awhite2600 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 I finally had the chance to pick up a Vectrex at a fair price. The system works well and came with 8 games (only one box - but it was Spike), 2 overlays and all game and system manuals. The only problem is the volume control. The volume is always at maximum no matter what position I set the control to. Does anyone know of a fix other than taking the entire console apart to get at the control? While I am comfortable with most electronics, I've never liked working near CRTs due to the high voltages. Is the knob supposed to be removable from the front? I tried, but it didn't budge easily. I had wanted to try a shot of electronics cleaner into the control as a "first attempt". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ls650 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 With the unit unplugged, twiddle the volume knob clockwise and counter-clockwise from minimum to maximum volume several times. Sometimes a bit of dust or corrosion gets into the potentiometer and causes this issue; wheeling the knob through its range several times can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfmateos Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Clean the potentiometer with a contacts cleaner spray 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 You pull the knob forward and it will come off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awhite2600 Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 With the unit unplugged, twiddle the volume knob clockwise and counter-clockwise from minimum to maximum volume several times. Sometimes a bit of dust or corrosion gets into the potentiometer and causes this issue; wheeling the knob through its range several times can help. I will try your suggestion. Sounds like an easy first step. Hopefully it works. Clean the potentiometer with a contacts cleaner spray That was my intention. Unfortunately getting at the pot "from the inside" is a fairly involved process requiring the unsoldering of lots of connections from the motherboard. Unlike other consoles, there aren't connectors attaching everything. I was looking for a simpler option to try first. You pull the knob forward and it will come off. I tried that and the knob wouldn't budge. I didn't want to force it and break anything. The service manual that I found online indicates that the knob pulls off. Perhaps I just need to be more forceful. Thanks for all of the suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 You pull the knob forward and it will come off. 'crank up the volume and yank off the knob, indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awhite2600 Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 I finally found the time to work on my Vectrex. As suggested, I carefully pryed off the volume knob. I sprayed it with some electronics cleaner and worked the knob back and forth. I also took the back off and sprayed around the knob inside. While there, I also dusted out the inside with canned air and then the cleaner. Back together and working good as new now. Thanks again to everyone for their help and suggestions. Now, off to play some Star Hawk ... an old favorite from back in the day. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+madman Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Good to hear! A cleaner like deoxit is a necessity when dealing with older electronics, simple fix for common issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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