Thanks for the video, I will try it out on my old Yamaha CR-450 amp. Question I recently recieved an early 1960 multi-plex tube amp stereo and was wonder if i sprayed some Deoxit D5 in the tube holders to clean them or would you recommend a way to clean them, the unit was very dirty, I have used brushes and compressed air but they have some oxidation. Thanks for any help.
@jbo9206 Deoxit can be used to clean tube sockets. I've heard of others using it for that purpose. Just be careful not to get it all over the place. Insert and remove the tube from its socket a few times after cleaning.
@shield400 This is a slightly different formulation, but it seems to work extremely well and has some mineral oil in it as a bonus. I've had no problems with it on all kinds of controls, from mixer sliders to this receiver, which is still going strong.
@CosmicBeingMusic You are welcome. I go back and watch this periodically and I'm still pretty amazed at the job I did. Normally I do pretty well, but this was way above the average!
Several months ago I did get a better camera with vastly improved audio. This room also has some better lighting now. I also now have an HD camera, though I rarely use it.
Thank you for watching. Do feel free to comment or write anytime!
@JonathanMichaelSpain You should not use WD40. Though it might work if you have nothing else, it is a pretty lousy contact cleaner and leaves little useful lubricating material behind. As it is mostly kerosene, WD-40 is also somewhat flammable, which is not what you want on switches that carry high current or voltage.
If you really want to save precious time and be more efficient , put your whole unit with your dishes in your dishwasher machine and select heavy wash.
Thanks for doing a great explanation on this. I never have the patience to go into this much detail about stuff. Now I can send all the people who ask me about cleaning controls over to this video :-)
@Maxxarcade You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it. :-)
Although I know not everyone can repair stuff, and I worry about any possible "consequences" if someone harms themselves or others, I encourage reasonably intelligent people to at least try to fix something if they're comfortable doing so. That's been the whole point behind things like the Kitchen Table Electronics Repair series, where I use stuff that is (usually) just around the house.
ok this video is gettin weird dirty controls,lube and you gettin turned onto something lawd have mercy bill dont get turned on to the machines they are not as good as a woman would be unless you really love electronics in that weird way lol
My Yamaha "Natural Sound" CR-450 receiver has pretty dirty controls alright. The speaker selector is dicey at times, and the "Loudness" control can cause the sound quality to vary.
It also has that same volume/balance potentiometer, but the shaft was pretty badly bent when I first got the receiver. Whenever I'd try to turn up the volume, it would catch the balance knob and turn with it. Now, it's a gnarled mess with half the shaft missing. It snapped off...
stop being cheap, clem, buy some contact spray. anyway, i don't know about england but in america you can go to home depot and buy this giant can CRC contact cleaner $7@12oz, i also bought the electronic lubricant spray $5@12oz. it works everytime. one time HD marked them down to 1cent because they were discontinued but they forgot to take them off the shelf so i bought up a ton of it for a dime. the 1cent price was supposed to be a sign to the cashier to remove it from stock but oh well
OopS!! I used Krown 5 years ago to clean some faulty tone controls on my ''garbage picked'' stereo. It still works fine, I guess I got lucky. Now I know what to use next time that problem happens.
@CoolDudeClem There are a few problems with WD-40, the first of which being its composition. It is mostly kerosene and may attack some materials as a result. Secondly, it evaporates quickly and doesn't leave any real protective material behind. Finally, it may displace any lubrication inside a control, accelerating wear.
@uxwbill That sounds about right; I used some WD-40 on the volume control for a harmon/kardon 330B a month or two ago, and the potentiometer's back to making a racket when adjusted. I just checked Radioshack's website, and lo and behold they have some marvelous cleaning aerosols;
1) DeOxit/ProGold twin pack for $15, and
2) TV Tuner Control/Cleaner and Lubricant for $11. gonna get me some of each and use the deoxit on the volume control. the amp's a good one, and I want to use it for a long time.
i used to be a bicycle mechanic and often had to recondition tires to make them look new. i used to brush off the dirt with a brush then spray them with wd40 (didn't wipe it just let it dry) made the tires look brand new.
wd40 is also good for cleaning adhesives and great for cleaning off plastics. never saw it dissolve plastic. used it to make plastic look new also. also good to remove grease from beaings. bearings go in a plastic bag then shake n bake the bag
@Sansui350A Now that I have finally gotten off of my lazy rear and at least mentioned this "little" Sansui 210, you should make a video of your 350! :-)
De Oxit works wonders, It cleaned up my console stereo bought new in 1969, one place you might check to get deoxit, is your local music /pro audio store, at least that is where I purchased mine for about $10 a can. Oh and always read and understand the instructions that come with your cleaner, especially the safety instructions.
