Newbie help! I need to clean a switch! What should I buy at Radio Shack?
 

Hi everyone. It's me again. I just got in a MINT! I mean mint
KENWOOD R-300. It a beauty. Perfect external condition. Everything
seems to work....
But here is my problem...the swtich that changes the bands (BAND
SWITCH) when I click it around to different settings...it seems to
crackle. And on one of the bands....I have to click it off and on
that band once or twice before it kicks in, and I can hear anything.
I know it must be a dirty switch....dust....none of the other buttons
or knobs seem to suffer from this....but can I clean it with some
spray stuff? And if so what? What would Radio Shack carry....that
would work?....tuner cleaner? And can I use this on the volume
controls as well..? I want to make sure I don;t mess up the
radio....but what is best for cleaning switchs....not the tuning
mechanism itself....just the band switch and volume
control....HELP!!!??? I plan to go to radio shack tomorrow so let me
know what all you experts think....

P.s. I'll be writing a review on this one soon....I have to say it is
the nicest looking radio I have owned to date. The emerald green glow
of the front dials....is sweet!!!

Judah Smith wrote:

Hi everyone. It's me again. I just got in a MINT! I mean mint
KENWOOD R-300. It a beauty. Perfect external condition. Everything
seems to work....
But here is my problem...the swtich that changes the bands (BAND
SWITCH) when I click it around to different settings...it seems to
crackle. And on one of the bands....I have to click it off and on
that band once or twice before it kicks in, and I can hear anything.
I know it must be a dirty switch....dust....none of the other buttons
or knobs seem to suffer from this....but can I clean it with some
spray stuff? And if so what? What would Radio Shack carry....that
would work?....tuner cleaner? And can I use this on the volume
controls as well..? I want to make sure I don;t mess up the
radio....but what is best for cleaning switchs....not the tuning
mechanism itself....just the band switch and volume
control....HELP!!!??? I plan to go to radio shack tomorrow so let me
know what all you experts think....

P.s. I'll be writing a review on this one soon....I have to say it is
the nicest looking radio I have owned to date. The emerald green glow
of the front dials....is sweet!!!

I'd suggest you look at de-oxit and related products from Caig laboratories. It works.

They sell a variety pack with samples of several products for about $25. It'll come in handy for years.

The stuff you'll find at Radio Shack will have solvents that could damage some components.

I have never had problems with damaged components from Radio Shack Tuner
Cleaner or Contact Cleaners. By the same token, it always seems that the Tuner
Cleaner leaves a film on the contacts. Other cleaners that I have used at work
seem to clean with no residue.

With any cleaner, there is the possibility of damage to plastics. Be careful
to limit the spray to the control in question, being mindful of the case and
display areas. With the elimination of Freon as the propellant, I have found
that the solvent is more difficult to control, requiring more pressure on the
nozzle to spray, resulting in an unexpectedly strong stream of solvent.

I have never had a problem even in those areas with the stuff from Radio
Shack, but we use degreasers at work, HDX for one, that eats certain plastics.
HDX, therefore, would not be suitable for cleaning contacts.


Regards.




In article , "Mark S. Holden"
wrote:

They sell a variety pack with samples of several products for about $25. It'll
come in handy for years.

The stuff you'll find at Radio Shack will have solvents that could damage some
components.

Never say never.
Nothing is absolute.

WD-40 is as handy as bailing wire and masking tape..




donut wrote in message ...
(Judah Smith) wrote in
. com:

But here is my problem...the swtich that changes the bands (BAND
SWITCH) when I click it around to different settings...it seems to
crackle.

Purists will howl, but good old WD-40 will make that switch work just fine
until you find the correct cleaner for it.

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

Judah Smith wrote:

Hi everyone. It's me again. I just got in a MINT! I mean mint
KENWOOD R-300. It a beauty. Perfect external condition. Everything
seems to work....
But here is my problem...the swtich that changes the bands (BAND
SWITCH) when I click it around to different settings...it seems to
crackle. And on one of the bands....I have to click it off and on
that band once or twice before it kicks in, and I can hear anything.
I know it must be a dirty switch....dust....none of the other buttons
or knobs seem to suffer from this....but can I clean it with some
spray stuff? And if so what? What would Radio Shack carry....that
would work?....tuner cleaner? And can I use this on the volume
controls as well..? I want to make sure I don;t mess up the
radio....but what is best for cleaning switchs....not the tuning
mechanism itself....just the band switch and volume
control....HELP!!!??? I plan to go to radio shack tomorrow so let me
know what all you experts think....

P.s. I'll be writing a review on this one soon....I have to say it is
the nicest looking radio I have owned to date. The emerald green glow
of the front dials....is sweet!!!

I'd suggest you look at de-oxit and related products from Caig laboratories. It works.

They sell a variety pack with samples of several products for about $25. It'll come in handy for years.

The stuff you'll find at Radio Shack will have solvents that could damage some components.

I agree. It's worth waiting to clean the switch until you get some
DeOxit. Very good stuff.


