What do YOU do to reconstitute broken slider knobs?

[Mark Hammer]

I have an older EHX 10-band EQ to repair. Seven of the slider shafts are essentially broken off at the surface of the chassis, such that there is still something you can move back and forth if you work your fingertip in there, but it's not as grab-able as it used to be.

Given that replacements for handicapped slider pots generally have to be exact (you can't just attach a different brand/size to the chassis like a rotary pot), I figured folks might have some idiosyncratic approach to making such pots a little more usable. So what do YOU do when the shaft snaps?

[Enzo]

I have a big drawer of sliders - all shapes and sizes - I have accumulated. SOme were new parts I ordered in anticipation of a lot of service work. Yamaha mixer sliders for example. Others were just a collection of various types from Mouser or someplace to have on hand. Some have solder lugs, most are pc mount. SOme have pins on the very end, some at the ends but set back a little, while the other brand has the legs on the sides a little way back from the end.

I have been taking sliders apart for years, sometimes to clean, or fish the fibrous material out that had collected on the bifurcated slider feeler. But often, it was to replace parts. Usually have to stay within brand, but the slider "handle" can be many lengths an shapes within a brand. SO if I have another slider with the wrong resistance, but the right shuttle within, I tear it apart, steal the shutle, and install it into the broken pot on my UUT. Conversely, if I have a bad resistive stripe on my UUT slider, and a new slider with the right resistance but wrong shuttle, I swap out the resistive element.

Now if I have no volunteer in my drawer, no, I have not come up with a RELIABLE way to stick a new handle on a broken shuttle. Probably could wad up some epoxy and stick a new handl;e into it on top of the old shuttle, taking care not to get it on the sliding surfaces.

And if I can find a donor slider in a catalog, I will order it just for its part5s, when my drawer can;t help.

From Mouser:
Panasonic data sheet for side terminal types in sizes
http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/...aol0000ce2.pdf

Alps is one make of set back end pins
http://www.mouser.com/catalog/specsheets/RS6011.pdf

Bourns makes end pin ones
http://www.bourns.com/data/global/pdfs/PTB.pdf
http://www.bourns.com/data/global/pdfs/PTA.pdf

Mouser sells a couple thousand slider types. Those were just a few samples. That covers a lot of types to steal shuttles from, if the exact shaoe is not available there.

[Mark Black]

FWIW I think they used CTS pots...

[Mark Hammer]

Well, I sawed and filed up some small pieces of copper-clad board yesterday (same thickness as the slider shafts), and Crazy-glued them to the broken tips of the slider shafts. I then slipped a piece of white heat-shrink tubing over the whole thing, and secured them with that. I may put a second piece over top, just for security.

As you might expect, when removing the board from the chassis, the foam intended to "protect" the sliders from dirt getting in crumbled into a million pieces. So I had to clean the mess out. I shpritzed contact cleaner into the pots to restore continuity, and glued a newer piece of foam in place, making slits with a utility knife. The wiring was also kind of crunchy, so I'll be replacing that tonight. Hopefully we'll have a fully functional unit at the end of it.

[cjlectronics]

I second Enzo's post. I do the same thing on many EH pedals.