ORIGINAL MESSAGE
NAME: Stephen Giles
Then & NowDATE: 09 December 2015
CONNECTION WITH QE: inmate 1957-64
This may interest Martyn Day: I have recently discovered tiny microphone capsules for sale on ebay at approximately 10p each, which when wired to conveniently thin cable from freebie British Airways earphones (very fiddly and sometimes finger burning!) form very high quality mics for recording gigs from the audience. I fix mine through button holes on my shirt collar, so that the mics look just like buttons! That provides good stereo separation and with the cable suitably taped to the shirt with gaffer tape, any potential fabric rustling noise is eliminated from the recording. I have the cheapest Tascam digital recorder which is superb. RESTRICTED THREAD: please make recording or electronics in general the main topic of your reply.
DATE: 28 December 2016
CONNECTION WITH QE: inmate 1957-64
A question for you Martyn - my amp, a Carvin X60 has a problem with noisy control pots, have you ever needed to find a solution for this? Is there a recommended contact spray for instance?
2nd REPLY
NAME: Nigel Wood.jpg "Nigel Wood")
DATE: 30 December 2016
CONNECTION WITH QE: Pupil 1957-64
A noisy pot can arise from a leaky capacitor. By letting unwanted dc through the pot circuit, it causes small random voltages (showing up as noise) when there are inevitable small changes in contact resistance as the sliding contact moves on the track when the pot is adjusted. Just one possibility. Good luck!
DATE: 31 December 2016
CONNECTION WITH QE: inmate 1957-64
Ah thank you Nigel, I hadn't thought of a leaky capacitor. The problem I have is removing the amplifier chassis from the cabinet without breaking any of the valves. It's very heavy and there is little room to manoeuvre inside - not like the amps I had in the 1960s! I think this is a job for an amp techie!
Then & NowDATE: 01 January 2017
CONNECTION WITH QE: Inmate 1956-63
Noisy pots are a perennial problem but easily solved with a quick spray. When I was working at the BBC the sound engineers would regularly spray the pots on the mixing desks before starting a recording session. A more temporary 'fix' is to whizz the pot back and forth until the crackle disappears. I've just spoken to my BBC Sound Engineer friend Harry Jacobs and he tells me that the favoured 'Switch Contact Cleaner' is called Servisol Super 10 and is available from the website CPC or Amazon. The cost is sbout £4.39. Harry did advise that the spray needs to go directly into the mechanism of the pot and it might be easier to simply change the unit. Harry is also a fan of the "whizzing the pot" back and forth technique.
DATE: 02 January 2017
CONNECTION WITH QE: inmate 1957-64
Many thanks for that Martyn, I'll give it a try. A very Happy New Year to all!