component trouble again

[scole]

what is going on here? the last amp i built i decided to try cge pots. they seem pretty good. i have two extra 1meg audio, i need two more. mojo doesnt have them. they have cts with brass shafts they look pretty nice but i know cts have plastic shafts i dont want to order pots with nice brass shafts and get plastic instead so i decided to go with cge from metro amps. they come in with brass shafts just like the ones on mojos site. i look on the back and bada bing they have mojo stamped into them. what did i get? cts, cge, mojo, what the @#$%^%&.
p.s. what ever they are they seem like pretty good quality.

[Satamax]

Scole, have you ever tried Vishay Sfernice ones?

http://www.vishay.com/docs/50004/prv4.pdf

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

what is going on here? the last amp i built i decided to try cge pots. they seem pretty good. i have two extra 1meg audio, i need two more. mojo doesnt have them. they have cts with brass shafts they look pretty nice but i know cts have plastic shafts i dont want to order pots with nice brass shafts and get plastic instead so i decided to go with cge from metro amps. they come in with brass shafts just like the ones on mojos site. i look on the back and bada bing they have mojo stamped into them. what did i get? cts, cge, mojo, what the @#$%^%&.
p.s. what ever they are they seem like pretty good quality.

Either... CTS and CGE are custom made for MOJO (taper, solderable back, solid 1/4" shaft and brass bushing)... 10,000 at a time and they have their name stamped on them.... they then sell them at wholesale to many dealers and builders.
MOJO will probably not have any CGE 1Ma pots in stock for quite a while and they have been substituting the CTS now.
I think what you have is the newer CTS pots and although a little more money, they are excellent.

[Chuck H]

I just have to ask... Is anyone having a problem with the run of the mill ALFA pots being sold by MOUSER??? I have them in most of my builds and they havent become noisy or given me any trouble with startup taper or shorts. They will fail if you try to resolder them too many times. But that rarely comes up, and anything I've repaired or built with them (that I didn't resolder a bunch of times) is working fine years later. I do wish they had a standard log taper available as it seems all the "audio" pots are B taper. But really, What problems shoud I expect?

Chuck

[scole]

the problem with alpha's is the thread is too short. im building an amp right now that is 1/8 inch thick aluminum plus .06 for the face plate. i need the longer thread. and its about time a decent pot is available at a fare price. these brass mojo's are really nice but not time tested like alpha.
no i never tried the vishay, they look interesting, are they expensive. i think on my next build im going to use pec.

[Enzo]

Well now, life has come full circle. Cheap import Alphas are now the time tested ones and CTS are the unknown new kids.

[Chuck H]

"Well now, life has come full circle. Cheap import Alphas are now the time tested ones and CTS are the unknown new kids."

Ha Ha, That is an interesting observation. And I think it applies to more than that one componant we use to build amps.

You know, I would buy (and even pay a little extra for) domestic pots, but when I place an order with MOUSER the ALPHA pots are alraedy there. If I have to place a seperate order with another vendor just for pots then I'm looking at an extra $5 to $8 for shipping. Since I only build a couple of amps a year I order pots by the "each" and never more than 4 or 8 at a time. So now I'm paying $2 extra for the part + an extra dollar for shipping each one on average. I can get the ALPHAs in the same box as the rest of my componants for 2 or 3 bucks each.

Maybe this is a lazy american mentality, but you gotta draw a line somewhere. Besides, I'll wager that even the most "stand up" among us does the "convenient" thing more often than not.

I guess I just don't feel good about doing it.

Chuck

[Satamax]

Vishay are expensive.

[Enzo]

Oh I use the Alphas all the time, no comlpaint. I just found it ironic how times change.

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

Oh I use the Alphas all the time, no comlpaint. I just found it ironic how times change.

I don't care for the standard MOUSER type Alpha pots with the 5/16" dia aluminum bushings.... but I greatly liked the custom Alpha pots from Magic Parts. I have used THOUSANDS... all good.

Recently I have been buying all the CTS and CGE pots from MOJO.

I stocked in another few hundred from MOJO and noticed they all say MOJO on them now.
I'll use up the last of the custom "Magic Parts" Alpha pots but I'm using more and more of the CTS pots, even if they do cost twice as much... I really like the way the feel and the ease of soldering... bigger lug holes and fully tinned solderable back with no trouble.
Unless the price goes crazy on the newest CTS Pots from MOJO, I'll probably phase out the 3/8" dia brass bushing Alpha pots from Magic Parts.

[Chuck H]

"but I'm using more and more of the CTS pots, even if they do cost twice as much... I really like the way the feel and the ease of soldering... bigger lug holes and fully tinned solderable back with no trouble."

That sounds pretty good. Feel, tiny lug holes and having to sand the case and use high heat to get solder to stick are the main things I dislike about the standard ALPHAs.

I actually never solder the case on the standard ALPHA pots anymore. I ground the lug with a lead and rely on the mechanical connection for the shield. It's because of the high heat it takes to get solder to stick to the case. The way the lugs are connected, their contact to the strip seems to go open if they get too hot. If you forget to turn down your iron or fail to allow it to cool back down before you move the tip to a pot lug, the pot could well be toast.

Chuck

[dehughes]

the problem with alpha's is the thread is too short. im building an amp right now that is 1/8 inch thick aluminum plus .06 for the face plate. i need the longer thread. and its about time a decent pot is available at a fare price. these brass mojo's are really nice but not time tested like alpha.
no i never tried the vishay, they look interesting, are they expensive. i think on my next build im going to use pec.

Hey man, I'm in the exact same situation with needing longer thread pots. The CGEs I have are nice, but too short what with the thicker faceplate I'm using. The 1MA CGE pots were PERFECT, but I still can't get them. Have you found any substitutes?