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custom dual pot

Started by Dimitree, May 16, 2011, 06:17:43 PM

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Dimitree

has anyone tried to make a custom dual pot? I mean, it's quite simple to remove the bottom wafer of a alpha 16mm stereo pot, but I never tried to install a new one with different value, in order to get 2 different kind of pot inside the same body.
it is possible with alpha pots?

joegagan

i did it a lot with omegs. they have a modular system that makes stacking the inner parts into gangs easy. you have to have a dualgang to start with, but from  there you can make whatever values you happen to have.

alpha, not so easy. i took one apart one time to try it, it was much harder but i can't remember exactly why.
my life is a tribute to the the great men and women who held this country together when the world was in trouble. my debt cannot be repaid, but i will do my best.

Dimitree

thanks
maybe the difficul with alpha was that you cannot change the top wafer, but only the bottom one? (with alpha I mean this kind here: http://cdn.banzaimusic.com/images/T/17286_th-07.gif )
could you tell me some more about omegs? I don't know this brand at all

R.G.

Quote from: joegagan on May 16, 2011, 06:31:05 PM
i did it a lot with omegs. they have a modular system that makes stacking the inner parts into gangs easy. you have to have a dualgang to start with, but from  there you can make whatever values you happen to have.

alpha, not so easy. i took one apart one time to try it, it was much harder but i can't remember exactly why.
Alphas are harder because they connect the internal shaft to the rotating slider by mechanically deforming the shaft. It is hard to UN-deform the shaft to get the slider/wafer off without damaging it, and hard again to replace it and make it work again correctly.
R.G.

In response to the questions in the forum - PCB Layout for Musical Effects is available from The Book Patch. Search "PCB Layout" and it ought to appear.

Dimitree

yes indeed but this is true with the mono pot. but with a stereo one I managed to remove the bottom wafer without damaging anything, but I didn't try to put in a new wafer because I don't have other. I managed to put back the original wafer too, so it should be doable

joegagan

i can still make you anything you like in omeg, as long as you like 22k linear, 100k log, 220k log, 470k log as your choices. any number of gangs you like. price varies according to customer's attitude. i don't do it for the money, just a service to my buds here.
my life is a tribute to the the great men and women who held this country together when the world was in trouble. my debt cannot be repaid, but i will do my best.

John Lyons

price varies according to customer's attitude.
:D :D :D
Basic Audio Pedals
www.basicaudio.net/

axg20202

It's much easier with full size CTS pots - have done this quite a few times. Simply buy dual-gang CTS pots (preferably containing one value pot you need, or close enough to fudge with resistors across the terminals) and swap out the unwanted wafer using one from a single CTS pot of the desired value. They are easy to take apart and put together. You might need to drill out the central hole in certain wafers but this is easy to do.

Dimitree

I succeded to change the wafer in 2x alpha 100k stereo pot!
I removed the bottom wafer of the 1st and installed in the bottom of the 2nd pot. results: now I have a 95k + 99k pot, and a 99k + 95k pot  ;D
the operation was really easy since the bottom wafer is not hold togheter with the shaft, while the top wafer is. so it is just possible to change the bottom one, more than enough! furthermore you don't need to buy a stereo pot to get the desidered wafer, you can get the wafer from a mono pot too, but obviously you must destroy the metal tip that connect it to the shaft, so the mono pot can't be used with another wafer.