One thing, I believe in those little metal pots the electrical connection to the slider is also connected to the metal top of the pot, so if you swap the electrical connections of the pot, the metal top part of the pot is batt-minus and then it is no problem if the spring touches the pot.
Yeah…. Thats partly why I didn’t put mine in the springpad yet. I feel like I’m going to have to adjust it while power is applied to get it right anyways
LOL, I had missed that you suggested the pot-on-spring-side already, sorry about that :-)
The solder pad lay-out that I posted above is at least shared by two brands (SR Passives found on Ebay, Bourns found on Digikey) so that may be a desirable size?
Btw, in my EDC (that has a lighted tailcap) there is more than enough space and depth in the middle of the spring, even when fully compressed (a typical 3303 pot is just 1.5mm high)
Based on this diagram, I don’t think it matters which of the two legs you use, you’ll just have to turn the pot the opposite way. I think that’s how it works.
Perhaps to dot the i's and cross the t's, on the switch side the switch-pad that connects to the spring pad on the other side should not fully stretch to the edge to prevent a possible short to the tailcap-body.
Over time the slide will oxidize and require cleaning and movement to keep things working correctly. Think a volume knob that is introducing static when it is turned… Some of us here are old enough to remember that. So, keep a can of R5 handy!
In the course of this hobby, no EDC that I thought was the perfect one has lasted more than 3 months in my pocket before it was replaced by a different (different=always better ) one. But it is a good thing to think about that of course :-)