Electrical control and mechanical coupling therefor

A mechanical coupling device is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed arcuate jaws and integral arms defining a slot communicating with a cavity for connecting a shaft thereto. A tongue integral with the shaft is engaged by the jaws and suspended within the cavity, and the coupling device slides axially and laterally along the tongue and pivots along the arcuate jaws to eliminate end and side thrust of the shaft. A variable resistance control connected to the coupling device comprises a substrate closing one end of a housing and a rotatable driver disposed within the housing. A resistive path and a conductive collector path are disposed on the substrate along the same radius and a contactor comprising a pair of diametrically opposed contact fingers symmetrically disposed near the periphery of the driver engages the resistive and collector paths.