How To Repair Scratchy Noisy Volume Control Or Tone Control
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Volume controls, tone controls, etc, can get dirty and gunked up over time. They can develop oxidation. This leads the static noise and you turn the dials on on radios, computer speakers or whatever type of electronic device you have with knobs. Sometimes the sound cuts out altogether. They also get sticky so they don't turn freely. I show you how to clean and lubricate these controls to make them sound better, move smoothly, and quiet the static. In the video I am fixing computer speakers, but it's just the same to fix radios, electric guitars, guitar amps or whatever. The only difference is the taking it apart. They will still have a potentiometer that is dirty.
Radio Shack Control Cleaner:
www.amazon.com...
I recommend using control cleaner. I used Radio Shack Control Cleaner, but unfortunately most Radio Shacks have closed. I think you can still order it online. Another option is DeoxIT F5.
www.amazon.com...
I get people asking if other stuff will work. I use control cleaner because it is made for the application. Maybe they think that all liquids in a spray can are the same? If you want to know if alcohol, water, WD-40, or any other liquid, will work, you go ahead an try it. It's your device, so feel free to damage it.
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13 years in the radio business 1969-1982 , and now I finally know why the control board knobs were called "pots" ! :-)
LOL!
Never too late to learn anything
It's actually short for potentiometer!
I've been cleaning up my guitar pots and scratchy effects pedal pots with this stuff for years. I came across this video as I was trying to convince a friend to do this himself instead of replacing all of his pots that are probably working fine, but just need cleaning. It's a cheap and fast fix. Great video!
Great Video, no extra blah, blah, blah and right to the point. This is the video I was looking for to fix my computer speakers...Thanks Shy
this is why I like these kinda older videos. straight to the point with no ad filled 10 minute long unnecessary stretching.
I was fully prepared to remove and replace some pots on my guitar amp. My soldering skills are barely passable. No doubt I would have made a bigger mess trying to "fix" the scratchy pots. I had no idea that kind of cleaner existed.
thank you for sharing this!
+Jason Wojcik
You are just like me lol.I had no idea either.
Straight to the point, clear and concise. Thank you!
I've been doing this for years with various stereo amps, etc. That said, we must keep in mind, spraying contact cleaner into a pot is only a temporary solution. I have an old Harmon Kardon HK550 that I bought new around 1978. It started giving me grief about 20 years ago, and roughly once a year or so I'd open the amp, expose the pots (volume, treble, bass), and give them a spray. Over the last year or so, the problem has worsened, and now this spray ritual seemed to occur every couple months or so. So enough was enough, and I was about to set out on a mission. I love this old amp, and would never part with it despite having a very good high-end Atoll pre-amp on my main system. I took the time to remove each pot, disassemble, and clean/polish the insides (resistance pad, wiper, etc). The best product for this I've found is called Detoxit Fader F5. I managed to remove all of the residual crap and oxidation that has been left behind as a result of many years of contact spray cleaning. During this endeavor I also replaced the caps. Now my amp is good for another 30 years or so.
Hey, this solved my problem. I have an old radio making that scratchy sound, but I followed your instruction and now it sounds like new. THANK YOU!!
I'm working on a tube radio and found this video. First thought was - Hey! I know that voice! Watched a lot of your bike videos! I have moved on to tube radios and love that you have this one too. Thank you!
I'll joint the army of thankful people. Really thank you, man
Join* XD
+Max Dutov Hey... sharing a joint is a good way to thank people too :)
Thanks, your advice helped me fix the scratchy volume on my Edirol FA-66 audio interface for my PC. The closest product I could find was "WD-40 Specialist Fast Drying Contact Cleaner". Worked like a charm. There was no hole in the potentiometer like in your video, and I was worried it was sealed and wouldn't work. But I used compressed air just after spraying to force the liquid through the tiny gap where the knob turns, and I think that must have done the trick.