Instead of drilling a hole into a switch and risking plastic dust falling in, you can use a soldering iron to melt a small hole. Don't just hold it down, lift the tip away and re-apply a few times so that you don't create a puddle of melted plastic. That way no plastic drips in.
@BonhommeRichard91 Most scratchy controls can be saved with the right cleaner. Given enough use, though, the resistive track on a potentiometer will be rubbed away in spots, causing similar behavior. When that happens, the control may have to be replaced. I have heard that sometimes the little wiper that tracks over the resistive material can be rebent so it runs across an unused part of the resistive material.
Thank you for this video bill, I currently have a soundesign model number 3969-B, am fm sterio, digital alarm clock, from the 80's I'm guessing, that I use in my bathroom for music, it has succomed to dirty potentiometers and makes a horrid scratching sound when adjusting the volume on the right volume knob, I would usually just turn it a few times and it would go away, but maybe some time i'll get around to fixing it properly after seeing this (:
Another thing Ive used in the past to clean all kinds of electronic components is canned air tipped upside down so the freeze stuff comes out...probably not so good but effective!
I used blueshower from the mid 70s when I worked at a electronic repair place we used business card to clean tv tuners and old time radios with the same king of tuner as a tv I have also used it on some CB tuners. I still have a half a can around somewhere
Would you recomend cleaning the controls in a 1948 Hallicrafters s-108 shortwave radio and another question where do you think i could buy strings for this radio. Please reply
back in the early 90's radio shack sold a cheap cleaner. that would leave a residue.
and it was a good idea not to use that kind. parts would cleanup but wouldn't last long.im sure that's changed these days. but they also had one showing to have zero residue.it was allot higher in price but much better.then i found out that auto parts stores also sell good cleaner as well. and at the time it was allot cheaper.
Thanks for the video, I will try it out on my old Yamaha CR-450 amp. Question I recently recieved an early 1960 multi-plex tube amp stereo and was wonder if i sprayed some Deoxit D5 in the tube holders to clean them or would you recommend a way to clean them, the unit was very dirty, I have used brushes and compressed air but they have some oxidation. Thanks for any help.
jbo9206 2 days ago
@jbo9206 Deoxit can be used to clean tube sockets. I've heard of others using it for that purpose. Just be careful not to get it all over the place. Insert and remove the tube from its socket a few times after cleaning.
uxwbill 2 days ago
Tech spray is good do! We use it a work quite often!
MaxinMaytrix 1 month ago
Very well-done. Thanks for an informative and well thought out video. It's awesome, and much better than a lot of stuff out there.
zhangzhang9 1 month ago
Thanks for the heads up on the Radio Shack lubricant. Just picked up a can and cleaned up the pots on a Yamaha ax-700u. It sounds brand new!
It was 5.99 plus tax in socal
john3prs 2 months ago
I've been a big fan of Caig DeoxIT D5 for many years but it is expensive. I'll have to take a look at that $4 bottle of Radio Shack stuff. Thanks!
shield400 2 months ago
@shield400 This is a slightly different formulation, but it seems to work extremely well and has some mineral oil in it as a bonus. I've had no problems with it on all kinds of controls, from mixer sliders to this receiver, which is still going strong.
uxwbill 2 months ago
@CosmicBeingMusic You are welcome. I go back and watch this periodically and I'm still pretty amazed at the job I did. Normally I do pretty well, but this was way above the average!
Several months ago I did get a better camera with vastly improved audio. This room also has some better lighting now. I also now have an HD camera, though I rarely use it.
Thank you for watching. Do feel free to comment or write anytime!
uxwbill 2 months ago
May I ask if wd40 would work and not damage ?
