Hello!

I'm trying to find out who the manufacturer of the volume control was for the Atwater Kent Model 55C, it is a dual type control, with the wire wound portion being 6K Ohms and the Carbon being 10K Ohms, the original one I have is as best I can tell bad, does anyone have any info on this, and would their be a way of fixing the old control, IE cleaning it etc... ???

Hi Mark

Is your control open? I would start by cleaning it with tuner cleaner. If that doesn't work check what is available from PTOP:

http://www.oldradioparts.com/2a22fil.txt

Contact Gary at PTOP if you don't find something usable.

Norm

: Hello!
:
: I'm trying to find out who the manufacturer of the volume control was for the Atwater Kent Model 55C, it is a dual type control, with the wire wound portion being 6K Ohms and the Carbon being 10K Ohms, the original one I have is as best I can tell bad, does anyone have any info on this, and would their be a way of fixing the old control, IE cleaning it etc... ???

:Hi Mark
:
: Is your control open? I would start by cleaning it with tuner cleaner. If that doesn't work check what is available from PTOP:
:
:http://www.oldradioparts.com/2a22fil.txt
:
: Contact Gary at PTOP if you don't find something usable.
: I was looking at the shematics on the 55C there were 2 versions, the early version does not use the variable carbon resistor, the later version did, however the carbon resistor portion was varying the actual antenna input, and the early version does not, what about not using the cabon part, since all its doing is varying the actual antenna input level to ground, the actual rheostat portion is hooked up pretty much the same as the early version with only one addition of a resistor, would this work?
:
:Norm
:
:: Hello!
::
:: I'm trying to find out who the manufacturer of the volume control was for the Atwater Kent Model 55C, it is a dual type control, with the wire wound portion being 6K Ohms and the Carbon being 10K Ohms, the original one I have is as best I can tell bad, does anyone have any info on this, and would their be a way of fixing the old control, IE cleaning it etc... ???

You keep asking this question. Perhaps you should tell us precisely what is wrong with the control.

:You keep asking this question. Perhaps you should tell us precisely what is wrong with the control.
: the carbon and rheostat portion of this control are worn out, they have numerous dead spots in them, I need to know based on the shematics would it be possible to just not use the carbon portion, considering all it does is vary the antenna signal to ground, and get a replacement rheostat for the actual volume control, the early version of this model only used the rheostat to control the volume anyway.
Mark

If you do not get this control rebuilt (Norm suggested a very good place for rebuilding these controls), disassemble the control. I'm not sure how this control is held together, but usually there is a "C" clip around the shaft as well as various other tangs that hold the shell together. Some controls have tangs. Others may have a sort of metal band that is crimped in places. If you observe the control, you will see how it is put together. If the control is a dual unit as you say, you will need to figure out how many places the shaft is connected to and how many "C" clips, if any, to remove. I have an Atwater Kent dual wire wound control which has the "C" clip in the front and in the rear. In the center is a metal affair that is crimped to the two bakelite sections that house the different sections of the control. More modern controls are simply held together with metal tangs that bend over certain places. Observe the control carefully (take time and be patient), and figure out how to get it apart without breaking anything.

Anyway, open it up and examine the carbon. Is it worn all over or just where the slider contacts? Is there room on the edges where it is not worn, and does this continue around the circumfrence of the control? Is the carbon element at all damaged (cracked, etc.)? If the carbon element is cracked at all, this can make the element useless.

If there is available space on the edge where the carbon is not worn, try moving the slider over just a bit so that it contacts this new place. Put a very small film of di-electric grease on the carbon element. Put some of this grease on the shaft where it goes in the bushing as well. Place the carbon section of the control back together if possible and observe movement. Be sure that when the shaft is held in its proper position that the spring wiperss have enough tension to keep contact on all required places. The wipers usually contact both the element and a metal ring somewhere else on the control (say closer to the shaft) which connects to the wiper terminal. Be sure that the tension on all wipers is adequate, but there should not be excessive tension on the carbon wiper as this will cause undue wear on the carbon. Re-assemble the control and bend the "C" clip securely around the shaft in its original place. See if the control now works better. If the control was not used so much that the carbon element was completely destroyed, sometimes you can find a new portion of carbon to work with. If the carbon is destroyed at any point where this would completely obstruct the path from one side of the element to the other, then the element is likely useless. The rebuilding place that Norm suggested can likely replace the carbon element and make any other necessary alterations and repairs to the control. Another thing to keep in mind is eBay. You never know what on earth you'll find on there. Search by as many words as you can imagine. Keep in mind that you will only get searches that match all of the words that you use, and if you use some ambiguous word like "tube" instead of radio tube, you will get like 14,000 some listings for every listing that has the word tube in it. This is true, too, for early radio numbers like 80 (how many listings do you think have the number 80 in them?). Use something like 80 tube, 80 radio tube, etc. Keep the words that you use to as few as possible, but not so few that you pull up too many listings.

Thomas

Hi

You could just not use this section of the control. A long antenna might overload your radio and cause distortion on strong stations? Early Model 55's didn't have this section. It must have been added to prevent distortion.

Follow Thomas's instructions. Might be able to repair your control? If there is a break in the carbon sometimes even this can be repaired. Loctite makes a conductive paint/glue used for rear window defogger repair in cars.