THANK YOU! This worked amazingly in restoring some Sennheiser wireless headphones that were cutting out and scratchy in one ear piece! I took the (opposite) ear piece that had the volume control apart and applied some 91% isopropyl alcohol ($1-2 at the drug store) all over the volume control, moved the knob around, and brushed it off with a little cleaning brush from a shaving kit. The first time improved things, but there was still some scratchiness so I applied a second round of alcohol & brushing, and after that it was as good as new! No scratchiness and no shorting out of one side of the headphones. (I also took the cleaner to the charging station contacts on my headphones and the charger, and that greatly improved the contact there too. Shoulda done all this a couple years ago when I first had the problem...) Now I wonder if this will work on my car speaker that goes out... Time to remove the stereo and clean the volume knob and see!
Shorting on one side is exactly what I'm getting right now! Hoping this works
Oh man. Regrettably, when I was younger I had a amazing rack mount amplifier. An early Technics model. I got rid of it because of the horrible volume knob static. I truly wish I knew this back then.
Dear everyone - this isn't about WD-40. Just stop using WD-40. It isn't for this - or most things for that matter. Contact cleaner is a special solution that removes corrosion and oxidation from electrical surfaces. WD-40 does not do that, it just temporarily lubricates and pushes water away from the surface. Not the same thing. I use Deoxit D5 contact cleaner for my old guitar pots and jacks. In most cases it does the job. In some other cases, a pot replacement is needed. There are many other products that will work for this, I'm sure, just not WD-40, so please stop trying to use it on your old electronics!
But you're away that WD40 does produce a contact cleaner as well, right?
www.wd40.com/products/contact-cleaner/
Thank you, sir! Your video repaired my old Spirit of St. Louis radio volume and channel dial static noise.
The video production of this video was way ahead of its time
This tip is so basic and primary, that I am surprised that so many people here have admired !!
Thank you so much for this. I did not have the contact cleaner, so I tried with normal alcohol (I know is not the best option) and it worked instantly. Literally, as soon as I put a drop of alcohol inside the pot, the noise is gone. works perfectly now. This is a very cheap chinese pot, by the way.
i bought a early 1980s general electrics alarm clock/radio/telephone from goodwill. when i turned the volume dial it was very loud static i thought that was broken so i opened it up and but a 2 drops of water on the potentiometer on the mother, im so happy it works great now, no static at all, this thing looks beautiful now it works beautiful too.,THANKS!!!
Landed here when looking for fix to volume dial on headphone-to-receiver cord. Great video mostly because you were brief & to the point. But, now I am thinking about all of those speakers I have thrown away over the years. Aaaarrrrgghhh.
Cg t TV GC
My computer speakers were doing something similar, but on a lesser scale. The volume would noisily fluctuate even when I would lightly touch the volume knob.
I turned them off and turned the knob several times, which seems to have maybe displaced the gunk in the potentiometer, and solved my problem, at least for now. Great video Sir.
Thanks for showing me what to do to fix the volume knob on my alesis micron.
Whats even better is, that, when i pulled the knob off, i saw a hole in the casing, right next to the potentiometer. I squirted contact cleaner in that hole, and it got inside the pot and fixed it.
Once again ty.
You saved my day, Bike Guy. I was ready to buy another speaker system. I used carburetor cleaner. Scratchy sound cleared up instantly.
I was having this problem with my headphones, but the volume changer is inaccessible without breaking it open, so I just put my lips over the hole and blew as hard as I could, and it completely removed the scratch sound. Not exactly what you were suggesting here, but I never would have guessed it was a dirtyness issue, so thank you for the video.
Many Thanks! This is great. Just took a few minutes and my 30 year old Technics AV Receiver GA-SX730 is like new. The volume control had been funky for quite awhile. Now, to rehab my old Kenwood MV7 Monitor Speakers!
