Reply from Maxim re digital pot choices
I saw your posting on Electro Tech site in which you had several questions relating to replacement of mechanical potentiometers with digital potentiometers and noted that you had already visited the Maxim website. Welcome!
I asked our technical support to take a look at the question and here is what they said:
Maxim does offer quite a few potentiometer solutions. Narrowing the search to the best of these can seem daunting at first but is actually as easy as identifying the application requirements*and then contacting Maxim's Technical Support group. Or you may use Maxim's*interactive parametric search engine to define the best component to meet your circuit needs.
You may look up our web site for application notes AN3417, AN4101, and AN1828 "Digital Potentiometers Replace Mechanical Potentiometers", "Differentiating Digital Potentiometer Features", and “Audio Gain Using Digital Potentiometers”. These application notes provide valuable information on how to use our potentiometers.
To answer your questions specifically, there is no “drop in”. Supporting circuitry is needed. You need a push button switch if you do not use a microcontroller. You may choose a non-volatile device if you want the device to power up to the previous value.
Please feel free to visit Maxim's online Technical Support site where we will be happy to review your circuit and offer*suitable component recommendations.*