Volume control help.

[Madhoose2k]

Hoping someone can advise. An old relative that is partially sighted and uses a hearing aid (age 101) used to be chair bound right next to his stereo and was able to reach the volume control so he was able to listen to the radio. Now his health has taken a bad turn and now is bed bound in the same room. He lives in silence and badly misses his radio. Here’s what I propose …. Run A long headphone lead to a speaker by his bed with a fitted volume control to a 1G plate on a surface back box in the shape of a 1k potentiometer audio taper. Connected this to an 8ohm speaker to be placed by his bed.
the volume was adjustable and clear but due to him being hard of hearing he couldn’t hear it.
Take two I used a powered speaker and tried fitting the pot inline between the source (headphone output jack) and the powered speaker but the level was constant, I was hoping g I could adjust the level going into the speaker input but the pot wouldn’t work.
Do I need to use a different type of pot? Surely just need to set the level on the active speaker then the pot on the input line should just alter the input signal hence giving volume adjustment.
Thanks for looking and hope it makes sense!!

 

[AnalogSteph]

Take two I used a powered speaker and tried fitting the pot inline between the source (headphone output jack) and the powered speaker but the level was constant, I was hoping g I could adjust the level going into the speaker input but the pot wouldn’t work.

Sounds like you accidentally wired up the pot as a variable series resistor - if no leg of the pot is connected to signal ground, that would be a major clue. The speaker is likely to have an input impedance of at least 10 kOhms, so having an extra 1 kOhm in series only makes a tiny difference in level.

 

[Madhoose2k]

Sounds like you accidentally wired up the pot as a variable series resistor - if no leg of the pot is connected to signal ground, that would be a major clue. The speaker is likely to have an input impedance of at least 10 kOhms, so having an extra 1 kOhm in series only makes a tiny difference in level.

So do I need to connect the pot to signal ground? The way I wired it the signal ground goes straight to the speaker input and the hot pass through one leg of the pot and the wiper .

 

[Madhoose2k]

Sounds like you accidentally wired up the pot as a variable series resistor - if no leg of the pot is connected to signal ground, that would be a major clue. The speaker is likely to have an input impedance of at least 10 kOhms, so having an extra 1 kOhm in series only makes a tiny difference in level.

 

[Timcognito]

Just a thought, but maybe hearing aid headphones and Bluetooth if they are used to hearing aids.

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[AnalogSteph]

So do I need to connect the pot to signal ground? The way I wired it the signal ground goes straight to the speaker input and the hot pass through one leg of the pot and the wiper .

I'll borrow a diagram from Rod Elliott for a sec...

I suspect you have wired the pot up like a variable resistor, as opposed to the voltage divider arrangement you traditionally want for a volume control (second from left).

 

[Madhoose2k]

I'll borrow a diagram from Rod Elliott for a sec...

I suspect you have wired the pot up like a variable resistor, as opposed to the voltage divider arrangement you traditionally want for a volume control (second from left).

I have tried it as attached. I have all the gear back at my house for now so will maybe experiment this morning and hopefully go fit today, the poor man has been sitting in Silence for weeks and it’s such a shame for him .