[Yen]

Hi!

I bought some of these infamous fake "Alps" stepped attenuators from Hong Kong. They have the fourth pin, so what are they for? Loudness?

Are the pins otherwise same as normal pots?

Thanx.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Have you tried sounding it out with your DMM? You should be able to deduce what, if anything, it does.

 

[tangent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yen /img/forum/go_quote.gif They have the fourth pin, so what are they for? Loudness?

That's what the consensus has said in the past.

Quote:

Are the pins otherwise same as normal pots?

Yes.

 

[Yen]

Thanx Tangent. Successfully changed to my SOHA.

My last cheapo pot was a total crap. It was like usual stereo tests...

Jumped from one channel to the other.

 

[Yen]

This thing is definately worth its money. No cracks or any sound when changing steps.

However, I notice that outside the listening range (from 12 o'clock and more) this thing hums like hell and gets louder every step. In the listening range, there is no hum or anything, total silence. It isnt a problem, since I will never go over 11 o'clock, but is quite strange. I did not ground the case of the pot, should I?

 

[grandenigma1]

My Stello HP100 amp has a nice stepped "alps blue" pot

 

[Fitz]

Yes, you should ground the case of the pot. If you don't want to chassis ground it, you can loop a grounded wire under one of the screws on the back.