'll need a new pcb design for a product..

 

[dkfan9]

Using a JFET as a variable resistor could be a simpler alternative.

 

[JMFahey]

Also: it depends on what the pot does.
A "volume control" type pot with one leg grounded or referenced to ground is easier; a fully floating "isolated from everything else" pot such as a mechanical carbon track is harder.
In fact, designing some kind of digital time/speed/whatever is probably much better than trying so replace an existing carbon track with a brass wiper ... which was already suggested above.

 

[rayma]

I've used floating digital pots, and they work fine.

 

[Pjames79]

Thanks for suggestions and answers guys. I think I’ve got what I need to know for now. Appreciate y’all.