Eml synthesizers

Perhaps people here could share their experiences regarding what worked well for them for 
cleaning scratchy EML pots?

The guy who fixed my Eml101 drilled a small hole in the Pot case with a dremel. Then he put 
some contact cleaner inside. This method is used on Moogs and pretty much all Analogue 
synths.

Cheers,
Brian

--- In emlsynth@yahoogroups.com, "nicholas_kent" <nicholas_kent@...> wrote:

>
> Perhaps people here could share their experiences regarding what worked well for them for 
> cleaning scratchy EML pots?
>

--- In emlsynth@yahoogroups.com, "spogfrawne" <Spogfrawne@...> wrote:
>
> The guy who fixed my Eml101 drilled a small hole in the Pot case with a dremel. Then 
he put 
> some contact cleaner inside. This method is used on Moogs and pretty much all 
Analogue 
> synths.
> 
> Cheers,
> Brian

I was mostly hoping to confirm a substance or method was being used that didn't make a 
situation worse, because I've heard storeies of people disolving or gunking up the surface 
and making it worse

Hmmm, I'd almost guess you were talking about EMS not EML, though you do mention the 
model number.  EMS (not EML) pots have plastic coverings on the back making it pretty 
easy to do as well as the late Everett Hafner, their US rep giving out that advice. I noticed 
that some of my EMS pots had little holes in the back already

On the other hand EML uses very similar pots to Modular Moogs. I saw the inside of a 
room-sized 1968 Moog and the brand was the same though the later 70s 101 I have had 
it's pots stamped "Mexico' rather than "USA" fwiw. Also I don't recall seeing any holes 
made in the pots, though I wasn't exactly looking hard for them.

Thanks for the info,

The pots in the EML 10 are Allen Bradley with an all metal casing. Maybe he used
a small
vacuum after drilling just in case some fillings fell inside. On other projects
I've used a
chemical called Super Contact Cleaner with Poly Phenyl Ether (MG Chemical). I
was told to use
only a very small amount. It's pretty potent. Works well.

Check out messages 250 and 251:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/emlsynth/message/251

I think that drilling holes etc is a bit much for these pots - just take the
back off!

I cleaned several very scratchy opts on an EML101 without disconnecting the
wires. Just unscrew & remove the pot from the front panel. Gently pry up the
4 tabs holding the back cover to the pot - just enough to get the back off
or loose. Clean as required using your favorite solvent/lube and then close
the tabs back with pliers. In some areas you might need to unscrew a PCB as
well for access.

As long as you don't bend the tabs more than ~90 degrees there shouldn't be
any problem with damage (in fact you shouldn't even need to bend them back
that far).

Alternatively you can change the pots for new ones. NOS of the Allen-Bradley
sealed pots are available on surplus market, or ebay, if you want to
maintain an original look. Only the centre-tapped mixing controls are hard
to find (I'm not giving up my small collection of spares!). 

Good Luck!

mw