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Reading a Soft Potentiometer — SIK Circuit 10
Ed

Imeundwa na

Ed

17. March 2026

Reading a Soft Potentiometer — SIK Circuit 10

Use a soft potentiometer (touch strip) to control RGB LED color. Slide your finger along the strip to smoothly transition through the color spectrum.

Maagizo

1

Parts & Introduction

A soft potentiometer is a thin, flexible strip that acts as a variable resistor based on where you press. Combined with an RGB LED, you can create an intuitive color picker — slide your finger to change colors!

Parts Needed

  • 1x Arduino Uno + USB cable
  • 1x Breadboard
  • 1x Soft Potentiometer
  • 1x RGB LED (Common Cathode)
  • 3x 330Ω Resistors
  • 1x 10KΩ Resistor (pull-down)
  • 9x Jumper Wires
2

Hardware Hookup

Wiring Instructions

Soft Potentiometer
  1. Connect the middle pin to Analog Pin A0.
  2. Connect one side pin to 5V.
  3. Connect the other side pin to GND.
  4. Add a 10K pull-down resistor from Analog Pin A0 to GND.
RGB LED (pin order from flat edge: Red, GND, Green, Blue)
  1. Connect Red through 330Ω resistor to Pin 9.
  2. Connect GND (longest pin) to GND rail.
  3. Connect Green through 330Ω resistor to Pin 10.
  4. Connect Blue through 330Ω resistor to Pin 11.
3

Arduino Code

Open the Arduino IDE and upload the following sketch to your Arduino board.

soft_potentiometer.inoarduino
/*
SparkFun Inventor's Kit
Example sketch 10 — SOFT POTENTIOMETER

Use the soft potentiometer to change the color of the RGB LED.

Hardware connections:
  Soft pot: middle pin to analog 0, one side to 5V, other to GND
  10K resistor from analog 0 to GND
  RGB LED: RED->330ohm->pin 9, COMMON->GND, GREEN->330ohm->pin 10, BLUE->330ohm->pin 11

This code is completely free for any use.
*/

const int RED_LED_PIN = 9;
const int GREEN_LED_PIN = 10;
const int BLUE_LED_PIN = 11;

const int SENSOR_PIN = 0;

int redValue, greenValue, blueValue;

void setup()
{
  // No setup needed
}

void loop()
{
  int sensorValue;
  sensorValue = analogRead(SENSOR_PIN);
  setRGB(sensorValue);
}

void setRGB(int RGBposition)
{
  int mapRGB1, mapRGB2, constrained1, constrained2;

  // Red peak, centered at 0
  mapRGB1 = map(RGBposition, 0, 341, 255, 0);
  constrained1 = constrain(mapRGB1, 0, 255);
  mapRGB2 = map(RGBposition, 682, 1023, 0, 255);
  constrained2 = constrain(mapRGB2, 0, 255);
  redValue = constrained1 + constrained2;

  // Green peak, centered at 341
  greenValue = constrain(map(RGBposition, 0, 341, 0, 255), 0, 255)
             - constrain(map(RGBposition, 341, 682, 0, 255), 0, 255);

  // Blue peak, centered at 682
  blueValue = constrain(map(RGBposition, 341, 682, 0, 255), 0, 255)
            - constrain(map(RGBposition, 682, 1023, 0, 255), 0, 255);

  analogWrite(RED_LED_PIN, redValue);
  analogWrite(GREEN_LED_PIN, greenValue);
  analogWrite(BLUE_LED_PIN, blueValue);
}
4

Test & Experiment

What You Should See

The RGB LED changes color as you slide your finger along the soft potentiometer strip. The color smoothly transitions through the spectrum: red → green → blue → red.

Troubleshooting

  • LED dark or wrong color: Four pins close together are easy to misplace. Verify each RGB LED connection.
  • Bizarre color jumps: Pressing the soft pot in multiple spots simultaneously gives unpredictable results. Use one finger.

Experiments to Try

  • Add Serial output to see the raw sensor values as you slide.
  • Map the soft pot to servo position instead of color.

Vifaa

  • SparkFun Inventor's Kit - V3.2 - 1 kitNOK 999.20
    Tazama
  • Arduino Uno R3 - 1 pieceKishikilia Nafasi
    Tazama
  • Breadboard - 1 pieceKishikilia Nafasi
    Tazama
  • Soft Potentiometer - 1 pieceKishikilia Nafasi
    Tazama
  • RGB LED (Common Cathode) - 1 pieceKishikilia Nafasi
    Tazama
  • 330 Ohm Resistor - 3 piecessNOK 24.00
    Tazama
  • 10K Ohm Resistor - 1 pieceNOK 24.00
    Tazama
  • Jumper Wires - 9 piecessNOK 39.20
    Tazama

Zana Zinazohitajika

  • Computer with Arduino IDE

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