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Build a Resistor/Capacitor Selection Box

by mattthegamer463 on January 11, 2011

Table of Contents

Build a Resistor/Capacitor Selection Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Build a Resistor/Capacitor Selection Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Tools & Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Schematic and Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Template Design and Drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 4: Assembly and Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 5: Complete! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
Intro: Build a Resistor/Capacitor Selection Box
If you've ever been designing a circuit and had to experiment with different values of caps and resistors, you probably didn't like it much. It can be a hassle to switch out
components over and over, trying to find the right combination to suit your needs. With RC filter circuits, it can be quite difficult to determine what resistance and
capacitance you need to get the filtering attributes you want. With a Selection box such as this just a turn of a knob can test many different values.

Features:

10-turn potentiometers for precise resistances

Low-resistance protection button
Wire terminals
Twenty-two capacitors on rotary two rotary switches
Series or Parallel cap orientation switch

Below is a spreadsheet containing calculated values for all possible capacitor combinations.

File Downloads

cap_chart_final_2.xls (53 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'cap_chart_final_2.xls']
Step 1: Tools & Materials
Materials:

4x Binding posts
2x 1 Pole 12 Throw rotary switches
1 Pole 6 Throw rotary switch
10k Pot (multi-turn is best for increased accuracy)
100k Pot (multi-turn optional)
DPDT slide switch
2x 100k 1% resistors
3x 200k 1% resistors
1M 1% resistor
4.5" x 6" x 3" project box
5x Knobs
Solder
Ribbon cable

Capacitors:

10p
47p
100p
220p
470p
680p
1n
2.2n
3.3n
4.7n
6.8n
10n
22n
47n
68n
100n
220n
470n
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
 680n
1u
4.7u
10u

Tools:

Drill and various bits

Wrench
Hot glue gun
Soldering Iron
Phillips Screwdriver
Tin snips
Printer
Square needle file
Center punch
Tape
Scissors

Step 2: Schematic and Template

Here is the schematic and the template that I created for this project. The template is intended for a 4.5" by 6" box.

To see a larger version of both, mouse over them and click the i symbol that appears in the top left corner. This will take you to the page where you can view the original
image size.

The schematic is two separate pieces, the resistance portion and the capacitance portion. The capacitance portion is essentially two "variable caps" consisting of a rotary
switch and 11 caps each. A DPDT toggle allows them to move from a parallel to series configuration when needed, to get more combinational values.

The resistance portion is a 1k ohm resistor on a button (to act as a low-ohm safety, when not pressed total resistance cannot go below 1000 ohms), two potentiometers,
and a rotary switch for additional resistance options.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
Step 3: Template Design and Drilling
I have supplied my template for anyone to use, or you can make your own. The dimensions are 4.5" by 6".

To transfer the template to the box, print it out to-scale and cut around the border. Tape the template in place on the top of the enclosure, and use the center punch and
punch marks through all the black holes on the template.

Remove the template and drill a hole in each spot using a 1/8" bit. This will be a pilot hole before the larger drill bits. Measure the diameter of the switches and
potentiometers, and drill appropriately sized holes in the appropriate locations.

For the switch, drill two holes using a bit the width of the black square on the template, then use a square-shaped file to remove the remaining material. (See images
below)

Image Notes
1. Holes for the switch drilled

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
 Image Notes
1. After filing out the remaining plastic

Step 4: Assembly and Wiring

To make a cheap, simple, durable template, print a fresh copy and have it laminated by a local copy shop, or if you happen to have one at home. Cut the edges to the
right shape and hold the enclosure up in the air with the template on the front of the enclosure, and look into the back of the enclosure with a light in front. Use the light to
line up the holes to the center of the holes that you drilled for the parts, and tape it in place.

Next take a craft knife and cut into each hole, and remove all the laminated paper which covers the hole in the plastic. Insert each component through their respective
hole and tighten the nuts. The switch is held in place with hot glue.

I used six-conductor rainbow ribbon cable to solder the rotary switches to the circuit board I used for the capacitors. This gives it more flexibility and keeps the wiring
easier to handle.

