Dial Art for base 10/44 devices by Tim Pitts August 2021

I’d like to share some observations I’ve made from making my own devices and dial art.

Start with adjustable potentiometer control knobs.

The ones that have a small set screw that allows it to be tightened once you align it properly. Some
knobs are ribbed on the inside and don’t allow 360 degrees orientation adjustment. You may never
get things lined up right.

on Amazon.com

Think twice about printing the dials directly on your faceplate.

Here’s the trouble with that. When you hand drill a hole in the center for the pot shaft to go through
it is easy to get off-center. If you get off-center from the dial art, the calibration will be off. I tried
starting with a small drill bit and moving up in increments, but you can still get off-center. I found
that printing the dial art separately and cutting the center out the same diameter as the pot’s
hex nut was a good fix for my device. You have to cut the center out otherwise it will not lay flat
due to the top mounting hex nut. I carefully used an Xacto blade with a piece of foam board un-
der it to trim the centers out. Sure you could use some premade dial discs as shown above, but
they don’t show base 44 numbers. I printed mine on gloss paper on a good inkjet printer and put
pressure sensitive adhesive with a peel off backing on before trimming. I work at a print shop
so it was easy for me. You might want to seek a professional print shop out to do this for you.

Pot is off-center because the drill hole

ended up off-center. Not good.

Dial art is too big to get accurate base 44

settings. More on that later.
Plan your dial art around the type of knob you will be using. Test!

Don’t assume things will work out. Knobs come in all sizes and it is easy for the dial art to be too
small or too big for proper reading.

Dial art is too small for this particular knob.

Base 10 numbers are obscured. Poor planning.

Test the sweep range of your pots.

Chances are your pots will not have exactly 300 degree turning radius. Mine are more like 302
degrees. I realize this takes some skills in a drawing program, some testing and may be beyond most
people. It is said by some that radionics is forgiving. Let’s hope so, but still shoot for accuracy.

Add long lines to assist alignment with base 44 numbers.

I chose to run slightly thinner lines from the center to the base 44 numbers. This takes the rough
guessing out.

Easy to set base 10 numbers. Revised dial art.

Hard to set base 44 numbers. Easy to set all numbers.
 6 1 38 6 1 38 6 1 38
9 9 9
4 40 4 40 4 40
2 0 10 2 0 10 2 0 10
42 42 42
0 44 0 44 0 44

22 24 20 22
18 20 26 18
18 20
22 24
26 1628 5 18 20 28
22 24
26 1622 24 26 28 5
18 20
4 146
16 5 16 5 28 16 5 46
14 4 146 30 4
30 6 30 14 144 30
12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32
10 12
Trim
3 34 10 7 32 34 10 12 3 34
8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36
10 34 10
Out

6 1 6 1 6 1
9 38 38 38
4
0
2
8 10 4240 4
0
8 36 9
10 42
40 4
8 20 10
9
40
2 2 2 42
0 44 0 44 0 44
6 1 6 1
9 38
4 40 4
2 0 10 42 2 0
Customize your art. 0 44 0
The center white ball is .51” diameter which is just barely larger than the hex nut that holds the pot in
place. If cut carefully, it will center up nicely.

22 24 22
18 20 26 18 20
16 5 28 16 5
14 4 6 30 14 4
12 3 7 32 12 3
10 34 10
8 2 8 36 8 2
6 1 38 6 1
9
4 40 4
2 0 10 2 0
42
0 44 0

The following page can be opened from this PDF and edited in Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer
applications. You may want yours closer together or arranged differently. These dials are based on
300 degrees, pot hex nut .5 inches wide and the adjustable knobs shown on page 1.
 22 24 22 24 22 24 22 24
18 20 26 18 20 26 18 20 26 18 20 26
16 5 28 16 5 28 16 5 28 16 5 28
14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30
12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32
10 34 10 34 10 34 10 34
8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36
6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38
4 40 4 40 4 40 4 40
2 0 10 2 0 10 2 0 10 2 0 10
42 42 42 42
0 44 0 44 0 44 0 44

22 24 22 24 22 24 22 24
18 20 26 18 20 26 18 20 26 18 20 26
16 5 28 16 5 28 16 5 28 16 5 28
14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30
12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32
10 34 10 34 10 34 10 34
8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36
6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38
4 40 4 40 4 40 4 40
2 0 10 2 0 10 2 0 10 2 0 10
42 42 42 42
0 44 0 44 0 44 0 44

22 24 22 24 22 24 22 24
18 20 26 18 20 26 18 20 26 18 20 26
16 5 28 16 5 28 16 5 28 16 5 28
14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30 14 4 6 30
12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32 12 3 7 32
10 34 10 34 10 34 10 34
8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36 8 2 8 36
6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38 6 1
9 38
4 40 4 40 4 40 4 40
2 0 10 2 0 10 2 0 10 2 0 10
42 42 42 42
0 44 0 44 0 44 0 44