Lorlin scratchy...

[Kamel]

Hi All
with the time lorlin rotary swithes tend to be scratchy, do you know an alternative best quality replacement (even for PCB mounting)

Many thanks

 

[zayance]

Hi All
with the time lorlin rotary swithes tend to be scratchy, do you know an alternative best quality replacement (even for PCB mounting)

Many thanks

Elma's or Grayhill, not cheap tough, but will take the road....

 

[Michael Tibes]

I remember having seen goldplated Lorlins quite a while ago, but don't remember where and don't know whether they still exist...

Michael

 

[gyraf]

..scratchy usually implies that they are mis-treated. DC on top of audio (gone-bad electrolytics)? Soldered for too long and too hot?..

French company Apem makes them in a gold-version, not cheap or easy to buy though.

Jakob E.

 

[Ptownkid]

Yeah, i've never had any problems with any of my lorlins...they don't feel as good as say an elma rotary, but honestly, I care about how a unit sounds, not how a pot feels as I turn it.

 

[noulou]

http://www.banzaimusic.com/Rotary-Switch-3x4-Gold.html


these appear to have gold plated contacts.
I haven't tried them though

 

[Kamel]

thanks to all

 

[Michael Tibes]

..scratchy usually implies that they are mis-treated. DC on top of audio (gone-bad electrolytics)? Soldered for too long and too hot?..

French company Apem makes them in a gold-version, not cheap or easy to buy though.

Jakob E.

I don't know on what it depends, but I've had new Lorlins being shelved for some years and their contacts were totally oxydized when I opened them to check their condition. It was definitely beyond being fixed by the self-cleaning mechanism. Not using them is a misuse in a sense, they're silver plated... The gold plated ones I vaguely remember were at https://www.buerklin.com/ , but their site is hard to search and I haven't found them back again there later.

Michael

 

[johnR]

You can buy the gold plated contact version direct from Lorlin, but there's a minimum order quantity of 50 and a lead time of 8 weeks.
I've found the silver contact versions often go scratchy eventually when switching low level signals.
When silver contacts tarnish they are usually sulphidised, not oxidised BTW.

 

[Michael Tibes]

When silver contacts tarnish they are usually sulphidised, not oxidised BTW.

Would you mind sharing what the difference is? I wasn't too great in chemistry and my english is diy as well 

Michael

 

[Crusty2]

http://kilovac.com/appnotes/app_pdfs/13c3236.pdf

 

[johnR]

Oxidising takes place when the metal reacts with oxygen. Sulphidising happens when it reacts with sulphur.

Silver reacts with sulphur-containing gases in the atmosphere. An example is hydrogen sulphide, which is a byproduct of some combustion processes (it's also responsible for the characteristic smell of rotting eggs). If you live near an industrial area or heavy road traffic, sulphide levels will be relatively high.

With rotary switches the silver sulphide layer tends to be cleaned off by frequent operation, but if settings don't get changed for long periods it can become a problem as the sulphide gets too thick to wipe off.

 

[Michael Tibes]

Thanx 

Michael

 

[Paul-o]

I am using Lorlins since late seventies for audio, and never had a scrachy one.

I have four of them in my DIY limiter-compressor, to set attack and release times, and didn't like them because they were hard to move : I dismantled them and shortened a little bit the spring inside them, so they are easier to move.

Best regards,

Paul-O

 

[gyraf]

Nice trick, Paul!