Variable Resistors

Shop Arrow.com for variable resistors from top manufacturers including Bourns, BI Technologies, TE Connectivity, Vishay, Honeywell, TT Electronics and more. Arrow.com features thousands of trimmers, potentiometers and rheostats for every application.

What is a variable resistor?

Variable resistors are resistors that can be adjusted via a slider or knob. These can be used in voltage dividers, or to directly regulate current flow as a rheostat. Variable resistors can either be linear (where a change in position directly correlates to a change in position) or used in a non-linear taper setup, commonly logarithmic.

Logarithmic tapers cause the change in resistance to follow a specified logarithmic curve, with respect to the physical position of the knob or slider. This can be important in audio applications, to more closely mimic the perceived magnitude of changes in sound output to the human ear.

Knob-style potentiometers can either be single-turn or multi-turn devices, where the range of resistance levels is set over a “single”–commonly ~ 270°–turn or over a series of several rotations. Multi-turn setups can be especially useful when precision resistance settings are needed. Variable resistors may be designed for integration into a control board for frequent access, or as trimpots (trimmers), which are adjusted with a screwdriver and are meant to be set once or rarely.

Variable resistors are found across a wide range of commercial, residential, and industrial applications, including in the automotive and medical sectors for instrumentation, lighting, volume control and more. Arrow.com offers a wide range of resistance values, taper styles, physical characteristics, packaging styles, and operating temperature ranges.

Use Arrow.com for more variable resistor information and to shop in-stock products from top variable resistor manufacturers today.