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Rogers Cadet
killjoy
05-01-2016
My son has just bought me a Jim Hendrix Vinyl for Christmas so I have just dug out my old Rogers Cadet amplifier after many years and lo and behold it is working fine, except the pots are a bit noisy. How do I go about cleaning them?
Chris Frost
05-01-2016
You can either take the lid of the amp off and try a little squirter of WD40 in to a gap on the pot casing (use the little Red straw for a bit of precision) the turn them vigorously to work the dirt loose, or you can go the whole hog and desolder the pots and then disassemble them fore attempting to regraphite the tracks with a soft pencil. If the same make and model is available, or a like-for-like alternative then go for a straight replacement.


BTW.... The correct description is that you have Hendrix album ON vinyl, or a Hendrix LP. We don't say "a Hendrix vinyl".
chrisjr
05-01-2016
First off you need something like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SERVISOL-IPA...dp/B007JV7DDU/

as the cleaning agent.

Then you actually have to be able to spray the cleaner into the body of the pots and coat the track inside. That could be the harder part. It will almost certainly require taking the lid off the amp.

Depending on the construction of the pot you might be able to find a gap in the case to spray into. Old carbon track pots like this

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...entiometer.jpg

tend to have a sizeable gap where the terminals emerge that is ideal for this. Trouble is if the posts are soldered into a PCB then the board can make access tricky.

Some types like these

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...q-sdcyfKEkHRpA

are almost hermetically sealed so might be near impossible to get any cleaner onto the track.

But if you can find a hole to spray into don't go overboard with the amount, a few seconds spray should be enough. Then turn the pot from end stop to end stop several times to clear any gunge.

Trouble with old carbon track pots is that the track breaks up over time and no amount of cleaning will have any effect on the crackles. The only remedy in that case is replacement.
chrisjr
05-01-2016
Originally Posted by Chris Frost:
“You can either take the lid of the amp off and try a little squirter of WD40 in to a gap on the pot casing (use the little Red straw for a bit of precision) the turn them vigorously to work the dirt loose, or you can go the whole hog and desolder the pots and then disassemble them fore attempting to regraphite the tracks with a soft pencil. If the same make and model is available, or a like-for-like alternative then go for a straight replacement.


BTW.... The correct description is that you have Hendrix album ON vinyl, or a Hendrix LP. We don't say "a Hendrix vinyl". ”

I wouldn't use WD40. It tends to leave a nasty oily residue that can make things worse. Even the milder lubricated contact cleaner you can by to clean up switches can be a problem. I much prefer to use an IPA based spray that doesn't leave any residue behind.
killjoy
05-01-2016
Quote:
“BTW.... The correct description is that you have Hendrix album ON vinyl, or a Hendrix LP. We don't say "a Hendrix vinyl".”

Pedant
Nigel Goodwin
05-01-2016
Originally Posted by chrisjr:
“I wouldn't use WD40. It tends to leave a nasty oily residue that can make things worse.”

I would completely disagree, we've been using Servisol 40+ (WD40 clone) for decades as switch cleaner - the point is you WANT the fine oil there, to lubricate the contacts - normal switch cleaner washes the original lubricant away, giving a poor and short lasting result.
chrisjr
05-01-2016
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“I would completely disagree, we've been using Servisol 40+ (WD40 clone) for decades as switch cleaner - the point is you WANT the fine oil there, to lubricate the contacts - normal switch cleaner washes the original lubricant away, giving a poor and short lasting result.”

Switch cleaner yes but I personally would not use it to try and clean the track of a pot.
Chris Frost
05-01-2016
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“I would completely disagree, we've been using Servisol 40+ (WD40 clone) for decades as switch cleaner - the point is you WANT the fine oil there, to lubricate the contacts - normal switch cleaner washes the original lubricant away, giving a poor and short lasting result.”

IME this ^
Nigel Goodwin
05-01-2016
Originally Posted by chrisjr:
“Switch cleaner yes but I personally would not use it to try and clean the track of a pot.”

It's even better in a pot, as pots are full of lubricant, and WD40 provides replacement lubricant - I've used it in tens of thousands (at least) of pots - with far better results than switch cleaner.
Chris Frost
05-01-2016
Originally Posted by killjoy:
“Pedant ”

Well if you want to sound like a spanner when talking about playing your "Hendrix vinyl" then be my guest
Winston_1
05-01-2016
WD40 is not a cleaner. It is a water displacement fluid. It is not lubricating oil either. WD = water displacement. 40 = the number of tries before they got it right.
Nigel Goodwin
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by Winston_1:
“WD40 is not a cleaner. It is a water displacement fluid. It is not lubricating oil either. WD = water displacement. 40 = the number of tries before they got it right.”

I suggest you try reading what it says on the can

Or for that matter squirt some on your hand - - what's that oil?, no it can't be there!, Winston says not

It's an excellent switch and pot 'cleaner', more so than specific switch cleaners.
killjoy
08-01-2016
Well I used the switch cleaner and the result was great, as good as new.
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