NOS 10K pots

Paul Brainard · From: Portland OR

I've found an electronics supplier that says they can source up to 10 "new old stock" Honeywell 10K pots, part number JA1N056S103AA for about $70 each plus shipping. I only need 2 or 3 myself, but if there were enough folks interested maybe I could cobble together an order.

This is about twice as much as the new long-life pots by PEC or Dunlop, but if you are like me you probably have gone through a couple of those while you still have some vintage ones that are still going strong after several decades.

PS does anyone know the Honeywell pots in particular? I think this was the third company to make them for the military, after the original Allen-Bradley and then Clarostat.

Craig Baker · From: Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.

Paul,
That's a very high price per pot, but the big problem is the 10K resistance value you listed. That is far too low for a guitar pickup to drive. Usually 500K or even 1 megohm (1,000,000 ohms) is used in volume pedals etc. Unless you have some special circuit that calls for 10,000 ohms, I would avoid them. . . especially at that price.

All the best to you.

Craig Baker 706-485-8792

cmbakerelectronics@gmail.com

C.M. Baker Electronics
P.O. Box 3965
Eatonton, GA 31024
_________________
"Make America Great Again". . . The Only Country With Dream After Its Name.

Paul Brainard · From: Portland OR

Craig, these are used in the Goodrich 10K pedals (thus the name. . .) They control the preamp rather than directly driving the signal from the instrument. You can use a 500K pot in them, and I have been. It changes the taper slightly, but the main issue really is reliability.

Thanks!

Craig Baker · From: Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.

Paul,
Thanks for the info. I had forgotten about that Goodrich pedal. However, I still think you can find a much better price. The Dunlop pot that Tom Bradshaw sells is also available in 10K or 100k. On the other hand, this hobby we have chosen is certainly not an inexpensive one.

Best wishes,

Craig Baker 706-485-8792

cmbakerelectronics@gmail.com

C.M. Baker Electronics
P.O. Box 3965
Eatonton, GA 31024
_________________
"Make America Great Again". . . The Only Country With Dream After Its Name.

Paul Brainard · From: Portland OR

It is steep, I agree. I haven't actually tried the Dunlop ones, but I had 2 of my last 3 PEC 500K pots go bad on me within a couple months (these did not come from either Tom Bradshaw or Jerry Roller here on the forum.) At that rate paying twice as much for NOS will be far more cost-effective - if they last as long as the originals - and maintain the original part value.

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

Most NOS surplus pots are linear taper and as such are not useable for volume pedals. The low resistance can be dealt with by putting a preamp or buffer (such as Craig's) between the pickup and the volume pedal. However there is no practical way to use a pot that has the wrong taper.

I suggest trying the Dunlop before you give up on modern pots. Lots of people are happy with them (me included).

Paul Brainard · From: Portland OR

These are type-J audio taper pots (first letter of the part number designates this.) Same as the original. The Goodrich 10K pedals have the buffer preamp built in, that's why they can use this value instead of the 500K in regular "pot" pedals. They may have been the first to do this, not sure.

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

Type-J is the style of pot and doesn't indicate the taper. But now that I've had some time to poke around for info, I think you may be right about it being a log taper. I have an old Allen Bradley catalog somewhere but I couldn't lay my hands on it... but there's info in this SGF thread:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=229932&sid=c3b8eb9c20f50a3c560ea9f46d324476

Looks like yours is a CW log taper with a 7/8" shaft.

In my earlier reply I had a vague memory of "A" indicating linear taper... Now that I've had some time to dig a little, I've found that although that's the case for many of the old Clarostat numbers (I did find an old 1980s Clarostat catalog), it's not so for the AB Type J, the part number convention of which this Honeywell number appears to follow. Might be good to ask the seller to verify the taper, though.

Btw I understand about the Goodrich 10K pedal having the built-in buffer... I was only clarifying, for the benefit of others who may be interested and who have conventional pot pedals, that they could probably use a 10K pot if they use an outboard buffer like the Izzy ahead of the pedal.

I like the Dunlop pot but apparently some folks don't like its taper as well as the AB "A" taper. Certainly these old mil-spec pots are preferred by many of us, so you may find some folks that are willing to try these with you. Good luck with it.

Paul Brainard · From: Portland OR

Oh ha, I always though the "J" was a reference to the taper, like how it would graph on paper. Actually I think an old amp tech told me that, before I even got in to steel. . . anyway, not to detract from anyone who sells or uses the newer pots. I have one pedal with a PEC in it that is working fine. In fact it's the best sounding one of my 3 10K's - not sure what to attribute that to. But after my experience with a couple of them going bad, showing up to recording sessions with a scratchy pot, and having to tear them apart twice for the same repair - and then being told that it was probably my fault for installing them incorrectly so i couldn't return them (in spite of the fact that one of them that went bad was installed by the folks who sold me the other spares) - I decided to do some searching for NOS pots. They are virtually non-existent on ebay (other than the odd used one) but I stumbled on this distributor and got a quote. If I had the cash I'd buy the lot and keep them on hand for me or whomever needs one. But I don't think they want to go to the trouble for just a couple of them.

I do have a Hilton & love it but I usually leave it set up at home & like my 10K's for gigs & sessions with easier setup. Also, the Goodrich pedals have a slight gain compared to the Hilton, which is nice sometimes.

ps I also did get ahold of a couple PEC 10K pots but the shafts were too short - not sure if they make a longer version.

Maybe this thread should move over to Electronics, where it can be mothballed. . .

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

I seem to remember J indicating log taper for some kinds of pots, and especially with the shape of the curve, as you said, it's an understandable assumption!

With your buffered pedal you're open to other relatively low values of pot such as 25K, 50K, 100K etc. so perhaps that will turn up some other NOS prospects.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Paul Brainard · From: Portland OR

I don't know Donny, I have done a lot of searching online. There are many pots out there but I almost never come across that actual part number, and if so it's just the odd used one. $35 is less than the new ones, going by other sought-after NOS parts I would say twice that isn't that out of line. If you can point me to any for less I would be grateful!

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