Short and sweet: pull up/pull down resistors explained

Short and sweet: pull up/pull down resistors explained
A quick lesson on pull-up and pull-down resistors. How and where they are used.
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FAQ:
Me: Paul, 49 from USA
Education: United States Navy, University of California at San Diego B.S. E.E., University of Pittsburgh M.S. E.E.
Experience: United States Navy STS, Bayer Intnl Process Engineer, C.C.A.C AP of EE
Current: Retired
Health: BAD (Congestive Heart Failure)
Hobbies: Electronics, flying, amateur radio, music (classic rock)
Low cost, professional PCB's: www.pcbway.com

[@carchaeology8260]

New to electronics and went almost mad looking for a pullup resistor (now I know duh) but I wouldn't have figured it out without this video, thank you very much. You just gained a new subscriber

[@robertthompson5908]

Now THAT is how you make a KZbin video! Simple, clear explanation with a nice demonstration, good sound quality, good video, not too long, not too short.

[@tobiasklersy112]

I finally got it from your video. Good sound & image quality. And no annoying music in the background! GREAT. THANKS!

[@andyjohnson4485]

Me too, I could see how a pull down worked but not sure on the pull up! This video confirmed I was over thinking it! Thanks also.

[@ytTaz480]

Ya. I been meaning to get the idea for a while. I actually thought it was a *type* of resistor. What I dont get is, if it didnt hurt the chip or the input to the chip to be directly connected to high or low(in either state, respectively) then why would the resistor be needed? Granted this was the simplest of examples for learning sake. I would suppose the resistance would be needed in a more advanced circuit or in an automated scenario?

[@ytTaz480]

Nevermind. I thought about it for a minute. To keep the circuit in a known state, not in the unknown or tristate from induced voltages.

[@bgable7707]

My analogy for this is: floating is like a screen door blowing in the wind, open/close, back and forth. Pulled down is like when you latch the door's handle closed. Pullup is when you hook or tie the door open to a nail or something allowing the kids and bugs to come and go as they please. A picture is worth 1000 words. I've read about these many a time, but, the visual with the button sealed the deal.

[@dizzyrocket2000]

I love your analogy, thank you. Analogies like this really help me to understand otherwise complex subjects. Would you happen to know any KZbinrs that teach electronics in this way?

[@strikebytestreaming1583]

Thank you for this short concise explanation of this. it makes SO much more sense now rather than reading random documentation that just flies over my head, I get a practical example of what's going on and a concise explanation!

[@laurencioo]

Dude, this video clear my mind of confusion. Not too fast, not to slow explanation, just perfect duration!

[@HissoriRenda]

I had a surface level understanding when you demonstrated with just the resistor but adding the button gave such a simple practical example and made everything click. Thank you for this

[@isoguy.]

Awsome, the Yoda of electronics explains a confusing topic "simply". Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@lazo3251]

You explain a lot better than my college professor. Thank you.

[@mrtwohole]

i looked around google for a solid 30 mins, but this vid goes down in my top 2 easiest to understand videos ngl.

[@cortisol_induced_coma]

I was getting so frustrated because I didn't get the explanation from neither my book nor any article I found, but this finally did it. Thanks!

[@severussmith6326]

I watched about 100 tutorials to understand the concept but failed to and each Channel had huge subscription and likes but they failed and here is your channel with very less subscription but got the concept of pull up and pull down right away. U r one hell of a great teacher hats off to u sir. So simple to understand if your tutor knows how to teach and clarify a concept. Your tutorial is the shortest of all yet what others failed to clarify in their long tutorial, u managed to achieve in the shortest yet most comprehensive tutorial, I might send your tutorial to all those and tell them that's how u do it guys, thats how u make students understand like a pro. Amazing job sir, finally I got what I was looking for almost a week now. Keep it up sir.

[@muchee3925]

Thank you very much for making this video! I too was incredibly confused with the idea of pull up and pull down resistors. It's simple, but can get quite confusing when you don't know much. This helped a lot!