JonathanMichaelSpain 2 months ago
@JonathanMichaelSpain You should not use WD40. Though it might work if you have nothing else, it is a pretty lousy contact cleaner and leaves little useful lubricating material behind. As it is mostly kerosene, WD-40 is also somewhat flammable, which is not what you want on switches that carry high current or voltage.
uxwbill 2 months ago
Extremely informative and concise. No mumbling or wasted time. You deserve a How-To TV show. Pro all the way. Thank you!
brianfitzrock 3 months ago
If you really want to save precious time and be more efficient , put your whole unit with your dishes in your dishwasher machine and select heavy wash.
TerenceRoxs10 3 months ago
I usually clean my electronic controls in warm water and Murphy's oil soap. I let them soaked for 2 days and air dry them.
TerenceRoxs10 3 months ago
this video is beyond exceptional! Thank you so much for sharing!
DALANSHAR 4 months ago
Thank you so much for this tutorial!
bbbobbbieo 5 months ago
@bbbobbbieo You are certainly welcome. I hope it was helpful and solved the problem you were having.
uxwbill 5 months ago
Wtf, i used some oxide cleaner spray on my amplifiers switches, they got so dry they are stuck!
Tubestiina 5 months ago
Thanks for doing a great explanation on this. I never have the patience to go into this much detail about stuff. Now I can send all the people who ask me about cleaning controls over to this video :-)
Maxxarcade 7 months ago
@Maxxarcade You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it. :-)
Although I know not everyone can repair stuff, and I worry about any possible "consequences" if someone harms themselves or others, I encourage reasonably intelligent people to at least try to fix something if they're comfortable doing so. That's been the whole point behind things like the Kitchen Table Electronics Repair series, where I use stuff that is (usually) just around the house.
uxwbill 7 months ago
ok this video is gettin weird dirty controls,lube and you gettin turned onto something lawd have mercy bill dont get turned on to the machines they are not as good as a woman would be unless you really love electronics in that weird way lol
blazerlover25 1 year ago
My Yamaha "Natural Sound" CR-450 receiver has pretty dirty controls alright. The speaker selector is dicey at times, and the "Loudness" control can cause the sound quality to vary.
It also has that same volume/balance potentiometer, but the shaft was pretty badly bent when I first got the receiver. Whenever I'd try to turn up the volume, it would catch the balance knob and turn with it. Now, it's a gnarled mess with half the shaft missing. It snapped off...
mikeycomputer 1 year ago
stop being cheap, clem, buy some contact spray. anyway, i don't know about england but in america you can go to home depot and buy this giant can CRC contact cleaner $7@12oz, i also bought the electronic lubricant spray $5@12oz. it works everytime. one time HD marked them down to 1cent because they were discontinued but they forgot to take them off the shelf so i bought up a ton of it for a dime. the 1cent price was supposed to be a sign to the cashier to remove it from stock but oh well
lineartechbd1600 1 year ago
OopS!! I used Krown 5 years ago to clean some faulty tone controls on my ''garbage picked'' stereo. It still works fine, I guess I got lucky. Now I know what to use next time that problem happens.
101xfmrogers 1 year ago
I always used WD-40 to clean "crackly" controlls, it seemed to work well enough, I thought it was the best thing to do, now I know otherwise.
CoolDudeClem 1 year ago
@CoolDudeClem There are a few problems with WD-40, the first of which being its composition. It is mostly kerosene and may attack some materials as a result. Secondly, it evaporates quickly and doesn't leave any real protective material behind. Finally, it may displace any lubrication inside a control, accelerating wear.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill That sounds about right; I used some WD-40 on the volume control for a harmon/kardon 330B a month or two ago, and the potentiometer's back to making a racket when adjusted. I just checked Radioshack's website, and lo and behold they have some marvelous cleaning aerosols;
1) DeOxit/ProGold twin pack for $15, and
2) TV Tuner Control/Cleaner and Lubricant for $11. gonna get me some of each and use the deoxit on the volume control. the amp's a good one, and I want to use it for a long time.