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starman wrote:

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

Judah Smith wrote:

Hi everyone. It's me again. I just got in a MINT! I mean mint
KENWOOD R-300. It a beauty. Perfect external condition. Everything
seems to work....
But here is my problem...the swtich that changes the bands (BAND
SWITCH) when I click it around to different settings...it seems to
crackle. And on one of the bands....I have to click it off and on
that band once or twice before it kicks in, and I can hear anything.
I know it must be a dirty switch....dust....none of the other buttons
or knobs seem to suffer from this....but can I clean it with some
spray stuff? And if so what? What would Radio Shack carry....that
would work?....tuner cleaner? And can I use this on the volume
controls as well..? I want to make sure I don;t mess up the
radio....but what is best for cleaning switchs....not the tuning
mechanism itself....just the band switch and volume
control....HELP!!!??? I plan to go to radio shack tomorrow so let me
know what all you experts think....

P.s. I'll be writing a review on this one soon....I have to say it is
the nicest looking radio I have owned to date. The emerald green glow
of the front dials....is sweet!!!

I'd suggest you look at de-oxit and related products from Caig laboratories. It works.

They sell a variety pack with samples of several products for about $25. It'll come in handy for years.

The stuff you'll find at Radio Shack will have solvents that could damage some components.

I agree. It's worth waiting to clean the switch until you get some
DeOxit. Very good stuff.



Here's the link to a $10 survival kit with 2ml of each of 4 products.

http://shopping.netledger.com/app/site/site.nl/site.ACCT113328/mode.items/sc.2/category.82/it.A/id.1655/.f






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I ordered the $10 survival kit for future use. (couldn't bring myself
to use the WD-40, maybe if I had no other option, and I lived 150
miles from the nearest town) But temporarily I ran down to the local
radio shack and got some contact cleaner. Opened up the radio and
cleaned the switch, trying to get as little over spray as possible.
It works PERFECT now. The radio is like brand new. Best $75 dollars
plus shipping I ever spent. (Yes, I got a very good
deal...considering I don't hve an hamfests to go to...and I have to
buy online....(often using ebay). Its a beatiful radio. (externally)
I mean a real eye catcher. The sensitivity....with my 100+ ft.
random wire/rabbit ear antenna is great. I'll review it more later.
I'm really enjoying it. I'd take it over a 100 dollar portable any
day. And the antenna trim feature is so great if you only use a
random wire antenna....to fine tune (tweak) in weak signals. Why did
they ever stop offering that feature? Anyway....the radio work and
looks great....thanks for the cleaning advice. Now to do some testing
against my other radios....

Judah Smith wrote:

I ordered the $10 survival kit for future use. (couldn't bring myself
to use the WD-40, maybe if I had no other option, and I lived 150
miles from the nearest town) But temporarily I ran down to the local
radio shack and got some contact cleaner. Opened up the radio and
cleaned the switch, trying to get as little over spray as possible.
It works PERFECT now. The radio is like brand new. Best $75 dollars
plus shipping I ever spent. (Yes, I got a very good
deal...considering I don't hve an hamfests to go to...and I have to
buy online....(often using ebay). Its a beatiful radio. (externally)
I mean a real eye catcher. The sensitivity....with my 100+ ft.
random wire/rabbit ear antenna is great. I'll review it more later.
I'm really enjoying it. I'd take it over a 100 dollar portable any
day. And the antenna trim feature is so great if you only use a
random wire antenna....to fine tune (tweak) in weak signals. Why did
they ever stop offering that feature? Anyway....the radio work and
looks great....thanks for the cleaning advice. Now to do some testing
against my other radios....

You can get a digital display kit for about $50. It should work with
your R-300 and other receivers that don't have a frequency display.
Here's a place to get the kit:

www.aade.com


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Hey Judah,
Congrats on the thievery of that nice piece. ;-) Is that the receiver with
the dual tuning drums?

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780
"Judah Smith" wrote in message
om...
I ordered the $10 survival kit for future use. (couldn't bring myself
to use the WD-40, maybe if I had no other option, and I lived 150
miles from the nearest town) But temporarily I ran down to the local
radio shack and got some contact cleaner. Opened up the radio and
cleaned the switch, trying to get as little over spray as possible.
It works PERFECT now. The radio is like brand new. Best $75 dollars
plus shipping I ever spent. (Yes, I got a very good
deal...considering I don't hve an hamfests to go to...and I have to
buy online....(often using ebay). Its a beatiful radio. (externally)
I mean a real eye catcher. The sensitivity....with my 100+ ft.
random wire/rabbit ear antenna is great. I'll review it more later.
I'm really enjoying it. I'd take it over a 100 dollar portable any
day. And the antenna trim feature is so great if you only use a
random wire antenna....to fine tune (tweak) in weak signals. Why did
they ever stop offering that feature? Anyway....the radio work and
looks great....thanks for the cleaning advice. Now to do some testing
against my other radios....