Pot help.

tbbk

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2001
Messages
15,402
Reaction score
109
Location
Missouri
BTW - if that pot on digikey is the right replacement, you should be able to get the same thing at Fry's or Radio Shack. It has the audio knob instead of the tapered knob. You may need the tapered knob, but I haven't seen the original...
 
How far do the paddles spin when you turn them?

Do they turn 360 or are there stops at some angle? If there are stops, try turning them back and forth until you get an idea as to what degree turns are allowed.

If your game allows you to turn the paddles 360 degrees and you put a pot in with a 314 degree mechanical rotation you're going to be in trouble. And yes, there are pots available that go the full 360 degree rotation.

The numbers seem to be an exact match for the part you found at Digikey and the legend on the pot so you're probably good...
 
Last edited:
They have stops, 314 degrees sounds about right. I found the linked pot by searching the model number of the original one.
 
Sadly, those kind of pots.....just arn't cheap. Honestly, $8 and change isn't a bad price. A lot of places sell them for upwards of $20 a piece.

Edward
 
Have you tried to open one and hit it with contact cleaner??

In the "use it for everything" category I have an op buddy that grew up routing EM equipment who uses WD-40 as contact cleaner.
 
Please.......don't ever use WD-40 as a contact cleaner. :eek:

Edward


In retrospect...good point. I am usually the first one to say where NOT to use WD...but then fell into the "its a one stop shop" trap myself. Most folks don't know it was originally formulated as water dissipation solution for the aerospace industry. Anyway, the name stands for Water Dissipation formula 40...in that it was the 40 attempt to create a solution that did as required.
 
Have you tried to open one and hit it with contact cleaner??

In the "use it for everything" category I have an op buddy that grew up routing EM equipment who uses WD-40 as contact cleaner.

Hey, reminds me of an old operator buddy of mine. He showed me one day how he just uses hacks of stranded wire for fuse replacements. He told me he saves a ton on fuses....."and after all, it'll eventually blow......just like a fuse".

Maybe these old operators arn't the best examples to follow:D

Edward
 
Some contact cleaners are corrosive to the pad alloys they used back in the day. We had one customer ruin an EM pinball by using one on every switch "just because you should" even though he had no issues with it. After our 4th trip out due to switch issues, he finally mentioned it. We had to replace the entire pinball. it was too much work to replace every single blade...
 
De-oxit might be a better choice but your best bet is to just replace the pot.
 
Back
Top Bottom