Volume pot faulty

[finemind]

Hi
I wonder if anybody could give me some advice before I start fiddling with my Squeezebox Radio.
For a while now the volume knob has been less reactive when turned and is now almost unusable. If I turn it clockwise the volume goes up and then suddenly plunges down to near zero. I assume this is a hardware problem. Has anybody tried removing the volume knob and cleaning it or is there another solution?
Many thanks in advance.
Matt

[bpa]

Hi
I wonder if anybody could give me some advice before I start fiddling with my Squeezebox Radio.
For a while now the volume knob has been less reactive when turned and is now almost unusable. If I turn it clockwise the volume goes up and then suddenly plunges down to near zero. I assume this is a hardware problem. Has anybody tried removing the volume knob and cleaning it or is there another solution?
Many thanks in advance.
Matt

I don't think there is any pot associated with vol control. I think it is just a rotary encoder which detect movements. When control is turned Vol+ or Vol- signal (slimproto audg) is sent to LMS which then tells radio to alter volume (IIRC local firmware on Radio alters vol as well) What happens if you change volume using remote control or via Web GUI ?

[kloach]

I have the same problem with the volume control. If I use the remote it works fine.

[finemind]

Thanks for the replies. The remote works fine. But I listen to the radio in bed with headphones and any sleepy attempt to manipulate the remote usually ends with me dropping it on the floor. The ease of manipulating the physical controls of the SBR in the dark was what clinched it for me in the first place and is why I have no wish to replace it. The nearest equivalent I can find is the Sangean Wfr-27/28/29 range as they have 5 presets but they're a bit top heavy and I'm sure they'd just tip over if used in bed. And anyway, who wants to dump a working squeezebox now the iPlayer is working again (thanks all involved). The Sangean/Roberts still can't do Listen Again, according to what Roberts told me this week.

Is there any maintenance possible to improve a poor connection perhaps? I find if I tug on the knob very hard it reacts much better.

[kloach]

I also had a radio that developed the symptom’s described, the volume pot (rotary encoder) didn't always respond. If you put pressure on the control it seemed to kinda work correctly.
Sounded like a poor connection on the circuit board. I disassembled the radio, removed display cover and circuit board then re-soldered the volume control connections on the circuit board. The connection feeds thru the board so it required top and bottom re-soldering. Put radio back together and now volume control works correctly again.

[Francis Banks]

I also had a radio that developed the symptom’s described, the volume pot (rotary encoder) didn't always respond. If you put pressure on the control it seemed to kinda work correctly.
Sounded like a poor connection on the circuit board. I disassembled the radio, removed display cover and circuit board then re-soldered the volume control connections on the circuit board. The connection feeds thru the board so it required top and bottom re-soldering. Put radio back together and now volume control works correctly again.

I had the same problem. I tried re-soldering the volume control twice on different occasions, but with no effect. I tried to remove the control from the board in order to disassemble and clean it, but I was unable to remove the solder sufficiently with the equipment I have (soldering irons, a solder pump and solder wick). I decided to spray it with contact cleaner (WD-40 brand) in situ, aiming for anything that looked like a hole in the casing. I was not very hopeful since it appeared to be sealed, but wonder of wonders! When I reassembled the radio the volume control worked perfectly!

[chris49]

Thank you!

I had the same problem on one of my SBRs. I removed the knob and sprayed some CRC contact cleaner around the shaft... problem gone! No disassembly required.

I decided to spray it with contact cleaner (WD-40 brand) in situ, aiming for anything that looked like a hole in the casing. I was not very hopeful since it appeared to be sealed, but wonder of wonders! When I reassembled the radio the volume control worked perfectly!

[AlecSp]

Same here - I feared I'd need to replace the encoder, but it turned out to be much easier.

This morning, I decided to fix my microwave, which had a non-working encoder. I'd always assumed it was optical, but a Youtube clip suggested it was physical and that opening up the encoder and cleaning it would fix things. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to open the encoder, so I simply sprayed Servisol contact cleaner on it, rotated the shaft, cleaned, and re-assembled - all fully working.

Emboldened by this, I went to attack my Squeezebox Radio this afternoon. Discovered that I didn't even need to disassemble it, I simply pulled off the volume knob, sprayed, rotated, cleaned, replaced knob. All now fab - let's see if it's a long lasting fix.

I get the impression that quite a few items like this have grease applied to some moving parts that, with age, migrates to the contacts, attracts crud, and stops them working.

[alexyon]

Thank you!

I had the same problem on one of my SBRs. I removed the knob and sprayed some CRC contact cleaner around the shaft... problem gone! No disassembly required.

This time I used a silicone cleaner around the shaft ... inspired but you and soaked the shaft and pressed it and sprayed more, seems to work again like new so I had to thank you which is why I created an account. I hope this cleaner will last longer than the regular cleaner I used before.