Confused by some terminology

[dbishopbliss]

I have been reading the designing tube preamps for guitar and bass book by Merlin Blencowe. I have been looking through his book but can't find the answer to this... What does cw next to the pots mean?

[sluckey]

What does cw next to the pots mean?

cw = clockwise. In the pic you posted when you turn the knob fully cw the wiper will be at the top of the pot. If "cw" had been written below the wiper, then when you turn the knob fully clockwise the wiper would be at the bottom of the pot.

Using an arrow with "CW" is more intuitive...

[dbishopbliss]

I was thinking cw meant clockwise but didn’t know about the above and below convention.


What about when there is an arrow through the middle of the pot but it’s not connected to anything.

[sluckey]

What about when there is an arrow through the middle of the pot but it’s not connected to anything.

That means the pot is simply being used as a two terminal variable resistor. One wire to the wiper and the other wire to one end lug. This leaves the other end lug connected to nothing. It's considered better practice to connect a jumper between the wiper and the unused lug.