Aerosoft Australia MCP 747 – heading bug dosen’t turn

[tom whang]

Hopefully this is a simple question. I think the potentiometer is dirty as the numbers stick when the knob is turning. I took the cover off, attached is picture of the potentiometer, but not sure what or where to spray.

Any ideas appreciated!

Greetings,
Tom

[David Withers]

Thats an encoder, not a pot big guy...prob best to blow with compressed air...hold off spraying with lube or anything.

may have to replace if terminals are not sending properly for whatever reason,

best of luck!

[tom whang]

glad I didn't attempt to do anything! Will try the compressed air first... since the encoder is soldered into place, not sure I want to attempt replacement. Does anyone know if there are any shops in the US that could do this job?

Tom

[David Withers]

Just to help ya out with some info...( i might be telling you what you already know..sorry)...as you might have seen.... three pins at the rear where encoder is surface mounted to the aerosoft pcb. if you are game, you could do it yourself....just have to make sure you get an encoder that will have correct dimensions..or take it to somewhere to have it replaced, like you said.

its not a big drama...might cost a few bucks though. totally do-able but.

[tom whang]

Looks like compressed air didn't work. I've done soldering before, but the workmanship inside the box is nearly perfect, and don't want to risk it.... but no one cares whats on the inside, its whats on the outside that counts most:)

It is a great unit, hope I can find replacement encoders somewhere.

[iwik]

Tom,
Encoders come in many different types,both physically and electrical.Try and have a look and see if you can find any markings indicating maker/model number.This would help immensley.I have dismantled them before and cleaned them.
Les

[tom whang]

After reading a few posts about successfully getting encoders to work using electronic contact cleaner spray, I decided to give it a go prior to attempting an encoder replacement. I ended up using TV tuner spray and got it working!

I didn't even remove the circuit board, just sprayed into the encoder and cleaned up residue after spraying. Even though I padded down the surrounding electronics with paper, the spray was messy. I hope there is no long term damage to other components from using this method. I suppose ideally you should remove the encoder, spray it down, wipe off and clean the encoder's exterior, then in re-solder it back in AFTER you have confirmed correct operation. Based on the apparent life span of the these encoders, one would need to do this every few years.

My unit was purchased around 2002 for Aerowinx PS1. Both Speed and Heading bugs were faulty but fixed after spraying. The altitude bug was starting to stick as well, but not as badly. I suppose normal wear from having to dial in heading and speed changes to the nearest integer. In contrast the altitude bug gets dialed in at 100 FT increments requiring less turning therefore less wear on that particular encoder.

Any comments about this are welcome, I would like to know if there is any downside of cleaning encoders this way.

Lots of people here from (AU) "Down Under", I'll bet most of you are aware Hardy Heinlin's Aerowinx PS10 is coming out next month!

[tom whang]

Just to let everyone know, almost 3 months have gone by, and my MCP is working flawlessly with PSX.