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Jammed pan pot Sound Devices 664


simon forbes

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Hi Folks,

 

DISASTER! I believe I have a grain of sand in a pan pot on my 664, preventing me turning it in either direction. I've tried wiggling it, talking sternly to it. Inserting a pin whilst holding it upside down. Vacuum cleaning it. Has anyone overcome this issue successfully and would like to share?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Simon.

 

 

 

 

 

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By saying "pan pot" i am assuming you are talking about the L-R pan control. Dies that cintrol push in and pop out normally? Have you tried holding the mixer upside down and spraying an aerosol called Tuner Cleaner up into the pot in an effort to wash the wee grains of sand out? Have you tried sneaking up on it and scaring it?

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Hi PMC,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

Yes that's the one I mean. It doesn't pop out any more, so It's stuck in the middle L+R position, which isn't ideal. I haven't heard of Tuner Cleaner, but it interests me strangely. Possibly it's similar to that isopropyl alcohol spray that engineers use to de-carbonise faders etc? I did, as you suggest, try sneaking up on it and scaring it. I also tried intimidation and flattery, but the results were uniformly disappointing. Luckily it's rare that I need 6 channels at once.

 

All the best,

 

Simon.

 

 

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7 hours ago, BAB414 said:

This is probably a stupid idea but when I had a swollen AA in my 552, putting it in the freezer shrunk the battery a bit to where it came loose.

I have the same problem with my 552. (haven't been in a rush to fix it, as I can still externally power it, and I rarely use my 552 these days anyway)

But putting it in a freezer wouldn't risk causing other damage to the 552? Is there a better method to getting out a stuck AA?? (I honestly don't understand why Sound Devices went with this tricky tube design... I have the same worry always with my Sound Devices MM1 preamps as well!)

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8 hours ago, Tom E said:

I had the same thing happen with my 664. I was able to pull the pop up pan knob out using a toothpick with a drop of hot glue on the end. Could work for a stuck battery too. 

Genius tip i will file away for future use!

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Buck it up, send it in. SD goes over EVERYTHING.. as T. Norris said it will come back as like new. I’ve sent both my 664 and 633 in over the years and they have always done a great job. I don’t know if they have a UK service shop or not. If you can spare it for a few weeks, it’s worth shipping in to SD US. 

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22 hours ago, IronFilm said:

I have the same problem with my 552. (haven't been in a rush to fix it, as I can still externally power it, and I rarely use my 552 these days anyway)

But putting it in a freezer wouldn't risk causing other damage to the 552? Is there a better method to getting out a stuck AA?? (I honestly don't understand why Sound Devices went with this tricky tube design... I have the same worry always with my Sound Devices MM1 preamps as well!)

It was definitely a concern and I don't know if it is recommended but it did the trick without doing any damage.

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On 6/27/2022 at 4:09 PM, edward chick said:

Buck it up, send it in. SD goes over EVERYTHING.. as T. Norris said it will come back as like new. I’ve sent both my 664 and 633 in over the years and they have always done a great job. I don’t know if they have a UK service shop or not. If you can spare it for a few weeks, it’s worth shipping in to SD US. 

This is all true but just be prepared for a $600 bill. SD service is no bargain. But they do a good job of course. 

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I had a similar issue a few years ago. I brought my 633 to my retailer and after a short but strong blast of pressurised air, the knob was easily released. Since then, I always use my blower bulb after a sandy working day, before the grains go too deep.

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When this happened to me I was able to pry the pan-fader up from the side using a toothpick after first pushing down on it to activate the spring release - it requires some effort but then you should be able to access the Allen key slot and unscrew the fader to remove it and vacuum the sand out.

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You're probably going to need to send it in unfortunately. If the sand gets in too far then it needs to be disassembled. And you essentially have to tear down the entire machine to get inside to pot assembly. Here's a pic from the last time I had to do this procedure (albeit with a different pot). You can see how all of the pots have a very tightly fitted plastic cup around them to prevent matter from getting through to the PCB

 

633 pots.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/27/2022 at 4:09 PM, edward chick said:

Buck it up, send it in. SD goes over EVERYTHING.. as T. Norris said it will come back as like new. I’ve sent both my 664 and 633 in over the years and they have always done a great job. I don’t know if they have a UK service shop or not. If you can spare it for a few weeks, it’s worth shipping in to SD US. 

Yep.

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