A question on the Arduino forum and the thread that followed prompted me to try and emulate a mechanical push- or thumb-wheel display update on an LCD module. The technique uses the LCD programmable characters and could be extended to other applications for simple LCD module animations.
Once I started using rotary encoders to provide a ‘modern’ user input experience, the elimination of panel mounted potentiometers for circuit settings and other adjustments was the next logical step. Panel mounted pots have a very different feel from the clicks of a rotary encoder, and potentiometers cannot easily be controlled by a microcontroller.
Digital Potentiometers perform the same functions as mechanical pots but can be automated. So how do they work?
