Why do dirty POTS only make noise when you move them?
- Thread starter jwhmca
- Start date
Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:
sahib
Well-known member
The dirt will go between the track and the wiper and cause it to bounce up and down which will create noise.
Sahib, if theres dirt in your pots, does moving them actually fixes or cleans them or does it do damage?
How do you go about preventing dirt in your pots and also fixing it. I heard those spray on stuff isnt really that great??
How do you go about preventing dirt in your pots and also fixing it. I heard those spray on stuff isnt really that great??
What he said... pot wipers are actually made up of multiple fingers so when one or two bounce up off the resistive substrate there is at least one or two still touching to complete the circuit. When the pot is dirty, or badly worn, you can get these audible perturbations as the pot is turned. Some circuits with DC current flowing through the wiper, like old school bipolar opamps, can be a little more sensitive to wiper bounce.
Sealed pots should never get dirty. I have never heard from a pot manufacturer that ever endorsed a pot cleaner/lube while they may have an interest in selling more pots. Even in one obscure incident with Alps, who was one of the better pot makers I worked with, they were pretty tight lipped even about lubricant advice. The obscure problem was some static effect compounded (or mitigated) by the lubricant, so apparently lubricant isn't even that simple.. it needs to conduct enough to drain off static charge but insulate enough to not affect the resistance.. Of course this (static) depends on materials used and more but this all has nothing to do with your question.
No magical fix, while a bad opamp or circuit that puts DC on the pot could make it sound dirty (scratchy) when it isn't. Real dirt under wipers often abrade the substrate, so rather than self-cleaning, its more like self-destroying, and a candidate for replacement.
JR
Sealed pots should never get dirty. I have never heard from a pot manufacturer that ever endorsed a pot cleaner/lube while they may have an interest in selling more pots. Even in one obscure incident with Alps, who was one of the better pot makers I worked with, they were pretty tight lipped even about lubricant advice. The obscure problem was some static effect compounded (or mitigated) by the lubricant, so apparently lubricant isn't even that simple.. it needs to conduct enough to drain off static charge but insulate enough to not affect the resistance.. Of course this (static) depends on materials used and more but this all has nothing to do with your question.
No magical fix, while a bad opamp or circuit that puts DC on the pot could make it sound dirty (scratchy) when it isn't. Real dirt under wipers often abrade the substrate, so rather than self-cleaning, its more like self-destroying, and a candidate for replacement.
JR
yes to all the above
pot cleaner is a last resort, a very temporary fix. and at that point, you are trying to keep it alive
til you get a replacement.
most pot cleaners will just make dirt stick to everything inside the pot.
if you wanna spray, (and yer not a cat) try canned air first.
generally,
if it only makes noise with audio signal goin' thru it, it's dirt,
if it makes noise with no signal applied, it's probably d.c. on the pot, not dirt.
pot cleaner is a last resort, a very temporary fix. and at that point, you are trying to keep it alive
til you get a replacement.
most pot cleaners will just make dirt stick to everything inside the pot.
if you wanna spray, (and yer not a cat) try canned air first.
generally,
if it only makes noise with audio signal goin' thru it, it's dirt,
if it makes noise with no signal applied, it's probably d.c. on the pot, not dirt.
Similar threads