Since the caps for each switch are all tied together by their negative leads, I soldered them in place with all their negative leads in a column, soldered together. The
resistors are in a similar arrangement. The way I laid it out is probably not the most effective way to put them. If they were all in a long row instead of in multiple
columns, this would make for a long thin board with all the wires along one side, and would be less cluttered to wire.

The low-resistance protection resistor can just go across the two pins of the button, as shown.

Image Notes
1. a few solid core wires keep the board in place
2. Protection resistor

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
 Image Notes
1. I ended up switching these to some ribbon cable to make it easier to solder
Image Notes
1. Cut out the holes of the laminated label

Step 5: Complete!
I hope you enjoyed reading this guide to building your own resistor/capacitor selection box. I would love to hear any suggestions on what I could add/change to make this
box more versatile and functional.

Thanks for reading, and please post any comments, questions and suggestions you may have.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
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Comments
40 comments Add Comment

wa7jos says: Jan 16, 2011. 1:46 PM REPLY

Nicely done! Excellent workmanship.
But I would suggest that your smaller picofarad selections are useless. The capacitance and inductance of the internal (and external) wiring will swamp the
actual component values.
These small values are most often used in RF circuits where lead length must be kept as short as possible.
You would probably be better served to substitute larger capacitors on the other end instead of anything smaller than 1nf.

MROHM says: Jan 30, 2011. 3:14 AM REPLY

Since I dabble with RF (AM ,FM Transmitters) The Low values(pf's) serve a very useful purpose for me!!I would maybe increase the amount of caps to
470u and stop there Why?? Caps greater than 470u are usually designated to power supply filtering duties. I would go one step further and build a
Electrolytic Capacitor Substitution Box seperately to compliment the original design I would select 12 popular values between 1u to 4700u and wire them
up to a 12 position rotary switch and stuff this little one in a project box(store bought or not!!) Nice Project Mattthegamer463 and YES your project looks
so good it looks like it;s store bought!!

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 30, 2011. 8:43 AM REPLY

Certainly those values have their uses, but I wanted to keep away from the realm of "arbitrarily large" and "arbitrarily small" so that there were the
maximum number of useful values in there. 4700uF + anything, parallel or series, is useless.

appsman says: Jan 18, 2011. 10:18 PM REPLY

it's not as bad as all that. 10 cm of #22 wire separated by 2 cm is less than 1pF. You can calculate other values here:
http://www.ampbooks.com/home/amplifier-calculators/wire-capacitance/

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 16, 2011. 2:44 PM REPLY

You're likely right, the values will be quite distant from what they say they are. However, having a non-specific "small" capacitance is useful for things.
With large capacitances (10uF+) they are typically for power storage and smoothing purposes, and are often arbitrarily large. Having the ability to
substitute them is not very useful.

rtty21 says: Jan 13, 2011. 7:51 AM REPLY

Wow! you really put a lot of thought into this, and it shows! this project has an air of High quality craftsmanship written all over it.

I have only one question...

where do you buy your BINDING POSTS?!?!

MROHM says: Jan 30, 2011. 3:24 AM REPLY

Try Jameco.MCM. Parts Express etc etc .for the Binding posts(in USA) In Canada another Supplier is Active Electronics. Just Google them for Prices!!
Kits USA and Electronics Goldmine might help!! 5 STAR rating on this little baby-- Thanks Matt!!

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 13, 2011. 5:36 PM REPLY

I recycle them out of stuff I find/receive, but my local electronics shop (Sayal electronics in Canada) sells them for a couple dollars each.

Glad you like the project. :)

MROHM says: Jan 30, 2011. 2:56 AM REPLY

Great Project and serves a useful purpose on the Test/ Repair Bench. Also a heck of a lot cheaper than store bought units!! The range of resistance and
capacitance is quite impressive. Another VERY USEFUL Instructable!!! I;m happy you included 1u,4.7u and 10u caps,,,,Very Useful Values!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
 techno guy says: Jan 19, 2011. 7:53 PM REPLY
I'm new at this and cant make an instructable because I copy and paste images and they keep deleting when I press publish. Because of that, it doesnt allow
it to be publish, even if its a question. So can anyone please help me?

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 20, 2011. 6:24 AM REPLY

You should look/post in the Answers section or the forums.

