Replacement Pot Woes

[JonnyAngle]

Sprayed the pots with the correct stuff today. It’ll have to dry for a few days before I re assemble

[crochambeau]

The pots are probably ready now.

[JonnyAngle]

The pots are probably ready now.

It still looks wet

[crochambeau]

Measure the moist patch with a multimeter, if it reads open it's probably just lube.

[JonnyAngle]

Measure the moist patch with a multimeter, if it reads open it's probably just lube.

How do I measure it?

[crochambeau]

Measure the moist patch with a multimeter, if it reads open it's probably just lube.

How do I measure it?

Resistance setting, place the probes near to one another but not touching. Should read open/infinite resistance. This assumes the surface you are measuring is not itself conductive...

[JonnyAngle]

I should clarify.

The whole thing is wet and greasy. There’s a lot of pcb smegma that i cleaned off with the contact cleaner and Now it’s kinds wet like.

I put a fan on it to see if it will help. There was lube that i could pooled in the back of the pot.
See

[crochambeau]

Heat can help too. I like sticking stuff on top of a radiator heater in teh winter months.

Most of the shit I use is solvent based, so it evaporates quickly. If you have several decades worth of scum on the board, it might benefit from a bath, soap and water style.

[Jwar]

I've used the CRC QD contact cleaner many, many times. I never wait until it's dry on anything. My bad maybe? Lol

[MechaGodzilla]

I remember reading that the stuff cleans better with a current going through it. I don't remember where/who i got that from so maybe bullshit?

[crochambeau]

I remember reading that the stuff cleans better with a current going through it. I don't remember where/who i got that from so maybe bullshit?

I think that's a dubious "let's set up a novice for a big scare" bit of folklore.

[frodog]

What's the deal with NOS pots? I'm thinking specifically of buying a lot of Ohmite 10k linear pots for use in an EQ build. Has anyone used these, or have any experiences with older, bigger potentiometers? Do they mostly require a deeper enclosure?

[JonnyAngle]

[frodog]

Oh shit. I guess that's a NO, then...

[crochambeau]

Yeah, those sound ready for replacement..

Regarding NOS, I'm always wary of spending up for anything, so if you're potentially getting these for "old" prices then it's worth a gamble, if the seller is hoping for some NOS premium, just remember: oxidation happens without use, though if these are truly unused the wiper hasn't run a groove in the track yet... and lubricants can dry out on the shelf. I've plenty of old pots that work well, but feel like shit when turning. There are solutions to all this, but they will demand your time and additional consumables, so don't pay up for a lot of shit just because it may have rode around in the back of Jimi Hendrix's pickup truck.

Oh, and the dimensional difference is usually substantially larger diameter with lugs directed out the fucking side, depth is rarely the big concern here, unless you're getting monsters (and those are usually worth the effort to spruce up).