Switched vol pot for KEL84

[Shane]

Having my KEL84 on a shelf at face level makes reaching the rear-panel mounted mains switch (why put it there?) a bit of a trial, especially for the vertically challenged members of the family. I don't want to start drilling holes in the front panel for new switches, so does anyone know if it's possible to get a volume pot with a mains switch attached that won't compromise sound quality too much? I've done the shunt mod, but it still needs to be a half-decent one.

[bob orbell]

I looked at that some time ago Shane, but could only find mono pot's with a switch, how about a simple mains IR remote at the plug top? Maplin do them quite cheap, just a thought. BOB

[Richard]

Yes I think they've all but disappeared now. Some 25 years ago I needed to replace the one on my Quad 33 which I'd had from new and Quad were a bit hesitant about sending out just the pot as they said they had stock for servicing but not enough to send out as spares. They did agree in the end and even then I had to ream out the hole to fit as they'd had to change brands. The mains switch on the rear is a daft idea imo and I put one on the front of my WD88 a while back. The alternative of course is just to leave the rear panel one switched on and switch power at the mains...

[Greg.]

I personally like the switch close to 'Mains In' at the rear of the chassis, but I don't have access problems. I prefer not to have to deal with possible hum problems caused by mains wire travelling to the front of the chassis and then back again to the transformer, although I acknowledge this can be managed with little difficulty. It's worth noting that this is not just done by WAD/WD. Several main stream manufacturers also do it this way.

[david]

There's no reason why you can't implement a front mounted mains switch without any hum issues. My 300b Wad clone has this arrangement and hum is inaudible even with 90db sensitive speakers.
David

[Shane]

I can't really see that hum is going to be an issue. Induced hum is produced by ac current flow, regardless of voltage, and the highest mains frequency ac currents in KEL84 are to be found in the EL84 heater wiring which is draped all over the circuit board with no ill effect, so two 6" lengths of mains lead in the corner of the chassis would seem to be fairly insignificant. I could be wrong, but it's worth a go.

I've been doing a bit of research on t'interweb and discovered that the Tocos pots that HiFi Collective sell, and which seem to be getting good press, are available with a switch according to the manufacturers' website, but so far I've failed to find anyone who can supply one. I wonder if a cheeky email would result in a sample?

[Shane]

Just discovered the American importers have a sample request page. Got to be worth a try...

[Richard]

In 230V?

[Shane]

Good point....