4QD controllers Accessories
Motor controllers Accessories Shopping cart Instruction manuals Specifications and features Questions answered Service and fault finding Wiring diagrams Application notes

Accessories for battery vehicles: Throttle potentiometers

Every controller needs a throttle device for you, the human, to operate. We list a selection on this page.

Page Contents

• Standard potentiometer
• Special 50° potentiometer
• 5K pot for Porter
• Knobs
• Throttle Lever
• Finger-tip throttle mechanism
• Spare parts for mechanism
• Boxed throttle assembly
• Plunger Operated Pot
• Twist-grip throttle Pot

Potentiometers

Both these pots are plastic bodied with a plastic shaft so they have good water resistance. They are IP50 rated by the manufacturer (Omeg Ltd)

Standard potentiometer

A standard 10K pot to suit all our controllers (with the exception of the Porter - see its instruction manual. It it of the same dimensions as the 50° pot below, but with solder tags rather than PCB pins.

Special 50° potentiometer

Above is shown a pot made specially for 4QD: it is a 'standard' 10K pot (i.e. with 300° mechanical travel) but with the active part of the track (i.e. the actual resistive track) occupying only the centre 50° of the mechanical travel.

It has a 6mm diameter shaft and is normally used in our Boxed throttle and Finger-tip throttle mechanism. It is also used in the Single-axis 'Joystick' interface, pot mounted version. A lever to fit it is available separately, see below.

It is not recommended for operation from radio control servos which require a track of more than 90°!

5K pot for Porter

Knobs

These are intended for 6.3mm shafts (1/4") but have a grub screw so will grip a 6mm shaft.

Throttle Lever

This is the lever assembly that is used on our Bell Throttles (see below). It fits only the Special 50° pot, above. The plastic cap can be removed easily when the shaft could be drilled to accept, for instance, a Bowden cable or other linkage.

The lever fixes to the pot shaft by squeezing together the ends of the clamp.

Finger-tip throttle mechanism.

The 'Naked Bell Assembly' is a finger-tip throttle assembly (speed control mechanism) using the 50° pot. It has a spring return to zero and is supplied with a mounting bracket and a vinyl-capped lever. The spring is light operation to minimise finger strain from continuous pressure on an over-strength spring, yet is still strong enough to ensure reliable operation. The lever can safely be bent if a different shape is needed. This feature means that if the lever gets accidentally bent, it can be easily re-shaped!

The mechanism is also quite suitable for use as a position sensor, for instance in a foot operated pedal, where the lever can be operated by an extension of the foot pedal. An application note shows how.

A cut-away sectional view of the boxed assembly is available.

It should also be possible to use this mechanism on a Bowden cable for remote operation.

This is the pot mechanism used in our Reversing 'Bell Throttle' hand control box

More information in our instructions and manuals

Boxed throttle assembly.

This throttle assembly is available boxed as shown. left.
In this format it is a little like a bicycle bell - so we call it the 'Bell Throttle'. Click on the picture to show a section view, showing how the throttle is mounted.
The naked assembly, above, is therefore the 'Naked Bell' assembly.

The drawing, left, shows the standard version with the right-hand spring (return is into the body of the box).
A left-hand spring version can be supplied for quantity orders or you can order the LH spring separately - this returns the lever against the box's lid, not to the body.
If in doubt, order the standard box plus a left-hand spring: the spring is easily changed.

A hand control version is available, including a 3 position (forward - off - Reverse) switch.

There is a large variety of options available:

Spares: If you aren't sure which spring will be best, we can supply spare springs. We can also supply the bracket, as used in our Reversing Hand Control box, for use with the green bodied pot shown above.

Plunger Operated Pot.

This is a plunger operated pot which is very popular for incorporation into a foot pedal: the ½ inch of travel, with spring return, is just about ideal, but see also Bell throttle as foot pedal. The plunger pot comes with 20cm long 16/0.2mm² wires attached. Value: 5K.

We can also supply the plunger operated pot with a CONI connector and 1.0m extension lead of 3 core 7/0.2 cable.

Or with a Male CONI connector and no extension lead (order the female CONI connector separately).!

Instructions are available.

Twist-grip throttle Pot.

• Twist-grip throttle with
• Spring return to zero.
• Suitable for all controllers made by 4QD.
• 90° twist gives zero to full speed (0-100% of pot travel).
• 5K pot.
• Integral tube clamp for 22mm diameter tube.
• Cable supplied is 1.8m long, 3 core 16/0.2mm which is too thick to reliably connect with the IDC connectors we supply, so a CONI connector (or some other 3 way in-line connector) is useful as a connection point and it can also simplify vehicle wiring.

Note the manufacturers of this throttle (Magura) make at least six other versions of it. This is the only version that is guaranteed to work with all our controllers.

We can also supply the throttle with 1.0m CONI lead. See a drawing of GTH-203 with CONI lead or with RFK crimps when the shell is supplied unfitted to ease your assembly..

We can also supply a 1.0m CONI extension lead.

Top of page

Page Information