[@markharrisllb]

I’ve never fully understood the pull up/down resistor until now, thank you so much for this video.

[@codewithlenny]

This is truly short and sweet. I have been connecting a button to a resistor my whole life without understanding what happens. Thank you for sharing this with us

[@michaelrupert1065]

Great video. No attempt at humor. Pure success at delivering knowledge. Thanks.

[@alicekichlu215]

NEVER REALLY UNDERSTANDED IT WHEN I WAS TAKING DIGITAL IN COLLEGE,NOW IT IS CLEARER.

[@AbrarManzoor]

The only video on youtube so far that is not confusing on this topic

[@InkDevil999]

Thanks! Im currently reading an entry book about Arduino and electronic and i noticed their use of 10k resistors for the buttons with absolutely no explanation. This has cleared up everything :)

[@mikeoliver3254]

Great video Paul. Thanks for covering a topic that pros tend to think that s too simple to cover, I know it took me awhile to understand what was going on with pull up and pull down resistors. As usual you make it very easy to follow what is going on.

[@dacypher22]

Thank you for the clear demonstration! I got the official Arduino Starter kit and they started using pull-down resistors with no explanation. It was bugging me why those resistors were there but now I know!

[@thfreakinacage]

I quickly searched "pull up vs pull down" and this was the first result. I have no desire to continue looking at other results. This answered the question nicely :) Thanks for the vid :D

[@WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

Thanks, Paul. I should have just come here and searched instead of searching all of YT. Fortunately, this was near the top.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

It makes so much sense now, thanks. I was reading page after page after page of dense explanations and formulas, keep it simple. Now I need a simple one on how to calculate the ohms of said resistor.

[@dereklaur2154]

doing research for my project and kept hearing pull up and pull down resistors. This clarified it.

[@tensor131]

well done - thank you. having that dynamic display makes a HUGE difference to the quality of this explanation. Seeing is believing!!!! The best expose of PU PD resistors I have found.

[@carldavis8228]

Paul, just so you know. For me two explanations like that and two math explanations per month and your channel is worth it. Hell, I have even bought products after your reviews. 5 to date. Your good, don't worry about the coming and going folks, just stay with what you know. It will all settle down. Have a good week!

[@whitneydesignlabs8738]

Thanks so much for the really short simple explanation. I had known about pull up and down resisters, but for some reason I thought my project didn't need them... Until I went from breadboard to finish soldered project with longer wires, and started getting weird results. Then it dawned on me... I need a pull down resistor. So I watched this video and it confirmed my suspicion. Added a pull-down, problem went away.

[@waldolemmer]

To get rid of the rolling shutter effect on the lcd, dim the room and increase the camera's exposure. This will decrease the camera's shutter speed, which increases motion blur and causes the cycles to blend into one another (just like the eye does it).

[@ericmackrodt9441]

Oh, pull up and pull down is how you use the resistor, it's not a type of resistor. This video is great! Now I understand it!

[@redwoodenjoyer]

Exactly what I needed to know, without flooding me with info I didn't need. Awesome. Thanks for saving me an hour or so of wondering and playing around before coming to this solution!

[@ravithegamer8009]

Thanks for your simple explanation...I was wondering why we are shorting circuit by our own...but I just learnt what does it mean!....

[@iantan2638]

Awesome explanation! Still clear and easy to understand in 2023!

[@maeander500]

Great, concise, easy to understand explanation about pull up and pull down resistors. Thanks!

[@ags-engineering5544]

Beautiful little video demonstrating the usefulness of pull-up and pull-down resistors.

[@chadzulu4328]

Excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT visual demonstration! Thanks so much.

[@PaulChabot]

Of all the videos, this is the simplest and best explanation of this topic. Thanks!

[@TheJobieadobe]

You saved me again! Your demos are so good!!!

