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Looking for Cobra 148GTL volume/on-ff/squelch potentiometer - 0083499003

S

ShakyMcQuiver

Active Member
Apr 11, 2018
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My latest 148GTLyard sale acquisition needs the volume/squelch pot replaced. The radio had a mystery toggle switch in the back tied into the main power and I couldn't figure it out until I dug into it deeper. Turns out this mystery switch was bypassing the on/off part of the original. I tried to clean it to no avail so something inside must have broke.

Taking a quick trip around the parts candy stores, it appears the switch is obsolete and/or out of stock.
Does anyone know where I can find one? It doesn't have to be an exact replacement, just something that will bolt up and work. It is a dual concentric type; 100kb / 10ka w/switch (see photo). The radio is a Taiwan model and according to the SAMS, the par number for the switch is: 0083499003.

Even a good used one will do.

It appears Ken's is out of them and CB World is out of stock and says they may not be able to get them again.
Anyone know if any of the Galaxy radios might have the same or similar pot?

I might attempt to disassemble the switch and see if I can resurrect it, but taking those apart usually doesn't end well for me. There's nothing to lose at this point except time. I might know where to get a donor 148 Soundcrapper but I don't know if they have the same value pot (100k/10k).

Thank you,
 

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I am surprised how hard it is to find one of those. I thought it was as simple as going to mouser and punching in a few criteria... I learned something new about all those junk radios in the shed!!!

I would not recommend opening them, just get a can of electrical contact cleaner from the auto parts store ad shoot it into the pot (should be a gap on one side) and turn it a few times, then spray it in there again, turn it a few more times, repeat once more, then dry with a hair dryer on warm (careful, its flammable stuff).
 
In a pinch you could use the dual control from an echo board. Both sections are usually 50k. The 148 Volume control is 10k audio taper, and the squelch half is 100k linear taper. But the 50k/50k part will work. This happens to be the same control used in the RCI-made Galaxy/Connex/Superstar/Ranger/General mobile radios. A used part from a junked mobile of that generic type would probably work as well.

Moving parts tend to break first, so remaining stocks of these dwindle when they stop being made.

Barkett still has this one:
https://stores.goldeneagleradios.com/galaxy-potentiometer-50ka-50ks-sw-echo-time-dx99v-pcb-mount/

If I was smart, I would have already bought all of them he has.

73
 
I used to completely disassemble them, to clean the wiper contacts and wiper boards, reset the switch springs and clean the power switch contacts too.
The "ears" that hold each section together can be bent straight by using "Nippy" cutters, but don't use too much force, just bend each ear straight up.
Contact cleaner on the wiper boards, use a nail file or some flat file tool to burnish the wipers, give them a slight bend upwards so they make better contact when reassembling it.
 
Thanks for the replies. The first thing I did was use spray cleaner and although it did loosen the pot up nicely, the problem is with the on/off switch portion. It seems to be stuck in a closed position and won't turn the radio on. So something inside the switch-portion may have broken off (and thus the reason someone put an external toggle switch out the back). Obviously they couldn't find a replacement switch either... or they didn't try.

The rest of the pot works fine. And strangely, I noticed the rear-portion of the pot was slightly bent when looking at it from above. I have no idea how it got like that. The only thing I was told was the radio 'has mods', but I can't find any evidence of that. Even if they did monkey-around in there, how the hell do you bend the body of a potentiometer?

Weird....

This 148 is absolutely flawless inside and has one of the most gorgeous boards I've ever seen despite it's age! I almost want to put the whole thing in a glass box... lol. The outside of the radio didn't fare as well though. It has your typical battle damage you'd expect.

I do have some other single-shaft pots that have the same rear-portion of the switch so I'm hoping I can do a little surgery on it and swap that switch portion. And I agree - taking those things apart is generally a bad idea. I only need to mess with the on/off part so maybe I can get away with it.

And thank you for the suggestion of the 50k/50k switch. Those are still readily available. I've swapped different valued pots before but nothing with that kind of difference. I also have a couple new echo boards - just hate to take those apart. It would be a worthy cause though.

I was also thinking (as a last resort)... I don't really use the squelch. Typically I leave it full open so I can probably use a regular single-shaft 10ka on/off pot. I've scavenged many of those over the years and you can still buy them new.

I suppose you could also hang a small 100k pot out the back if you really wanted that squelch. Or for the adventurer.... put one inside your mic if you had the extra conductors in your cord (way too much work imo).

I also found several dual-shaft pots on AliExpress. They have those 50k/50k Alps pots too ($5 - $6 each + ship). Same exact ones I've seen in Cobras. As you say - not a bad idea to grab some for the parts bin. I'm still looking through their site. They have several similar looking concentric pots but none (so far) are the 100k/10k. The closest I've found is a 1M/10k. I might grab a few anyway.

I contacted Digikey as well and of course they don't have the 100k/10k. They said those pots were most likely custom made. My guess is AliExpress is selling NOS and once they're gone... they go into the history books.

Time to hit those yard sales, swap meets and second hand stores!

Thanks guys!
 
*stuck in closed position*

Oops... I meant OPEN position! I can only get the radio to turn on if I bypass the switch.

Not sure why I can't edit my post... strange?
 
My 10¢:

I wish every forum had a post "editing policy" that always allowed editing regardless of how much time has been passed, however, still have the option to hover over and see the past edits to see what was there before the edit took place. It allows people to correct spelling or make other reasonable edits while still discouraging rants and other harassing statements that would otherwise be taken down after a moment of clear thought.

I cannot count how many times I came back and re-read something a day after posting and wished I could edit a stupid spelling error. I think, if the mods had the time and ambition, we could have full edit ability regardless of lapsed time AND revision history to deter unnecessary edits from trolls.
 
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