Thanks to you, I can now repair my retro radio myself! 👍🏻
Thanks. A really basic set of instructions that anyone can follow. Great that you didn't try to blind us with science - just kept it simple for us.
Thanks a lot, your little VID helped me out a lot,
I got an electric guitar which had serious problems with one of the pots and i was already on my way to order a new part form the US and thinking about how much the replacement was gonna cost me, so after seeing your vid, as a last resort I opened up the back of the guitar and sprayed some CC in the opening above the wires and ... the interference is gone !!!! Squeaky Clean sound again!
Thank you, did what you said and now my guitar volume pot is static free, saved me some money and a good bit of time, so glad I found this
It's amazing at how many Stereo receivers from the 70's and 80's that I've found at thrift stores that people donated because they thought they were junk because of the oxidization on the contacts . I've found at least a dozen higher end audio products over the past year or two that only needed a simply cleaning such as this that I paid like $8 -$15 for 😉. So keep donating them dummies 👍 .
Nice and simple. Wish I had thought of this 2 years ago instead of putting up with the crackling! Thanks a million.
Quite impressed by the clarity of those speakers
I bought new ones multiple times, but they never sounded as good as these old ones. I eventually retired them and now use an amplifier and stereo speakers.
alwyn john, I am sure there are others, but I don't know which. I have always used the contact cleaner which is easily available at Radio Shack.
+RJ The Bike Guy can i use coconut hair oil instead if that cleaner
maybee your dad or boyfriend or brother has brake cleaner, if you have that around it wont lubricate you pots but at least clean them good.
Sure. Why use a product intended for the purpose of cleaning delicate electronics, when you can use a product that is not intended for electronics at all. Electronic components/circuitry are pretty much the same a dirty, greasy drum brakes, right? I mean whats the worst that can happen? It completely destroys your electronic gear? But at least you saved a buck or two and a trip to the store.
I recently got into bikes and subscribed to your channel. I also have this exact same problem with my volume knob.. You're videos are the best on the internet. I wish you made car and motorcycle repair videos too :)
I have car videos actually. czcams.com/video/612JaPC0HBc/video.html
Thanks a lot, this helped me fix a broken Walkman EX190 that I had to solder apart fully to repair, you've saved me the hassle of doing that again...
Thank you, the other video I watched a year ago did not explain about the hole in the potentiometer. Mine is still crackling, spraying the shaft did some good but did not lubricate or clean it enough. Next time I take it apart, I will know what to do. :) Great job, easy to follow instructions. I subscribed.
Dear lord I would have never thought of it as a potential fix, and it did fix my headphones, just now, with WD 40. Thx.
Easy fix I've been doing for years, thanks for posting a video though. By the way, those tiny speakers sound pretty good!
Excellent straight to the point. Well edited. God I wish other vids were like this.instead of not planning ur vid and maybe script.
Thank you so much! Fixed the scratching issues with the knobs on my guitar amp. Cost less than $5 to fix.
Lol i read the top comment before i saw the video. And it was straight to the point no bs lol love u bro i came trying to fix my scratchy knob and i got answer and subscribed.
I just tried this trick with a simple 90's Sony portable radio. As someone suggested in the comments, I used a few drops of isopropyl alcool from the pharmacy (99%), on the volume control and it worked perfectly in less than a minute. Honestly I barely rubbed around the control with a q-tips. I wasn't sure it was cleaning anything since you can't really get in between the round control button and the board. But it worked fine. Thanks @RJ
thanks man, it worked a treat, you probably saved me $200 plus, I was going to replace
Thank you for the info! My scratchy volume knob was driving me nuts!!
This technique saved my mum's radio crackling sound! I plan to use this in other repairs. Thanks a bunch!!! :-)
I used silicone spray on my Altec Lansing computer speakers volume control. Fixed perfectly.
Thanks for this video, was able to sort out the crackling sound while turning the knob on my Klipsch Promedia speakers.
Wow, so easily explained, even I can do this, and did, and solved the scratchy noise. Thank you!!
