[tropicalcb]

I just got a price back from mr 6 bucks leung and he now wants 20 bucks us!!! ..told him he's gotta be dreamin. do you have a url for audiotronics?..I did a google search but got nothing useful
cheers.......cb

 

[joe_cool]

Maybe you can contact Audiotronics through eBay

 

[morsel]

Just a reminder that the fake Alps stepped attenuators are very stiff turning and audibly click with each step. I would not use them.

 

[4fatcatz]

This reminds me of the old Labtec Elite 840 headphone
thread. A miracle at $19.00/pair.......Naaa.

Just doing it for the fun of it.

 

[toobs]

Hi,
I bought a couple of them from Audiotronics. Mine sound great, no clicks.
My only problem is that the lower setting is too loud (I normally listen to music, late at night)
Do you have any idea on how to increase the attenuation without having to change most resistors?

I have found this program on the net, please tell me what you think.
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~nroberts/atten.html

Regards!

 

[Real1shepherd]

Sorry to jump in there. I have a Nak RX-505 that I'm putting back together. There is a little 10K volume pot ("control") that has a plastic gear attached to its metal shaft. The pot is held to a metal plate by a nut. It's an Alps pot that reads; 10KB and 611k. It has three solder leads. I don't know what the tolerance is, but I'm desperate to find another. The pot didn't break, but the shaft fell out, still attached to the plastic gear. It looks like the shaft was glued to another part inside the pot. I could probably glue it back, but I have no frame of reference as to what position it was in. The only guide I have is an arrow on the plastic gear that points to a red dot on another gear-when and if you ever take this pot out. Anyone help??

*Update: actually forget the glue idea, I lost a little copper disc that was inside.

 

[Pars]

The only suggestion I can make is to look at the Alps website and see if you can figure out exactly what it is (Alps part number). Mouser carries Alps... beyond that ???

 

[Real1shepherd]

Yeah, I've done that. The only parts # I have is in the Nak service manual and I doubt if that is Alps. At least at digikey, they show pics and dimensions-I have to have at least that much, as I'm not gonna order blind. I can't imagine anyone getting excited enough at Alps (about one pot) to have significant email dialog?

 

[amb]

Chances are the pot in your Nak is a special item that is no longer available, or only available when bought in very large quantities. Why not take a photo of the pot in question and post it here for us to see? Nakamichi had gone through a large corporate transformation and they basically no longer support their old tape decks nor carry any service parts for them any more, so that would also be a dead end. Many Nak owners are now buying dead Naks to salvage parts from.

 

[Real1shepherd]

I thought about that angle with Nak, but I doubt the production #'s for that pot merited a proprietary venture...unless of course, they used this pot a lot throughout their various decks. If it is a proprietary Nak part, then I've got troubles. I don't object to buying another deck for parts, except for the time factor. I know another guy who is working on a RX-202 and maybe I can get him to look at his deck to see if it's the same pot-the 202's go for a lot less. I don't have a digital camera or scanner, but I can take some quality 35mm pics and have them converted to CD and post here if you think it may help? There are techs around the country who service old Naks and do a good job at it. However, except for idler wheels, belts, heads and the like, they have no interest in helping out with other parts-most won't answer my emails. It's like a giant vacuum out there or secret faternity.

 

[Pars]

You could try taking the Nak part number and emailing Nakamichi to see if they could provide the manufacturer part number for it. Unfortunately, alot of the '80s and early '90s vendors records leave alot to be desired. You never know, though.

 

[amb]

Real1shephard, another avenue where you might get useful help is the Naktalk email list. If you're not already a member, register at http://www.naks.com . There are some very Nak-savvy folks there.

P.S. I have a Dragon and a CR-7, both I cherish a lot!

 

[Real1shepherd]

Thanks Pars, that's a good idea. I did have my friend who's working on the 202 send me his service manual in PDF. As I suspected, it's exactly the same pot in his deck-so that's at least two models that use the same volume control pot.

amb, I did just list on Naktalk. However, I find that they way they communicate with each other (only by emails through the one server with a lot of duplication) a very confusing format. I agree though, from what I've read, they know their Naks! I have found a 'parts only' 202 machine that I'm thinking about buying-just to get that pot.

*Update:I Talked to my friend who is lucky enough to have fixed his 202. He said it may seem like overkill, but it's really a good idea to pick up another machine with similar parts. I think the 202 and the 505 share some motors as well and I have his service manual in PDF so it's easy to cross parts. Now, just to find a 'donor' that is reasonable. The hype for Naks has pretty much ended-legions of people got taken buying "perfectly operating" machines that were junk and suffered enormous repairs bills to keep them. That's had a profound effect on most Nak markets except the "Dragon", which does everything for you automatically-on a good day. Personally, I'd rather have a more hands on deck.

 

[ykstyle]

I've used 10 fake ALPS Stepped attenuators..
I agree that it has not so good mechnicals. It's not smooth when turning pot. And in the low volume region (min-11), it has steepy attenuation.
But... the SQ blow all problem mentioned above

It's better than Black Beauty and some boutique pots!!! It is more transparent than Black Beauty and more musical energy in it. Now I get to love it