Attenuator issues

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Geophysicist

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Joined 2006
#1
Mmmm....bigger knobs

OK, time to get out the calculator...2500/900 = 2.78....17000/6000 = 2.83. A very similar discount ratio, I have to say. If I could just find a 2T for that same ratio......

Personally, I think the knobs are just right. Not hard to turn and they transmit a really nice tactile feel. I may have to open up the control unit in the future and clean the left side volume control. It has a trace of light crackling noise from about 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock. This disappears if I rotate the knob through those position a few times, then has reappeared the next day thus far. It's not even loud enough to be annoying, but is an early symptom perhaps. What do you think about Caig Pro Gold for cleaning?

By the way, the name's Mike.
 
#2
I would just use industrial grade isopropyl alcohol. I like Caig, BUT not on vital contacts. Bob used to use a fresh pencil eraser for cleaning the contacts as well. Mine have been OK for many years, but we have had some complaints over the years. These contacts should be 'self cleaning' to a great degree.
 
#3
Hi Mike,

In my experience, Caig products are excellent, and I use them all.

However, they do make a product especially for dealing with pot problems, and it is called CaiLube MCL, which is formulated to work better with conductive-plastic, and carbon pots.

Whilst I reckon the other product, Pro Gold, would be satisfactory, it is made for metal connectors, instead.

As you are in the 'States, Michael Percy appears to stock all the usual Caig range, so you could try him if necessary.

A big mistake made by many is to use too much of these Caig cleaners, which the makers advise against. A small quantity goes a long way!

Regards,
 
#7
Me? Comment on something that I have never tried? Please! I have used Caig products for about 25 years. I have all kinds of Caig products around here. I have them diluted with alcohol for general cleaning. I have pens, bottles, spray cans, and oil spout dispensers. Still, Enid Lumley warned me more than 20 years ago that these products leave a film, and this can potentially interfere with the audio quality, just like Tweek. Apparently, just air between contact 'spaces' is better than an a chemical coating.
 
#18
In a few of the electronics classes that I've taken, they suggest a clean eraser as a good tool for cleaning contacts on sensitive test equipment. I later asked a friend who is a medical electronics tech and she said that it is common practice at her hospital.

I've tried it at home and it seems to clean up oxidation. I had a difficult time quantifying the results, but it seemed to have a positive effect.

I've also used some of the caig products with good results, but this was on audio gear of inferior quality. One of the best ways to clean a switch or pot is to turn it back and forth quickly. If there is only a small amount of oxidation this can clear it up.

nate
 
#19
Sorry to spoil such a beautiful pastoral scene but it does strike me as a bit odd that, in a thread entirely dedicated to a rather costly worth-every-penny-of-it piece of ultra high-end audio gear, we should now stoop to a discussion on best cleaning tips and tricks and, which is even more interesting, that it should attract so much attention. So, here we are a couple of years down the road, discussing how to fix one of these expensive pots that is not functioning properly after only a few years of use (which, given the price of the equipment, must have been remarkably careful and considerate)!! This could mean that either TKDs are in fact not as top-notch-the-best-there-is (as it has been suggested earlier) or that something is wrong with the design implementation (DC offset or such). Either way, I believe the pot in question should be replaced with a new one by the manufacturer, free of charge.

BTW, what's the warranty for a BT?

Regards,
Milan
 
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