Help finding this pot

[Randall]

here is a five legged 5K linear dual pot that is common to many Casio keyboards. I bought the last one that PacParts had last week, and now I need another one, different keyboard, same exact failure. But they just informed me Casio is no longer supplying them with just the pot, they only will supply the little board it lives on with a long ribbon cable attached for $60 plus shipping. The number is RK09K12C0D1A. I have tried Mouser, Newark, and DigiKey with no luck. Does Casio have us over a barrel here, or can someone shed some light?

[nickb]

Not sure of the value but would a metal shaft with screw bush fit? Mouser have them.

[Randall]

Close, but those have 6 legs, and the pin out is different.

[nickb]

Close, but those have 6 legs, and the pin out is different.

I think that the two mounting lugs and two of the pins could be used and then you could cut and wire the remaining pins.

Or could you use the threaded bush to mount it to the casing and then wire it to the board?

Not pretty but the alternative is to throw the keyboard in the trash

You could check out CTS, Panasonic, Bourns, Alpha (Taiwan) and ... at their websites. Pot's really are the bane of our lives. A big time soak.

[oc disorder]

Well you could roll your own with veroboard or design a new board - buy the pots from china
(they make 3000+ a day apparently) then flog (sell)your design on ebay for half price.... using any old dual 5k with a long shaft!
This is common to a few models I understand although some have some pins transposed at the ribbon end.

[Enzo]

If you can find one with a different leg arrangement - like all in a row - could you not bend the legs up, mount the pot, and run short wires down to the holes from the legs?

[Steve A.]

Hey, I used to always try to save my HVAC customers money on repairs, too, but one of your options is to just order the kit from Casio if that is what the customer wants you to do. If they balk at the price you might mention the possibility of adapting another pot as suggested by Enzo.

In my experience many customers chose the more expensive factory-approved repair. I suspect that Casio could no longer get the original pot and they designed a new board for a pot that should be readily available for a long time. By the time the new pots start to fail I imagine that you could order just the pot.

Steve A.

[Enzo]

I sorta agree, Casio probably could get the part, but it would require them ordering another run of them. They won't do that for obsolete models where the expectation would be for only a few pots to be sold, leaving them with a few thousand extra . Pots for these products, and almost all amps, are custom made from specs. The Alps catalog, same with all their competitors, just lists the basic pot frame as a base number, then you add more numbers to indicate shaft size, shape, lengths, bushing type or no bushing, vertical or horizontal mount, resistance and taper, one/two/three/four sections, snap in or not, size, wattage, etc. All this makes up a long number, which becomes the part number. They then make a batch for you.

I thought OC Disorder had a good idea.

[drewl]

That is very similar to Marshall PC mount dual pots or some cheaper Fender amps