What does it mean "ground"?

[mrsteve81]

Feel very silly for asking this but when looking at instructions for the drumkill mod here:

http://www.electri-fire.com/drumvolumekill.htm

it says:

For  DRUM volume DISCONNECT the jumper and insert a 100k linear pot.  Middle lug takes the cpu side (upper side in above picture),  left lug to ground for zero volume , right lug for max. volume to the other side of the jumper.

I don't have a clue what he means when he says left lug to ground. Where is the ground point?
Please help because I really want to understand how pots work properly. I feel I've just been winging it with my past projects!

[catweazle]

hi,

groud is the "negative" connection of the batteries or power supply connector.

If you have a multimeter or a continuity tester put one wire to the  (-) of the battery
(connection spring) and the other wire to check where there is ground on the circuit board.


http://highlyliquid.com/kits/skm/install-sk-1.html

how potis work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiometer

[mrsteve81]

Thanks a lot mate. Its always good to know there are people willing to help others.

I guessed that was what it meant but I had to make sure because I know you can kill some things by poking around near the power. Its my first sk-1 so I don't want to murder it before I've begun!

[computer at sea]

Just stick close to the three big NEC chips and you'll do fine.  If I recall, the bottom right pin on the rightmost chip goes to the ground.

[bendboy]

Ground on a circuit board is the first thing to look for before doing any bending, and is easy to spot:
Anything with metal brackets or shields is usually ground(and reads low ohms to the - batt terminal.
The boards ground trace usually snakes all over the place with wider traces...