GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The 4000 Series is a range of robust, industrial quality potentiometer joysticks. All 4000 Series share the same, all metal, mechanism to provide the finest performance and service life over a wide range of temperatures and loads. All 4000 Series employ high quality plastic film potentiometers, yielding a service life of many millions of cycles.
Whilst contactless joysticks such as the 9000 Series have replaced potentiometer joysticks in many applications, the 4000 Series continue to be popular owing to their ease of interfacing, wider operating voltage span, lower current drain and inherent immunity to RFI.

MECHANISM
Unlike most other products in it's class the 4000 Series employs an all-metal mechanism, providing the finest feel. It delivers consistent return to centre performance over life, across a broad range of applications and operating environments. The 4000 Series is offered in two body styles; the more standard closed body type should be selected for those applications requiring gaiter option 5. The open frame variant may be specified for use with gaiter option 1, or in the case the joystick is specified with friction hold, or where space in the immediate vicinity of the joystick is very limited.

The high quality plastic film potentiometers employed as standard in the 4000 Series have 340° tracks. With a shaft deflection angle of 55° (+/-27.5°), a typical 12V supply would therefore result in a full-scale nominal deflection from 5V to 7V, operating about a nominal 6V centre. The 4000 Series is available with alternative potentiometers, including the option of the 5K-55° track variant, providing rail-to-rail signal swings for applications where these are necessary and additional amplification is not practical.

Potentiometer option 2 is ideal for safety critical applications. Acting like two potentiometers in one, potentiometer option 2 provides two completely independent wiper signals, which may also be powered seperately and yield nominally rail to rail outputs.

The potentiometers on the 4000 Series are designed for use as a variable potential divider rather than a two pin variable resistor. Noise generated by the contact resistance of the wiper to the track dictates that for optimum performance the output signals should be fed into a load of greater than 100K.

Potentiometer option 9 is to special order only, and may be subject to longer than standard lead times.

Being a sub-panel mount joystick the panel cut-out may be used to limit the deflection of the joystick. The maximum allowable panel cutout dimensions are shown on the following page. Where some handles may be larger than the specified panel cut-out please refer to the Apem sales team. Subsequently the joystick may be supplied without the handle fitted, or with an additional mounting plate.

As standard 4000 Series are offered sprung to centre. The standard spring force requires 1.3N (nominally) to off-centre the joystick. The 4000 Series may be specified with a lighter spring (1N), or a stronger spring (1.6N).