After seeing this video, I tried tapping the knob with my finger and it fixed mine without needing to disassemble :)
Thank you sir. You just saved my Technics SU-A800 amplifier
You can use CRC 2-26 Electrical Grade cleaner and lubricant
Maybe. I haven't used it. Don't know anything about it.
And here I was, thinking you just fixed up cool old bikes!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! It worked right away on my computer speakers!
I was thinking of desoldering and changing the whole potentiometer, will have to buy contact cleaner and try this first, thanks.
Awesome, this worked for me like a charm.... easy DIY. I was planning to replace the volume control. I used a medicinal alcohol instead. Thanks.
+Deepak Bharadwaj FYI, the results may be short lived with the alcohol.
+RJ The Bike Guy I am not sure i will get the contact cleaner, will get one of those online. Thanks for the advice on this
It worked! Many thanks. I used it on a set of headphones and simply used rubbing alcohol, since I didn't have the other stuff.
Nice concise video, thank you! I have a guitar amp that has some very noisy controls that I shall be using your helpful advice on.
Wow! Thanks for the video - it worked. To think I nearly threw away my old Labtec LCS-2424 speakers.
You are a lifesaver!! Thank you!! I had no idea it would be this simple.
Thanks for the video. I have an old Onkyo integrated amp that the volume control is just worthless. It's so scratchy I can't use it, so I'm going to try the product you recommended
This video saved tonight's show! Thank you! 🍻🖖🐐💜
Thanks RJ, really straight forward. Great vid!
Great share .. thank you. i looked you up because my radio volume has terrible static on the pot.. i knew that there was something you could use. we used to use Graphite in a spray can for that problem where i worked at. i used to work at a camera repair facility and the digital cameras were hooked up with the computers and sound system and after about 1250 hours of continuous work the system would start to get all static like and we used graphite on the potentiometer. that was about 7-8 years ago and i am no longer working there.. also we would use Gold spray on the pots as well but that was very expensive.. have you ever heard of using graphite or gold spray for the same issue.. the gold spray was good for the electronic boards and zoom pots. hey thank you for your wonderful input here. i will surely try this tomorrow as far as the spray you are using. it seems to do the trick..
Kudos my friend. Came across this looking to Maplin to replace all pots on my new (old) guitar amp. Only works with volume in one position and scratches like hell. Wish I'd have googled last time I got a new (old) amp 😂
Thank you! Buying some speakers with this exact problem. Hopefully that will do it. They are very cheap and the sound is great.
You saved my old JVC AX - E 900! :) Thank you
Awesome thank you. I found the WD40 cleaner for sensitive electronics is the same thing. Fixed my studio monitors!
Thanks for this video! Got a pair of Roland MA-8 Stereo Monitors from the 90s. Gonna do this fix on them.
I have a Yamaha PSR 2000 with a very scratchy, loud volume control knob. It's to the point where serious speaker damage could occur. Disassembling the Organ to get at the POT base would be quite a task..
Would removing the plastic Vol. control knob and spraying the shaft be a exceptional fix❓. The speaker's sound like they're going to jump out of the unit.
I'm going to go ahead and say thank you for this video.
With this video explaining why this happens, I was able to fix my computer speaker by just turning the knob back and forth really fast to sweep away whatever was sticking to the pot.
Thanks so much! I tried it on my computer speakers and works like a charm!
Thanks RJ. Now my headphone AMP gain control is nice and clean.
Louder
Not louder, but does not make scratchy noise when I adjust the gain.
I used Blaster Silicone Lubricant from HD. It worked great. Thanks!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, excellent video just straight to the problem and solution. I just subscribed to your channel...
You sir... are awesome! Was just about to throw out my old speaker! Then I found your channel! I used WD40 and it works like a charm...
Hey man,my Sony minidisc player has that same problem,keep up the good work man.
