Dunlop Pots, advice?

Clyde Mattocks · From: Kinston, North Carolina, USA

I just received a couple of Dunlop pots from Tom Bradshaw and installed one in an Emmons volume pedal.
I must say they are as advertised, very smooth with no degradation of tone. In the accompanying instructions, Tom advises using a very hot soldering gun to tin the posts. This flies in the face of what we all learned in electronics class. However,
I found that my regular iron would not heat the posts enough to get the solder to stick, so I used the heavy gun with no apparent damage to the pot, so
Tom knew what he was talking about.

The other issue is that the posts being on the bottom of the pot, they come within about 1/16th of
an inch of the side of the pedal, presenting the possibility of shorting. After installing the pot,
I used a Dremel tool to grind down the posts a little. I'm interested to see how you guys that have been through this deal with it.

I realize Tom has no input in the design of the part and is providing us with a valuable service in offering what seems to be our only real choice.
_________________
LeGrande II, Nash. 112, Fender Twin Tone Master, Session 400, Harlow Dobro, R.Q.Jones Dobro

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

How about putting a little strip of duct tape on the pedal, to act as an insulator? It may be too thick, though.

When I worked for an assembly plant in Mexico, our maintenance "engineer" could fix just about anything with duct tape, super glue, or J-B Weld! Very Happy

Lee, from South Texas

Nick Reed · From: Russellville, KY USA

Clyde,
I had the same issues with the Dunlop pots. Tom told me to put black electrical tape over the soldered connections to keep it insulated and from touching the caseing on the pedal. I will say this, these pots work great, I have them in both of my Emmons volume pedals. The Claristat replacements I used to use got where I couldn't depend on them.

Nick

Clyde Mattocks · From: Kinston, North Carolina, USA

Yeah Nick, I had squirreled away one last Clarostat
pot and when I installed it a couple of weeks ago, I
noticed it had a pronounced volume bump in one spot.
Placing a meter across it confirmed it. Just sloppy
quality control.

Thanks to you guys for responding.
_________________
LeGrande II, Nash. 112, Fender Twin Tone Master, Session 400, Harlow Dobro, R.Q.Jones Dobro

James Cann · From: Phoenix, AZ

Jay Ganz · From: Out Behind The Barn

You mean pfd not mfd, right? Whoa!

Tom Bradshaw · From: Walnut Creek, California, USA

Since offering these pots in my product line, I've had several steelers send me their pedals for installing. Repetition leads to efficiency and problem-solving. I've discovered all kinds of ways that pots are mounted inside the various pedal brands. I've managed to get the pots installed in all of those brands.

I've found it particularly important to view how the original pot was installed (shaft either full on or full off at the position where you hook up the string). The Dunlop pot has a flattened shaft on one side. Most often it is best to install the pot with the shaft rotated to full "off" and the flat side facing up (toward you as you are looking into the bottom of the pedal). Next, it is best to wrap the string (clockwise looking at the stem) with the pedal's treadle positioned fully open (in the volume-off position).

Once you settle on the positioning of the pot, try wrapping the ends of the wires around the connecting studs so that they hug the back of the pot's canister, leading away toward where they are soldered to the pedal's jacks. In other words, have them leave the base of the pot along the bottom, not extending out and away from the bottom.

In the instructions I provide, I don't actually recommend a very hot soldering gun for applying the solder, but it doesn't hurt to have a very hot gun if you apply the solder at the instant the gun touches the lugs. If a very hot gun "lingers" too long on the lug, there could possibly be some damage to the "guts" of the pot (although no one has ever told me they thought that they had damaged the pot when they soldered the wires to it).

If the above instructions are followed, there is really no need to apply any tape to the bottom of the pot or to the side of the pedal's housing. If a bare wire can't touch the housing, there will be no shorting. But if you feel more comfortable by adding the tape, you certainly may do so.

I've only had a few (maybe 10 out of over 500 sold) of these pots returned. Of those 10, nine just didn't work at all (internal short I guess)! Only one person said he didn't like the taper in it. I'm trying to find out how to explain how to add a taper control to an existing pot. Some players like a fast "on", while others prefer a gradual increase in volume all the way from a full "off" to full "on". With a taper control, you can have it any way you want. When I get this information I'll share it here on the Forum.

I'm now installing Dunlop pots in all the Goodrich pedals I sell. I call this an upgrade, since the pots used in manufacturing are the PEC brand and a couple of other off-brands. I don't want anyone buying something from me that "wears out" in an unreasonable time.

I am pleased with the acceptance of this product. ...Tom

Jerry H. Moore · From: Newnan, GA, USA

Try another kind of solder and make sure the tip is good and clean. I use the .032 60/40 OR the.022 62/36/2. It flowed right in and made a great connection. Be sure and tin both the post and the wire and then just join them and heat the solder. Thanks Tom for having these pots. I love mine.

Mike Davoult · From: Nevada

I just installed a new Dunlop in my Goodrich today and the wiring was to short so I rewired it with 20 gauge stranded copper wire.
Does it matter what kind of wire you use, or will this work okay? It sounds good but I"m just not sure about the wiring. Thanks

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