DieCastoms says: Jan 16, 2011. 9:52 PM REPLY

I am good with electricity, but I know crap about electronics, so this is most likely a newb-type question:

Aren't the "tuning" knobs in radios variable capacitance? Could one of those be used somehow in a box like this? Would it be worth the hassle?

Just curious,
Mike from DieCastoms

andro000 says: Jan 18, 2011. 2:32 PM REPLY

Hi, I am concerned here. Please allow me elucidate.

Each knob in a Decade Box is connected to a "rotary switch". Then each point on the switch is connected to a different value capacitor. Adjusting the
switch changes the capacitance value to a defined value dictated by the value of the capacitor connected to a particular point of the switch. i.e it jumps
form 1 uF to 10 uF to 100 uF etc.

There for, they are not as you say "tuning" knobs.

These are known as Variable Capacitors. A variable capacitor will, when adjusted, change its capacitance value smoothly. i.e .1 to .11 to .12 to .13 and
so on depending on the quality and accuracy of the device.

You could use a variable capacitor from a frequency tuning device if you need very low capacitance values.

It may not be worth the hassle because variable capacitor at mid to high values are massive and expensive. The parts in your typical decade box can be
scrounged from most any collection of old electronics, or from you local electronics suppliers clearance bins. :-)

I hope this helps.

Thank you.

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 17, 2011. 7:09 PM REPLY

You are correct about them being variable capacitors, however the capacitance values are exceptionally low, around 10p, and only vary a few pF. This is
enough for the radio circuit to tune, but nothing reasonably useful.

profpat says: Jan 17, 2011. 7:35 AM REPLY

Nice work! very handy on your workbench during trial and error time!

Ken Chevy says: Jan 17, 2011. 2:03 AM REPLY

Beautiful work, Matt! I used to play with things like this when I was a young kid in my thirties about thirty years ago. I still have one lying up in the attic I
think.

Kudos!

Ken

agis68 says: Jan 16, 2011. 10:31 AM REPLY

Wow!!! The "must have" for every amateur, hobist, pro involved with electronics projects. I will start to build it, the next free time. Really amazing idea and
professional job. Man u r my King...1000^n bravo!!! I have some rotary switches from an old kitchen appliance and they hold up to 300V AC. Are ok for this
job?, cause are pretty expensive. Also for the readers, we can find this kind of rotary switches from some old printing sharing devices (remember before
network era) I don't have any but I know that they use this kind of switch from 1 up to 5 selections) Some sharing boxes for Media ports sharing more than 5
positions

PC i give you 5/5 cause this is our scale but your job exceeds....;)))

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 16, 2011. 11:38 AM REPLY

Thanks for the kind words. Your 300V AC switches should work, so long as they give you enough flexibility for what you want your box to do. I wouldn't
put 300V through them though since none of these components shown here can handle that.

agis68 says: Jan 17, 2011. 12:32 AM REPLY

you welcome! please suggest me the right kind of these switches. Do you have any supplier who sends in Greece his products?....thnx

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
 kmpres says: Jan 16, 2011. 8:15 PM REPLY
Good one, and well executed. I need something small like this so this is perfect. I like your first idea to use short wires from the pots instead of ribbon cables
as that keeps the wires short and separated from each other minimizing crosstalk. Construction is a little harder, as is troubleshooting it later, but those
actions hopefully only take place once.

Packerswin14 says: Jan 16, 2011. 7:53 PM REPLY

Where'd you buy your 12-pole switches?

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 16, 2011. 8:12 PM REPLY

I recycled mine from a 40 year old analog plotting machine, however you can purchase ones from Digikey which will do the trick nicely. Or for a little
cheaper this site smallbearelec.com has good ones, I've bought these exact switches from them before and used them in some guitar pedal builds. Your
local electronics parts store will almost certainly have them too.

Dstrcto says: Jan 16, 2011. 4:09 PM REPLY

Cool idea, I've seen something like this for use in passive audio crossover design as well.

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 16, 2011. 4:48 PM REPLY

With some variable inductors in there it would be perfect.

cpotoso says: Jan 13, 2011. 3:02 PM REPLY

Very well done. You may want to consider for a future project a decade system, e.g. 3+ 10* selectors (first: 1 ohm, 2 ohms,...; second: 10 ohms, 20 ohms,...;
etc). This way you can achieve any (almost...) resistance (or capacitance).

