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March 19, 2008
Noisy Volume Knob? Try Fixing It
A lot of devices have electro-mechanical controls that can degrade over time. Take the pair of Kilpsch ProMedia 2.0 PC speakers I've had for a few years as an example.
Recently, the volume knob started introducing lots of static/noise whenever it was turned, sometimes throwing off the L/R balance or even dropping out the volume altogether. More fiddling would fix it, but it was annoying.
At this point, most people would simply replace the speakers. But I really like these; they sound utterly fantastic for a 2.0 setup. So I set about finding a fix.
It turns out that the 1-2 punch of CAIG Laboratories DeOxit cleaner followed by DeOxit ProGold contact preservative (which I got from RadioShack.com) was just the trick. After cracking open the speaker with the controls, I spritzed the cleaner into the potentiometer and worked the knob back and forth. Then, a few minutes later, I spritzed in the ProGold to help protect the contacts, and worked the knob a bit more.
A half-hour later, I reassembled the speaker, plugged everything back in and it's perfect. The volume knob is now silky smooth and there's no sign of drop-outs or static. For $15, this sure beats trying to replace some fantastic speakers.
Posted by Craig in Computing
and Home A/V
and Technology
Comments
That's fantastic!!!!
Great tip.
Posted by: Bob at March 19, 2008 8:08 PM