Pro-106 Scratchy Volume Control: Solved

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Ardvaark

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Not for the faint at heart! And do be very careful if you attempt this. I nor anyone else in this or any neighboring solar system is responsible if you damage your 400 dollar toy.

Problem:
I too have a brand new 106 that suffers terribly from SVC(scratchy volume control) syndrome. Being that the volume control is a sealed type, there is no way to clean the contacts unless you create an opening to expose the wiper blades. I've done this before so I kind of knew what to expect.
PM me or respond here if you have any questions.

Instructions: Lightly begin shaving away material at the two locations shown in the attached picture on the blue pot. When I say lightly, I mean it! It only takes a little bit of shaving to expose the interior of the pot. NO DIGGING, please. The wiper blades are very close to the top. No wiggle room here at all. So take your time. From the top of the unit where the knobs are it goes: first blue section is squelch pot next blue is volume pot and the white thing at the end is the on off switch. I chose to expose both the volume and squelch pots as shown. Then get some deoxit D5 in there and rotate the pot(s) back and forth about 30 times. Then reseal with some tape over the top.

There you go! Better than new, or should I say, literally, better than new.


Tools needed:
2 drops of DeoxIT D5($13.99)
Xacto knife(or similar)
Patience(priceless) ;)

Ardvaark

More photos:
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/ardvaark/vol1.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/ardvaark/vol2.jpg
 

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DickH

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Before doing all that, I would just do the last step - rapidly rotate it many times (100?). That ought to clean off any residue that may be on the wiper.
 
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kb0nly

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Before doing all that, I would just do the last step - rapidly rotate it many times (100?). That ought to clean off any residue that may be on the wiper.

It will, for a day or two, maybe a bit more, then the problem comes right back. The Deoxit leaves a film that keeps it from corroding any further. Great stuff use it all the time, its spendy but it goes a long way as a tiny drop will usually do ya.
 

Ardvaark

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If it's new, why not take it back to the dealer and ask for one that works right?

I bought mine at Digicircle and paid cash in person. He said he'd warrant it for 30 days but no refunds, store credit only. Sure, he's got a bunch of them in stock but I got the newest one he had.
I figure this problem is so common it wouldn't do me any good to get another radio because I'd have the same problem again most likely.

Ardvaark
 

pathalogical

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My 106 volume scratches too. Not sure if it did this from the begining, it's 2 1/2 years old now. I tend to keep the volume at the same level - at about the 9:00 position, just enough to hear it. In comparison to my PSR 300, its volume knob is very 'loose' whereas the 106 is quit stiff.
 

LesWurk

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Any success stories yet?[/QUOTE]


Pro 96 the same deal? Mine has a scratchy volume control, squelch seems ok.
 

recon20

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Success

My Pro 106 volume control was getting so bad that rotating it back and forth didn't help any more. It was so scratchy that i wouldn't hear anything unless I positioned the volume control perfectly.
I opened it up to see if I could clean the volume pot but since it is sealed, wasn't sure what to do.

Thanks to Ardvaark, I purchased some Deoxit, opened up a small hole and worked it in there. Now the scratching is gone completely. It's perfect now. Thanks for the info!
 

gewecke

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Maybe this thread should made a sticky, so that other users can refer to it?
I took care of the issue with both my 197, and 106 long ago. :)

73,
n9zas
 

N1SQB

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fxdscon

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Gentlemen, might I also suggest a small piece of some kind of tape to cover the now exposed pots before closing everything back up. Just a suggestion! Otherwise, great post!


In fairness to the OP, that was listed as one of the steps in his original post:

Then reseal with some tape over the top.

.
 

Ronaldski

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Wouldnt your basic isopropyl alcohol work too as it evaporates cleanly and doesn't leave residue.
 

jaspence

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Pro 106 volume control

It seems that many people do not know the value of the RR Search box at the top right of this page. That problem has been discussed numerous times, and the same solution was also presented. I know many members like to be in on a discussion, but RR maintains the database to save time and provide quick results, and these redundant posts do nothing but fill their servers with duplicate information.
 

JoeRock

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It seems that many people do not know the value of the RR Search box at the top right of this page. That problem has been discussed numerous times, and the same solution was also presented. I know many members like to be in on a discussion, but RR maintains the database to save time and provide quick results, and these redundant posts do nothing but fill their servers with duplicate information.

Well, I for one, was not looking for this information because I needed it (my pots aren't scratchy... yet). I clicked on the thread because it was resurrected and because of that, I learned something new.

Thanks, OP!
 

recon20

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It seems that many people do not know the value of the RR Search box at the top right of this page. That problem has been discussed numerous times, and the same solution was also presented. I know many members like to be in on a discussion, but RR maintains the database to save time and provide quick results, and these redundant posts do nothing but fill their servers with duplicate information.

It seems that the search box is VERY handy. That's how I found this thread from 2 years ago, (with pictures and a recommendation for a very good product)

If there is a duplicate thread, I didn't find it. So, please show me the duplicate thread or quit whining.
 
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