[@V081WLBlue]

Not only did I learn about pullup/down resistors but I also never knew the pins on those push button switches where arranged like that!!!! Ones farthest apart, ganged together, ones closest, opposites!!!! Never need to check with my meter for continuity again LOLOLOLOL Crazy!

[@davesendit1348]

I’m not good with electronics at all. I need to add a pull up resistor circuit to an aftermarket tachometer in my truck. This video finally gave me my aha moment. Thank you, I finally understand. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@learnelectronics]

You can do it!

[@AxelSyranoPedemeKuenzob]

I learned about this the hard way, I needed a pull up resistor for my game using rotary encoder but couldn't figure out why the voltage I was getting from them was always very low but not 0. It was an annoying problem. There is such a big difference Practice and theory. Thanks explaining it to us.

[@AlexM-xj7qd]

This was so much more helpful than the Arduino manual 🙏

[@delugeia]

Thank you so much for a simple, concise, yet valuable explanation!

[@Embeddedviven]

very nice sir, thats a lot for clear explanation, complete practical.

[@Lordsludge]

Thank you Paul another think that I could not understand from anybody else but since you speak the same language I do I finally get it

[@michaelpadovani9566]

Basic yet powerful fundamental concept to grasp. Hope you're feeling better, at least the crazy heat broke.

[@learnelectronics]

Yes it was in the 60's last night.

[@michaelpadovani9566]

liking that!

[@ripwallet3318]

I saw like 3 minutes of the video and damn, you're a great teacher. I followed a guide for an Arduino circuit that takes input using a button, but it didn't explain the pull-down resistor too well since the focus was on the rest of the circuit and the code. Just came across your video and you happened to use the same example, which is really helpful! Don't fully understand it yet but I will.

[@Blackmage50]

That was great! I love the redundancy of going through it again with an interactive circuit. Simple as it may be I was struggling with this concept. Lol thanks! 👍

[@learnelectronics]

Thanks

[@Creed97xy]

Great video, helped me understand pull up and pull down within 6 minutes. Thanks!!!!!!!!!

[@ulysses_grant]

I finally figured this subject out, thanks to your explanation. Thank you so much, I'm really grateful for that.

[@farjanasharminswarna2450]

Finally now I understand the concept. It's amazing how your video made it so easy to understand. Thanks buddy.

[@AaaAaa-yb2nb]

Wow, really fantastic, I understand it well now and can understand the circuits shown in class a lot better now... Appreciate it

[@samfeigenbaum5207]

Thanks so much, this really helped me understand the relationship between resistors and switches!

[@justindungog4401]

Thank you, Sir. You have a very comprehensive video.

[@hydrostatics]

Your videos are the best I have seen, Thank you for your help and hard work. Hope youtube is treating you well

[@delaimo13]

Finally I get to understand pull ups and pull downs. And this was just uploaded today! Keep up the good work

[@learnelectronics]

Thank you

[@tigercat123456]

Finally I dig it. Thanks for the great and simple explanation - and great showcase using the display!

[@Palmoy]

Thank you lots, and I hope you are in good health

[@mariusaraujo5951]

thank you for this simple a clear explanation, it made this seemingly complex concept very understandable :)

[@ЕмилСтоянов-ь4з]

Simple and nice explanation. Regards! You are the man.

[@mingosutu]

Good job. Pull-up pull-down understood. Thanks.

[@kjshrimp]

Wonderful explanation! I could not understand the purpose of these pull up/down resistors and even further, why I was getting such varied results with my push buttons until you showed it in this way. Keep up the good work my friend!

[@bobmcquiston5982]

What a simple, great demonstration. Thanks for taking the time to make this!

[@PhilCobProductions]

Awesome man, clear & concise - thank you

[@stewartsanson68]

Fantastic demonstration and precisely worded. Subscribed! thank you

[@abinav1118]

Very simple and well explained. Thank you sir!

[@selvalooks]

finally understood crisp and clear, thanks a ton !!!!

