Analog joystick short circuit question?

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Interfacing
1

Hi all,

I've wired up a PS2 analog thumb joystick as in the tutorial on this website and all is good, I can read and decode the position of the stick from the analog pins.

The question is, in my newbie-paranoia I have wired in a 150R resistor before GND because of my fear of a short-circuit when one of the pots is at zero.

Is my fear unfounded? Can I remove the resistor? Nobody else seems to bother with one. I wired my multimeter in series and it only showed a 1mA current flow through the circuit regardless of the joystick position.

Looking forward to any advice you can give.

2

yes, if the current is that low, go ahead and hook it straight up. (but make absolutely sure that the wiper (the part that changes resistance) is not connected to 5v or ground. only the ends should be connected to the power supply

3

Thanks for the replies guys. I've removed the resistor with no adverse affects and you were right in that I've got the full resolution now.