Over Zealous!

[Bushbaby]

Thanks for the tip as Ive ordered some from Bowood

Regards

Rob

[Radio Fixer]

Yeuk! dont like the sound of those later ones at all Joe.

Phil Taylor was selling metal pots with metal shafts at the last BVWS swap I went to. Could give him a ring.

Gary

[Joe]

The odd thing is that the shafts on the second lot are stiffer than the on the first one. They are green as opposed to grey - good thing they're out of sight!

- Joe

[Yorkie]

I was in touch with Omeg recently, who make pots for the likes of Maplin.

They're a great firm, and will make old stlye metal boddied pots with 1/4" shafts, (the title of such pots eludes me). Indeed, they'll make any pot that anyone wants - switched, unswitched, log, anti-log linear, dual track, click stop - whatever. The only snag being that they have a minimum order quantity of ten (as I recall), and a minmum order value of £25.00 + P&P + VAT. I'd contacted them to see if they supplied any of their wholesale customers with anit-log switched pots as I thought I'd need two 50K anti-log (sometimes called 'reverse log') switched pots for a Noble and a Portadyne Princess, but I managed to bodge them up. (The info on these sets is sparse - it only shows a 50k pot on the circuit with no mention of track type, and I dare say that many restorers will wrongly assume that it's a normal log pot, but it isn't - it doesn't just act as a volume control but reaction too. Whther a log pot would work in such circumstances I've no idea, but I doubt it would work well.

As I suspected, Omeg didn't supply anyone with such pots, but would happily make me two and forgo the MOQ of ten, but when VAT and P&P was added to the MOV, it came to about £35.00 so was uneconomical, but for the few very valauble vintage sets, I guess it could well make sense. Very nice lady who I spoke to.

I often see posts on forums for such things as new switched pots for DAC90As, and Omeg would happily make exactly the right pot, the price of which would fall quite dramatically for say 25 or 50. However, I'm not interested in engaging in commercial activities, and certainly not dedicated to preserving DAC90As, so it's of no interest to me, but I'm surpised that some enterprising outfit or another hasn't taken this up. Whether or not some of the tight-wads on some forums (not this one of course) who often want something for nothing, would be prepared to pay perhaps a tenner for a new switched pot for a DAC90A is another thing altogether, but they pay that and more for a UL41, or even a tenner for a junky death-trap 2-pin reversible power socket so that the 'originality' of pehaps the most commonplace minimalist rental 'ration book era' set ever produced. (Every skip should have one, and probably has!), trolled Yorkie.

Can't recall Omeg's web address but google will soon find it if anyone is interested. (they're a long established firm who made many of the original pots that went into radios etc).

[Bushbaby]

Hi All,
Joe is correct - the ones supplied are for PCB mounting. I'm wondering whether to persevere with the original. Any thoughts??

Thanks

Rob

[Joe]

It's a personal decision, Rob. I'm with David in thinking reliability, performance and safety out-rank authenticity.

Is this the set you're doing for yourself? If so I don't suppose it matters as much if you do fix the original but it fails again.

Good luck either way.

- Joe

[Bushbaby]

Hi Joe,
No its going off to friend - sounds like its a no brainer with the new pot.

Thanks

Rob

[Robert Darwent]

I'm with David in thinking reliability, performance and safety out-rank authenticity.

I agree. But the real 'trick' in restoring a vintage radio is to have the "reliability, performance and safety" and retain the authenticity too. They are not mutually exclusive.

I'm wondering whether to persevere with the original. Any thoughts??

If it was me Rob, if at all possible, I'd continue to use the original pot. From what you have described earlier, it should be fairly easy to repair reliably. I wouldn't have thought the subject of safety particularly applies in this situation, so either it will work satisfactory or not. The point is, try a repair to the original component before discarding it.

Just my view and my approach to restoring a vintage radio, they are not the only ones of course.

Regards

[Radio Fixer]

Rob by an odd coincidence I have a 470K Log DP switch pot bought from Phil Taylor at the last BVWS meeting I went to. It never got used and I doubt it will, or at least for some time and I can get another if needed.

Its better than most modern items being all metal, with a flatted metal shaft of 2" length. It doesnt look exactly period as its only 25mm but is about as good as you could hope for.

I dont know what I paid for it ... about £6 I think.

I'm in Thorpe Bay so you could pick it up if you want it.


Gary

[pwdrive]

Hi Rob, if it's just the switch section of the pot that's duff, keep the temporary fix, from your pic it doesn't seem unsafe, then wait 'till another similar constructed switched pot comes along, there is normaly plenty of that type that show up, then just change over the switch body, used to do it all the time, thus keeping it's original appearance, which if possible is what restoration is all about. I had one on an old Hallicrafters, the switched had jammed up, by prising outwardsthe three retaining lugs I was able to remove the switch body, degrease and regrease and reassemble to the pot body. I do not see that there is anything unsafe with what you have done, infact by direct soldering you have eliminated a possible point of arcing.

Lawrence.