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Static Sound in Radio Volume Control

M

Michael

Jan 1, 1970
0
Over time, the volume controls of all my clock radios always develop a loud
static sound whenever I adjust the volume. Is there a remedy for this?
 
K

krw

Jan 1, 1970
0
A really good control cleaner, or all new pots.
A new and better radio (with digital pots) is the only permanent
solution.
 
N

N_Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
Michael said:
Over time, the volume controls of all my clock radios always develop a loud
static sound whenever I adjust the volume. Is there a remedy for this?


Desolder the pot or sometimes enough access to to
do the following without desoldering
Mark with felt tip
the relative positions of the sub parts, bend out
the retaining flaps of the casing metal with a small
screwdriver.
Dismantle the pot down to the carbon track clean/degrease.
Where the track is not too bad , just worn in arcs.
Bend, out or in whichever shows most fresh track, the wiper
blade/blades to use a different
part of track. If the wiper support can be wedged
away from the track then bend the wiper to give more
contact force. If the rivets have slackened on the
paxolin then squash with an old pair of basic red/blue/yellow single
action crimp pliers. To get to the wiper rivet
grind down the the interfering bulges a bit between the
red and blue sections.
 
I

Ian Jackson

Jan 1, 1970
0
N_Cook said:
Desolder the pot or sometimes enough access to to
do the following without desoldering
Mark with felt tip
the relative positions of the sub parts, bend out
the retaining flaps of the casing metal with a small
screwdriver.
Dismantle the pot down to the carbon track clean/degrease.
Where the track is not too bad , just worn in arcs.
Bend, out or in whichever shows most fresh track, the wiper
blade/blades to use a different
part of track. If the wiper support can be wedged
away from the track then bend the wiper to give more
contact force. If the rivets have slackened on the
paxolin then squash with an old pair of basic red/blue/yellow single
action crimp pliers. To get to the wiper rivet
grind down the the interfering bulges a bit between the
red and blue sections.
All this for a clock radio???
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
The OP says "all my clock radios". That's odd. I've never had /all/ the pots
in the equipment I've owned become scratchy.

Obviously, cleaning the pot should fix the problem. But I suspect the OP
lives in a dusty/dirty environment, or is a heavy smoker.
 
Z

z

Jan 1, 1970
0
Over time, the volume controls of all my clock radios always develop a loud
static sound whenever I adjust the volume. Is there a remedy for this?

beside control cleaner, basically, it's a good idea to turn every
control through the whole range of movement and switch every switch
on and off on every piece of equipment you own that doesn't have the
newfangled rubber key type things, every week or two. keeps them from
getting spotty contact with dust, gunk from the air, particles from
wear, etc. over the years, wipers on pots, switches, relays, etc. have
evolved to do this pretty well.

given that clock radios don't have the volume adjusted a large amount,
they don't get this treatment the way older type equipment where the
volume was turned down to zero to switch the thing off did.

the other thing that happens, however, is that there gets to be extra
wear in the small area of a control which is actually used and as a
result contact is spotty; no cure for that.
 
J

Jeroni Paul

Jan 1, 1970
0
Why do poeple write ONE (1)?  Is this because some people can't read
numerals?

It is to emphatize that it must be done in one second. Otherwise it
might go unnoticed.
 
J

Jeroni Paul

Jan 1, 1970
0
Over time, the volume controls of all my clock radios always develop a loud
static sound whenever I adjust the volume. Is there a remedy for this?

Quick and cheap solution, keep adjusting the control up and down until
it stops scratching.
 
I

IanM

Jan 1, 1970
0
Peter said:
No, it happens to mine too. Clock radios are usually made VERY cheaply.
Or it could be due to fine dust from your parrots' feathers and droppings.
 
K

krw

Jan 1, 1970
0
Peter Hucker said:
That must be the problem. I don't own cheap clock-radios.

It must be another of that PHucker's many problems. I have a few
cheap ones around and there are no pot problems. Of course good ones
don't use crappy pots, so that is a better solution.
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
That must be the problem. I don't own cheap clock-radios.
A clock radio doesn't strike me as an item one would spend
a lot of money on.

There have been some nice ones, especially from GE in the late 70s and early
80s. GE produced the first clock-radio with an electronic display (1972),
and the first with digital electronic tuning (1980). They were not cheap. I
have both.
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
I just leave the volume in one place all the time.

That's virtually guaranteed to produce a noisy control.
 
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