hifonics olympus vii dirty/faulty pots?

marko · 23rd March 2010, 06:08 PM

just got one of these, bought as faulty as a little project. so i powered it up and got sound, not bad so far until i attempt to adjust gain and i get very loud interference then it shut down.

now if i adjust the gain before i power up to suit it's ok and plays cleanly except for the occasional high noise floor that seams to be from the pots..

are these known for bad pots?

1moreamp · 23rd March 2010, 07:24 PM

Hey Marko, How ya been ?

Try giving it a cleaning with contact cleaner. If this does not resolve the noise issue then you need a gain pot my friend....

Oh and no these were not really known for bad pots I think you got a golden oldy and its just dirty due to age and exposure...

marko · 23rd March 2010, 07:42 PM

hi Cecil, long time no speak! yeah i'm fine over here, just in the middle of re-doing my install then the postie dropped this on my doorstep today

for some reason i've got a hunch that there's possibly a bad solder under the pots, it's strange how both pots for front and rear channels exhibit the same symptoms, i've known amsp to have scratchy pots before but my god it's like a clap of thunder when you so much a s touch them

tomorrow i may take the board out and put some fresh solder over the joints and see what happen..

how do you clean pots anyway? i tried the usual "spin them frantically" for a minute or so but this didn't work

1moreamp · 23rd March 2010, 08:50 PM

If they are sealed up you will need to drill or melt a small hole in the case to spray cleaner inside them. If they have a semi open frame just find a opening and spritz away.
Then spin back and forth like mad and then spray again. A friend of mine from south of the border use to use silicone spray like WD-40. I can't subscribe to this but he said it worked just fine for him. I use contact cleaner myself.

But pot replacement is always the best. Unless its Autotek gain pots where they charge $18.00 each for them

Perhaps ZED audio can sell or tell you where they can be had for reasonable..

I have seen some bad solder issues also but more often then that was a broken pot lead. These things do get a lot of use it seems.

Its nice to see you around....C

marko · 28th March 2010, 04:21 PM

good news! i took the board out and resolderd the pots on then cleaned the pots out (there is a small hole

) and the amp works flawlesly now

maybe i didn't need to resolder the pots but i did, i cleaned them twice, the 1st time almost cured it but the 2nd time hit the nail on the head! just had it blasting out in the garage on my old kefs and it sounds so good and powerful, i should do a direct comparison between this and the series viii i have, i swear this one sounds better

23rd March 2010, 06:08 PM	#1
marko diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: donnyuk	hifonics olympus vii dirty/faulty pots? just got one of these, bought as faulty as a little project. so i powered it up and got sound, not bad so far until i attempt to adjust gain and i get very loud interference then it shut down. now if i adjust the gain before i power up to suit it's ok and plays cleanly except for the occasional high noise floor that seams to be from the pots.. are these known for bad pots?

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23rd March 2010, 07:24 PM	#2
1moreamp diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Northern California	Hey Marko, How ya been ? Try giving it a cleaning with contact cleaner. If this does not resolve the noise issue then you need a gain pot my friend.... Oh and no these were not really known for bad pots I think you got a golden oldy and its just dirty due to age and exposure...

23rd March 2010, 07:42 PM	#3
marko diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: donnyuk	hi Cecil, long time no speak! yeah i'm fine over here, just in the middle of re-doing my install then the postie dropped this on my doorstep today for some reason i've got a hunch that there's possibly a bad solder under the pots, it's strange how both pots for front and rear channels exhibit the same symptoms, i've known amsp to have scratchy pots before but my god it's like a clap of thunder when you so much a s touch them tomorrow i may take the board out and put some fresh solder over the joints and see what happen.. how do you clean pots anyway? i tried the usual "spin them frantically" for a minute or so but this didn't work

23rd March 2010, 08:50 PM	#4
1moreamp diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Northern California	If they are sealed up you will need to drill or melt a small hole in the case to spray cleaner inside them. If they have a semi open frame just find a opening and spritz away. Then spin back and forth like mad and then spray again. A friend of mine from south of the border use to use silicone spray like WD-40. I can't subscribe to this but he said it worked just fine for him. I use contact cleaner myself. But pot replacement is always the best. Unless its Autotek gain pots where they charge $18.00 each for them Perhaps ZED audio can sell or tell you where they can be had for reasonable.. I have seen some bad solder issues also but more often then that was a broken pot lead. These things do get a lot of use it seems. Its nice to see you around....C

28th March 2010, 04:21 PM	#5
marko diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: donnyuk	good news! i took the board out and resolderd the pots on then cleaned the pots out (there is a small hole ) and the amp works flawlesly now maybe i didn't need to resolder the pots but i did, i cleaned them twice, the 1st time almost cured it but the 2nd time hit the nail on the head! just had it blasting out in the garage on my old kefs and it sounds so good and powerful, i should do a direct comparison between this and the series viii i have, i swear this one sounds better