Norm

:If you do not get this control rebuilt (Norm suggested a very good place for rebuilding these controls), disassemble the control. I'm not sure how this control is held together, but usually there is a "C" clip around the shaft as well as various other tangs that hold the shell together. Some controls have tangs. Others may have a sort of metal band that is crimped in places. If you observe the control, you will see how it is put together. If the control is a dual unit as you say, you will need to figure out how many places the shaft is connected to and how many "C" clips, if any, to remove. I have an Atwater Kent dual wire wound control which has the "C" clip in the front and in the rear. In the center is a metal affair that is crimped to the two bakelite sections that house the different sections of the control. More modern controls are simply held together with metal tangs that bend over certain places. Observe the control carefully (take time and be patient), and figure out how to get it apart without breaking anything.
:
:Anyway, open it up and examine the carbon. Is it worn all over or just where the slider contacts? Is there room on the edges where it is not worn, and does this continue around the circumfrence of the control? Is the carbon element at all damaged (cracked, etc.)? If the carbon element is cracked at all, this can make the element useless.
:
:If there is available space on the edge where the carbon is not worn, try moving the slider over just a bit so that it contacts this new place. Put a very small film of di-electric grease on the carbon element. Put some of this grease on the shaft where it goes in the bushing as well. Place the carbon section of the control back together if possible and observe movement. Be sure that when the shaft is held in its proper position that the spring wiperss have enough tension to keep contact on all required places. The wipers usually contact both the element and a metal ring somewhere else on the control (say closer to the shaft) which connects to the wiper terminal. Be sure that the tension on all wipers is adequate, but there should not be excessive tension on the carbon wiper as this will cause undue wear on the carbon. Re-assemble the control and bend the "C" clip securely around the shaft in its original place. See if the control now works better. If the control was not used so much that the carbon element was completely destroyed, sometimes you can find a new portion of carbon to work with. If the carbon is destroyed at any point where this would completely obstruct the path from one side of the element to the other, then the element is likely useless. The rebuilding place that Norm suggested can likely replace the carbon element and make any other necessary alterations and repairs to the control. Another thing to keep in mind is eBay. You never know what on earth you'll find on there. Search by as many words as you can imagine. Keep in mind that you will only get searches that match all of the words that you use, and if you use some ambiguous word like "tube" instead of radio tube, you will get like 14,000 some listings for every listing that has the word tube in it. This is true, too, for early radio numbers like 80 (how many listings do you think have the number 80 in them?). Use something like 80 tube, 80 radio tube, etc. Keep the words that you use to as few as possible, but not so few that you pull up too many listings.
:
:Thomas

Hey now! There's something I never thought of! Defogger resistance paint! Wow! What a cool idea!

:Hi
:
: You could just not use this section of the control. A long antenna might overload your radio and cause distortion on strong stations? Early Model 55's didn't have this section. It must have been added to prevent distortion.
:
: Follow Thomas's instructions. Might be able to repair your control? If there is a break in the carbon sometimes even this can be repaired. Loctite makes a conductive paint/glue used for rear window defogger repair in cars.
:
:Norm
:
:
:
::If you do not get this control rebuilt (Norm suggested a very good place for rebuilding these controls), disassemble the control. I'm not sure how this control is held together, but usually there is a "C" clip around the shaft as well as various other tangs that hold the shell together. Some controls have tangs. Others may have a sort of metal band that is crimped in places. If you observe the control, you will see how it is put together. If the control is a dual unit as you say, you will need to figure out how many places the shaft is connected to and how many "C" clips, if any, to remove. I have an Atwater Kent dual wire wound control which has the "C" clip in the front and in the rear. In the center is a metal affair that is crimped to the two bakelite sections that house the different sections of the control. More modern controls are simply held together with metal tangs that bend over certain places. Observe the control carefully (take time and be patient), and figure out how to get it apart without breaking anything.
::
::Anyway, open it up and examine the carbon. Is it worn all over or just where the slider contacts? Is there room on the edges where it is not worn, and does this continue around the circumfrence of the control? Is the carbon element at all damaged (cracked, etc.)? If the carbon element is cracked at all, this can make the element useless.
::
::If there is available space on the edge where the carbon is not worn, try moving the slider over just a bit so that it contacts this new place. Put a very small film of di-electric grease on the carbon element. Put some of this grease on the shaft where it goes in the bushing as well. Place the carbon section of the control back together if possible and observe movement. Be sure that when the shaft is held in its proper position that the spring wiperss have enough tension to keep contact on all required places. The wipers usually contact both the element and a metal ring somewhere else on the control (say closer to the shaft) which connects to the wiper terminal. Be sure that the tension on all wipers is adequate, but there should not be excessive tension on the carbon wiper as this will cause undue wear on the carbon. Re-assemble the control and bend the "C" clip securely around the shaft in its original place. See if the control now works better. If the control was not used so much that the carbon element was completely destroyed, sometimes you can find a new portion of carbon to work with. If the carbon is destroyed at any point where this would completely obstruct the path from one side of the element to the other, then the element is likely useless. The rebuilding place that Norm suggested can likely replace the carbon element and make any other necessary alterations and repairs to the control. Another thing to keep in mind is eBay. You never know what on earth you'll find on there. Search by as many words as you can imagine. Keep in mind that you will only get searches that match all of the words that you use, and if you use some ambiguous word like "tube" instead of radio tube, you will get like 14,000 some listings for every listing that has the word tube in it. This is true, too, for early radio numbers like 80 (how many listings do you think have the number 80 in them?). Use something like 80 tube, 80 radio tube, etc. Keep the words that you use to as few as possible, but not so few that you pull up too many listings.
::
::Thomas
:Hey! thanks guys! good suggestions, I will let you know how it turns out, really good idea about the resistance paint! I never thought of that, didn't even know they made such a thing, thanks again!!! :)