Hi Darren. I've just read this with interest as it was me who was having the kind of problem you described. And, more intriguingly, I to am using Creative Labs speakers, I-Treague 3330 in my case. My sound was rising a dropping a little on some occasions after I adjusted the volume, just as you explained, so its away now to root out that can of WD40 that I know is kicking about somewhere! Thanks for the info. I'll definitely be giving this a go. Darran ----- Original Message ----- From: Darren Brewer To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 2:11 PM Subject: [access-uk] Unstable Volume Controls Hi All I seem to remember that a week or so ago somebody posted a message about their volume level going up and down by itself. Well I've had the same annoying problem for a while now and although I knew what the problem might be down to I just never got around to fixing it. However, yesterday I finally thought it was about time to do something. My speaker system is the Creative I trigue 2200 which has two small speakers and a base unit which everything plugs into. There is a separate volume control which plugs into the bass unit. This control has a large knob for altering the volume and a small thumb wheel to vary the bass. I was a bit apprehensive about opening up the volume control unit as it didn't have any screws to undo and I didn't want to damage it as it would render the speakers useless. Often with volume knobs there is a small screw in the side that holds the knob onto the potentiometer shaft, but this wasn't the case. Instead I just pulled the knob up and it came off together with a small plastic ring that clips into place. Luckily nothing broke and I was able to gain access to it's insides. Having worked as an electronics designer I knew that the volume is controlled by something called a potentiometer or variable resistor. These are what you turn when you alter the volume on a lot of hifi equipment. They are vary simple in how they work, but because you have two surfaces in contact, one of which moves over the other when you turn the dial, they can get a bit dirty, or grease can build up which interferes with the contact. These components come in two types, linear or logarithmic. You can tell one type from another because with linear volume controls the volume increases steadily as you turn the dial. In a linear fashion. So turning the volume half way would increase it by half. However with logarithmic controls, the volume increases much more rapidly. Both types work in the same way. As you turn the dial one piece of copper is moved across another piece, this either increases or decreases the electrical resistance, which in turn increases or decreases the volume level. So if you get a volume control that crackles or jumps or even varies up and down by itself. Then it probably has some dirt inside. the simple solution is to spray a cleaner of some sort inside the actual component itself. I happened to have some WD40 and this worked a treat. The volume level can now be varied exactly and it doesn't change by itself anymore. Obviously if you are going to do anything like this you must disconnect the device from the mains and only use a little cleaner. WD40 does the job, but PCB cleaner, available from Maplin would also do the trick. I don't know if the person who posted has the same problem I did, but if they try this it might just fix it. Darren. __________ NOD32 3126 (20080523) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com