[Engine999us]

Hey there everyone. I just took on a restoration project of an old cabinet stereo/record player that belonged to my wifes uncle and I have got pretty much everything working except for the control knobs. Every time you turn one of them they make that loud crackling noise and you have to play with them for a while to get actual music to come out of the speakers. I know this is not uncommon with old stereo equipment but I was wondering if there was a way to fix that our do the knobs need to be replaced. If replacement is the answer is there an easy way to do it without messing up all the wires and what not. Any advice is appreciated as I am pretty much an engine and carpentry guy and know little about electronics. Than you.

[Ron Ramirez]

If you can get to the backs of the controls, unless they are sealed shut there should be a tiny opening on either side of the terminals where you can spray some contact cleaner into each control, then turn it several times through its rotation. Repeat for the volume control, bass and treble controls (or tone control if it does not have separate bass and treble).

DeoxIT D5 is best for this job.

Do not spray anything on the set's tuning condenser! Also, do not spray anything near hot tubes. This should be done with the set off and unplugged, when it is cooled off. And do not power the set back up for awhile after you have sprayed the controls; give the cleaner a chance to evaporate, which takes a while if you're using DeoxIT.