Patchbay failure or patch cables?

I'm afraid I'm with Rob and Alan on this. Yes, you can get away with WD40 most of the time--but it's not made for this purpose and it CAN leave a residue.

Agreed Bob and then you have maybe a month to change the part!

Dave.
 
Changing a 100mm motorised fader is rather more expensive than a can of DeOxit!

Don't know about your faders Bobs but I know some of the P&G jobbies use conductive plastic and can be cleaned with a mild Fairy Liquid solution.

We have to get out terms right here! A worn pot track might be rescued for a time with a cleaner/lube but its days ARE numbered. If you are just removing crud from the track ISOPROPA would probably serve but you then need to ask "where did the crud come from?" Poor environment or poor design?

Dave.
 
I wanted to buy a pedal steel guitar, and they are humungous amounts of money, and scarce second hand, so the advice I got was wait until you see one on ebay being sold cheap because it goes out of tune, and the owner cannot fix it, and snatch it up for a song. Remove the changer and clean out all the WD-40 they lubricated it with, and replace it with silicone spray. WD-40 apparently always gets used, and lasts about three months and then starts to get sticky and the dust, which is the cause, just wrecks them. I waited and eventually found one with the declared fault. Cleaned it all off, re-lubricated with the correct stuff and it's been perfect. The solvent in WD-40 evaporates, but the lubricant doesn't.
 
I wanted to buy a pedal steel guitar, and they are humungous amounts of money, and scarce second hand, so the advice I got was wait until you see one on ebay being sold cheap because it goes out of tune, and the owner cannot fix it, and snatch it up for a song. Remove the changer and clean out all the WD-40 they lubricated it with, and replace it with silicone spray. WD-40 apparently always gets used, and lasts about three months and then starts to get sticky and the dust, which is the cause, just wrecks them. I waited and eventually found one with the declared fault. Cleaned it all off, re-lubricated with the correct stuff and it's been perfect. The solvent in WD-40 evaporates, but the lubricant doesn't.

Ok, yes, I repeat, SPARINGLY for electrical work.

A cautionary word about silicones. Never use them on metal to metal moving parts. They will seize a gun solid.

Dave.
 
That's odd, because it's the recommended lubricant for steel guitar changers, and mines been three years plus on the one lubrication and tuning is still spot on - is there a heat/pressure thing on guns? Over here we don't get to know about guns - 59 years old and the only time somebody gave me one was on an event where we did clay pigeon shooting, and they gave me a gun. I fired it once and handed the thing back - I'm totally dangerous with anything that goes bang! A few people here had licences for competition guns, but in one of our Government schemes, many handed their weapons in, and cancelled the licences. Apart from criminals, few people here have even held one!
 
That's odd, because it's the recommended lubricant for steel guitar changers, and mines been three years plus on the one lubrication and tuning is still spot on - is there a heat/pressure thing on guns? Over here we don't get to know about guns - 59 years old and the only time somebody gave me one was on an event where we did clay pigeon shooting, and they gave me a gun. I fired it once and handed the thing back - I'm totally dangerous with anything that goes bang! A few people here had licences for competition guns, but in one of our Government schemes, many handed their weapons in, and cancelled the licences. Apart from criminals, few people here have even held one!

As ever with lubricants, it depends! 'Pure' silicone oil as sold for leather piston washers found in spring piston air rifles WILL seize metal solid, even a 'cold' airgun but many silicone oils and greases have other lubricants in them. Graphite and MoS2 and often PTFE. As ever, RTFL!

I am in UK! I do not hold a firearms license, just too much hassle and too old for field shooting now. I have however been to a coastal range many years ago and shot .22LR, 9mm, .38, 45ACP, .357 mag and .44mag pistol...LOADSAFUN!

Now sadly all pistols are on Section 5 and we sober honest folk are no longer trusted with them.

Used to be a sign in a rural gunshop. "If gun ownership is criminalized, only criminals will own guns". Since the ban there does not seem to be any reduction in armed crime? Not that there was ever really THAT much here anyway and almost NONE committed with legally held firearms (tho' the Home Office was always very coy about releasing that information!)

Sorry for the OT rant! Oh! BTW. Heard on the news yesterday that there are now 2000 fewer coppers on certain Birmingham streets and people have taken to carrying knives for self protection. Can you really blame them?

Dave.

Dave.
 
I got around to using some DeOxit on my patch cables today. I'll admit to being slightly skeptical as to how much difference it would makes. There was nothing I could see on the jacks that looked oxidized or corroded. The stuff was surprisingly benign smelling, I was expecting some pungent chemical smell. I used a small patch of cloth beneath the jack as I spray it, then wiped it down. Then I plugged it in. Both tracks came through just fine. I played around with the tracks for a while and never had that fading away into nothing sensation. Now I want to get one of those injector jack plugs and give the patchbay some loving. I'm a believer now. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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