[@georgechambers3197]

Thanks, Paul I wish the instructors in school could have given such an easy to understand lesson. However, there were no Arduinos or digital displays back then. But it's still the best explanation I've seen, thanks for the video!

[@David-pu8vs]

Simple insightful to the point. Thank you!

[@gartmorn]

We'll explained Paul. You wouldn't have to worry about the heat if you were here in Scotland! We've had to fire up the woodburner as autumn seems to have arrived here!

[@kaoshavoc]

Hope you have been feeling better, glad you still make vids, I love to watch them. :D

[@shaneclk9854]

Simple and easy to understand

[@johnadams6249]

somehow this is the only video which properly explains this on the entire Internet

[@king_james_official]

i still don't get it lol, my arduino always spits out 0 when i don't press the button

[@MrJsmall12]

This explains so much. Thank you for the video!!

[@paulanderson6505]

Great video. very easy to follow and great explanation. I will use this with my junior design students tomorrow.

[@loaydooda1499]

Seriously- that was well done. Pull Up and Pull Down. Explained VERY well and simply. This is the clearest I've ever had this explained to me. i REALLY get it now. Well done sir. My first time visiting your work and I've subscribed.

[@NicleT]

This helped a lot. So well explain with clear examples. Thanks.

[@sarahteufelsbaum6926]

Thumbs up, simply and nicely explained !

[@thomasseibold4055]

One clarification: When he says "move the resistor" at 5:32, his finger temporarily covers up the action of putting the resistor's lead in the breadboard. And when his finger moves away, it looks for all the world like it's been pushed into the negative rail (as the switch jumper is about to be), but it's apparently just bent in a way that makes it look that way, and it's actually pushed into the positive rail.

[@mightyoak11111]

Newbie. Just started learning about electronics. This is my first pass with regard to pull up resistors. I still don’t entirely understand how they work or to use them but know that by the 6th or 7th pass, it will start to sink in. ;)

[@russelltomkins9398]

Awesome vid, perfectly laid out the logic of why.

[@jclunniv]

Wonderful explanation. Thank you.

[@EmirYildirimYildiz]

Thank you. You explained it in a way that someone who doesn't understand much about electronics (like me) can understand it. Question - if the pin is in HiZ state, can it's state not be changed via the code instead of using a resistor? Can I not set a pin to high or low and avoid using resistors?

[@AA-em3lw]

Thanks mate for this explanation! Great job!

[@DevelopWithDan]

Fantastic Video. I will be linking to this video often in discussions all over the web.

[@Deserthacker]

It's obvious what they do after seeing this. Thanks for not making it needlessly complicated! Are there downsides (besides the power consumption) to using pull up/down resistors when using simple switches?

[@learnelectronics]

No downside

[@nikosadie]

Cool! Very good explanation. I now have a good idea how it works..... and why some of my projects struggles....

[@theunfrailhale]

Nice explanation. Button example locked it down.

[@telegraph_hill]

4:16 pin 9 straight to power rail! pop! love those internal pullups.

[@3bmon3em]

You definitely got my subscription. Awesome explanation ♥️

[@BelajarBuat]

Thanks. Very clear explanation!

[@EM-zj2ul]

THANK YOU SOOOOO Much Best explanation ever The visual made it click for me. Count me in New subscriber

[@KarlA-vk4kn]

Great video Paul. Well explained and easy to understand. Always nice to see a practical demonstration too.

[@Zhouri]

THIS IS LEGENDARY

[@fankedzon]

Thank you very much, short and sweet explanation indeed :)

[@alghamdiyusuf]

Thanks man, you're the best. much much appreciated.

[@learnelectronics]

Any time

[@andyjohnson4485]

And finally the penny drops! Thanks Paul

[@arteks2001]

Excellent explanation.

[@Kysen10]

Really good example.

[@khaddy72632u]

very short and sweet indeed. thankyou!