HappyDiscoDeath 1 year ago
@CoolDudeClem
i used to be a bicycle mechanic and often had to recondition tires to make them look new. i used to brush off the dirt with a brush then spray them with wd40 (didn't wipe it just let it dry) made the tires look brand new.
wd40 is also good for cleaning adhesives and great for cleaning off plastics. never saw it dissolve plastic. used it to make plastic look new also. also good to remove grease from beaings. bearings go in a plastic bag then shake n bake the bag
lineartechbd1600 1 year ago
@CoolDudeClem I use regular tuner cleaner.
schomminater 1 year ago
nice vid, nicer toy.. xD btw.. I've got that 350A for it's "slow" transistors, yay tube-like sound.. xD
Sansui350A 1 year ago
@Sansui350A Now that I have finally gotten off of my lazy rear and at least mentioned this "little" Sansui 210, you should make a video of your 350! :-)
C'mon...I'd love to see it!
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill will do.. soon as I clean this shit-hole of a room up.. and I'm in the process of doing so.. xD; hell, that vid MIGHT be out this week... xD
Sansui350A 1 year ago
De Oxit works wonders, It cleaned up my console stereo bought new in 1969, one place you might check to get deoxit, is your local music /pro audio store, at least that is where I purchased mine for about $10 a can. Oh and always read and understand the instructions that come with your cleaner, especially the safety instructions.
weasel2htm 1 year ago
Great, informative video, Bill. I can use this.
727JeffN 1 year ago
Instead of drilling a hole into a switch and risking plastic dust falling in, you can use a soldering iron to melt a small hole. Don't just hold it down, lift the tip away and re-apply a few times so that you don't create a puddle of melted plastic. That way no plastic drips in.
R5alive 1 year ago
@R5alive I totally forgot about that possibility. Thanks for mentioning it!
uxwbill 1 year ago
I always like a good clean knob.
BonhommeRichard91 1 year ago
@BonhommeRichard91 (sound of load groan in background) Oh BROTHER. Where are my tomatoes? (evil grin)
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill On a serious note, I never knew a volume control that's all full of static can be fixed by cleaning. I have a few like that.
BonhommeRichard91 1 year ago
@BonhommeRichard91 Most scratchy controls can be saved with the right cleaner. Given enough use, though, the resistive track on a potentiometer will be rubbed away in spots, causing similar behavior. When that happens, the control may have to be replaced. I have heard that sometimes the little wiper that tracks over the resistive material can be rebent so it runs across an unused part of the resistive material.
uxwbill 1 year ago
awesome video man really like em! :D
37474748 1 year ago
Thank you for this video bill, I currently have a soundesign model number 3969-B, am fm sterio, digital alarm clock, from the 80's I'm guessing, that I use in my bathroom for music, it has succomed to dirty potentiometers and makes a horrid scratching sound when adjusting the volume on the right volume knob, I would usually just turn it a few times and it would go away, but maybe some time i'll get around to fixing it properly after seeing this (:
84reliantk 1 year ago
Another thing Ive used in the past to clean all kinds of electronic components is canned air tipped upside down so the freeze stuff comes out...probably not so good but effective!
clubcar98 1 year ago
I used blueshower from the mid 70s when I worked at a electronic repair place we used business card to clean tv tuners and old time radios with the same king of tuner as a tv I have also used it on some CB tuners. I still have a half a can around somewhere
ncrdisabled 1 year ago
Another great educational video Bill!
MacintoshUser1986 1 year ago
Thanks for posting this video! This will come in handy when I get around to cleaning my GE alarm clock (which has a sticky button)!
michelinman8592 1 year ago
Hi bill gates the 2nd haha lol goos vid
WinbookXL3 1 year ago
Good info Bill. Thanks
MAG315 1 year ago
Would you recomend cleaning the controls in a 1948 Hallicrafters s-108 shortwave radio and another question where do you think i could buy strings for this radio. Please reply
TheCatMilton 1 year ago
very informative video bill! thanks!
therealjimguy 1 year ago
back in the early 90's radio shack sold a cheap cleaner. that would leave a residue.
and it was a good idea not to use that kind. parts would cleanup but wouldn't last long.im sure that's changed these days. but they also had one showing to have zero residue.it was allot higher in price but much better.then i found out that auto parts stores also sell good cleaner as well. and at the time it was allot cheaper.
MrOne2watch 1 year ago