Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: master volume knob static

This is topic master volume knob static in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bernardo McLaughlin (Member # 7267) on 01-12-2014, 04:59 PM:

Having some audio issues. The master volume control knob on our Pyle Pro PYP-1 stereo pre-amplifier is making some static noise when turned, and in some cases the knob seems to catch and the volume far diminishes below what it ought to be, sometimes to the point of almost no output. Any tips?

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 01-12-2014, 06:18 PM:

Perhaps it just needs to be cleaned. Do they still make that spray-on TV Tuner Cleaner stuff? I used to be able to buy it at Radio Shack.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-12-2014, 07:18 PM:

I use the MG chemicals cleaner with lubricant on pots i think it is tradenamed nu trol

Posted by Bernardo McLaughlin (Member # 7267) on 01-12-2014, 07:30 PM:

Think we'd have to remove the knob to clean it properly? It's not clear to us how to do that properly.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-12-2014, 09:34 PM:

You have to open the chassis and spray it into the pot then work it back and forth

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 01-13-2014, 06:12 AM:

WD40 is the best contact cleaner.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-13-2014, 11:46 AM:

I think "with lubricant" is the main thing to look for -- I remember mistakenly using "Electronic Cleaner" on a volume control (not theatrical, in a home amplifier) but that stuff is just alcohol, it just dries everything out and makes the problem worse over time.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 01-13-2014, 01:47 PM:

quote: Louis Bornwasser
WD40 is the best contact cleaner.

I'm not entirely sure, but I've been told that you should NOT use WD-40 as contact spray, because it contains stuff that doesn't evaporate and will end up clogging up your pots.

I would go for something that's actually qualified for use with electronics, there are tons of brands out there.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-13-2014, 02:32 PM:

because it is a wiping contact on carbon it needs a lubricant i worry about some of the other things in wd40 attacking some of the parts and plastics in a pot but MG chemicals nutrol has been around for years

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 01-13-2014, 08:40 PM:

Put Wd in RCA tube preamps in the 1970s and 20 years later never had static again. Read ALL of the labels and see if you don't agree. louis

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 01-13-2014, 08:43 PM:

Best contact cleaner I ever used was some stuff called "Cramolin Red" & "Cramolin Blue"
(I think one had lubiricant and the other one didn't.) But they re-formulated it about
a dozen years ago because some of the chemicals in it were considered too
envionmentally unfriendly. The new forumla had some less toxic ingredients, but IMO
the new stuff never worked as well as the original product.

I liked this stuff so much that when they first banned it for sale in the USA, I was
able to 'smuggle' two cases of it in from Canada. I still have a few cans left.
(And that might explain the hole in the ozone layer directly above my house)