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 13, 2011. 5:39 PM REPLY

Thanks.

The thing about decades is, you need ultra-precise resistances and capacitances. Proper units are done with laser-cut components and even traces on a
PCB need to be considered so they don't affect the values. Its very difficult to do. Also it would take about 14 rotary switches to achieve a good range.
When does anyone really need individual ohms or nanofarads anyway? I managed to build this thing for $5 since I happened to have all the other
components on hand from recycling or garbage stock from work.

scampi16 says: Jan 16, 2011. 2:32 PM REPLY

you don't need ultra precise! you trim the value the same way you did with this box just add a potmeter to the lowest value and one to the highest (
you probably want a switch to bypass the "high" one.

shadoward12 says: Jan 16, 2011. 11:43 AM REPLY

Excellent, very useful and a clever idea.

CodfishCatfish says: Jan 16, 2011. 9:25 AM REPLY

Amazing project. I had built a similar box quite a few years ago with much less range and it was massive, this is an ultra compact size for what it offers. I was
really considering building something like it again for getting my RGB Diffused LED's the right input to display the full colour range. I have found that if the
resistance is very slightly off the white is affected as each LED seems to by very slightly different,. this will help my POV project no end once built.Thank you
for a great project

10/10 for me. As my box ended up a Wheatstone bride or something.

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 16, 2011. 11:41 AM REPLY

Thanks very much. RGBs are a pain to get white without a very specific resistance for each internal LED.

newuser says: Jan 16, 2011. 8:43 AM REPLY

Many years back I was doing a lot of experimental stuff and built up a rig I called a "PotFer" from a string of 3W potentiometers ot 10, 100, 1k, 10k, 100k &
1meg wired in series to bannana jacks. I put good pointer knobs on them, and hand calibrated each with a DVM. Then I could just add up the indicated value
and install a fixed resistor. It saved many hours of parts swapping. I even got paid to do it! Your box would have been very handy too. Well done.

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 16, 2011. 9:08 AM REPLY

Thanks very much. Good addition ideas too.

walkercreations says: Jan 16, 2011. 8:48 AM REPLY

Excellent Instructable. Thank you very much for putting this together.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/
 newuser says: Jan 16, 2011. 8:31 AM REPLY
With that RC range built in, adding a 555 Timer would be my next step! Or an outboard box that could easily plug in to a side mounted connector to access
the RC. Or instead of / along with, it could have a basic OP Amp function generator as part of the kit.

ricroz says: Feb 20, 2011. 9:19 AM REPLY

Great job. BTW, you should make another instrucatable on just the label making process. Very cool and professional looking touch! ; >

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 16, 2011. 8:23 AM REPLY

The label is just simple paper that was laminated, trimmed and had holes cut in it to accommodate the switch and pot shafts. Its not even glued on, its
just held down by the nuts that hold the other components.

rocketman221 says: Jan 13, 2011. 4:01 PM REPLY

Very Nice!
What program did you use to make the label?

mattthegamer463 says: Jan 13, 2011. 6:00 PM REPLY

Thanks. I'll tell you my method;

I trace the box contour onto graph paper with a pencil, and draw approximate locations I want my components. Then I scan it on a flatbed and load it into
Photoshop. With the layers in Photoshop I can draw over top my lettering and component center dots, using the graphing paper as distance reference.
Then I just hide the layer with the graph paper scan and export a PNG. Then I put the PNG into MS Word and size it using the ruler on the side and top
of the screen, and print. In this case, I cut it out and had it laminated, then just placed the laminated sheet on the top and held it down with the
components itself.

nevets_mcd says: Jan 13, 2011. 4:50 PM REPLY

I was working on a circuit last night and thought "Man my next project needs to be a resistance ladder so i don't have to keep swapping out these dang
parts." I never even thought of selectable capacitors. Problem solved. Nice Job

napoleaum says: Jan 13, 2011. 9:19 AM REPLY

wow!!!!!!!!!!
this is aaaawesome!!!!!!!!!!!
gonna start making it tomorrow!
fav'ed and 5 stars!!!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-ResistorCapacitor-Selection-Box/