What if the click works, when pressing the button, but when turning left and right, it doesnt work at all? what do I do then? its for a car radio
Both products are extremely flammable per the product photos in your description links. So it's a petroleum distillate, then. Good to know.
winona.safeschoolssds.com/document/repo/e8dd5ba0-0cfa-4280-8ef7-17eb46dda5be
@@RJTheBikeGuy I remember those working at UPS.
Hi there, I have a tone control that is NOT scratchy (since I cleaned/deoxed), now, while adjusting treble the left channel completely cuts out. kinda like a worn charging cable on a cell phone, if you hold pressure in a certain direction it works, as soon as you let go, it stops. Any advise?
I have this with my focusrite solo audio interface, gonna try for sure
I have a pair of canyon usb speakers that had that problem and I couldn't open them to clean the volume switch because I don't have a triangle head screwdriver, so my simple fix was to blow air into the hole around the switch and the next second they were good as new ;). Note: My speakers have a volume control wheel switch...
It didn't work for my Logitech z533 speakers. Is my circuit board for the volume control in need of replacement?
I have an old 70s console and all the knobs are crackly etc. I have to play with them to finally get quiet and play music without crackling or cutting out. I'm afraid to take the back off and try and figure out how to get the knobs out. Will spraying under the knobs do anything to help?
Thank you muchly. My Behringer mixer is having this issue on the phones knob which is really irritating. I was considering getting a new mixer! What about the liquid? I noticed it got everywhere... is thate ven safe?
Thank you I have about 3 or 4 of these in my house right now!
My Logitech comp speakers sound great but that crackle has become ear splitting loud. I hope this will work from the front as I dont see any screws to take the speaker module apart.
WoW!!
thanx ALOT!!
i didnt knew it was so simple!
you just saved me from buying new set of speakers for PC :D
cheers!!!
By the way,
since i didint have proper contact cleaner, i used my old WD40 (bought it 10 years ago :D )
and it DID the trick!
***** thanx!
CentOS here mostly :D
hi there, i was told not to use WD40 for this sort of things (electronics, contacts, etc) because the WD40 leaves like a film over the things after a while, and may cause some trouble. however glad to hear it did work for you
Wow Thanks! I would have broken it apart to see if I could have figured out the issue
I liked and subscribed. I have a question. Is this the only type of product that will have the desired effect? What about WD-40 or QD electronic cleaner or ?? Thx
The potentiometers that I'm looking at have no holes. Does that mean I'll just have to replace them?
Hey bro,
I used your technique to clean up my Gaming Headsets volume wheel. If you go to my channel you can see it in my latest videos.
I will credit you and your video in the description right now.
Thanks again for this wonderful fix, my headphones work as new! :)
What makes a volume control cut out in only one side? Thanks
Worked like a charm!
thank you so much, I fixed my $20 gaming headset that uses the same volume mechanism
thanks for the video I'm going to try this I hope it works for my speakers
My input knob for aux/cd/tuner etc is doing this very bad ..how can i fix it??? PLEASE HELP
Exactly what I needed to know. Thank you!!
Just found this video and even though its has been here for a fairly long time it is still relevant. I have the exact same speakers and had a scratchy volume pot but the Deoxit in Canada (at Long and McQuade) is like $30 a can so I found an alternative at Canadian Tire called Motomaster Electrical Contact Cleaner for $7 and it worked great. Sprayed all three pots and problem totally solved. Save some $$$ and try the CT stuff.
Is it made for pots? Control cleaner usually contains stuff to lubricate the control as well.
@@RJTheBikeGuy
Well the cleaner I used did seem to make the pots move a bit easier than before. The scratchyness was completely removed. For $7 I'd recommend it as alternative to Deoxit. Let's be real though...Deoxit is the premium cleaner and would no doubt work better but what I needed the CT cleaner worked fine. Thanks
BRILLIANT. Thank You sir!
Many thanks, simpler than I thought. 😀