Cure for a scratchy speaker

I had a problem with my speakers for a while, and it was getting on my nerves so much today that I finally sat down and tried to fix it. Essentially, when you adjusted the volume on these speakers, sound would cut in and out on the left speaker unless you had it set on just the right volume or you jiggled the knob for a few minutes. Even after lots of jiggling and turning, the knob was picky; every once in a while the left speaker would just  sort of stop working (and you’d wonder if you’d suddenly gone deaf in one ear).I had figured from the beginning that the problem was the knob itself. The knob is just a potentiometer (an electronic doodad that variably limits current flow based on the position of the knob), and sometimes the contact between parts of a potentiometer can get gunked up, causing the entire works to go crazy – at least that’s what the Internet tells me. Love the technical explicitness of that last paragraph? Blame the fact that I hated my electronics course in college.

Anyway, I called up my dad and asked for his advice on the subject. I was ready to rip the speaker open and spray lubricant on the knob, which may or may not have been a good idea. He suggested just turning the knob through its entire range of motion about 50 times. It turns out that worked like a charm – the speakers are as responsive as the day I bought them. Rocket scientist dad for the win!

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