MBOX 3 Pro volume level insert & knob replacement

[Aster]

Well here it is...not sure how to actually remove the pot housing..(20mm shaft length when clicked out, code/part no. 05C5K)damn thing seems to be soldered onto the board.

[nikhilmulay]

This is definitely soldered to the pcb. You can try with a desoldering wick and a soldering iron but the pads look through plated so the only reliable way is with a good quality desoldering station.
You should get a tech who can do this.
By the way, it takes quite a bit of force to shear the shaft off like that! Did the Mbox fall down or something?

[JoelG]

I may be off base, but Google is leading me here: http://www.alphapotentiometers.net/h..._pot___sw.html

Joel

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by Aster

Well here it is...not sure how to actually remove the pot housing..(20mm shaft length when clicked out, code/part no. 05C5K)damn thing seems to be soldered onto the board.

What other marks/printing/brands are on them? Look around them carefully.

As I said before. Things that help identify a pot include..

width of the pot body, shaft diameter (the wider shaft where the knob fits).

Can you measure those in mm?

BTW this is likely an Alpha pot as well, 05C5K decodes as 05C: reverse audio/log taper pot, 5K: 5k Ohm. With a bit more info I'll have you a part number, but a quick look among suppliers for Alpha makes me think you might end up buying a junker Mbox mini for that part.

[Aster]

Originally Posted by nikhilmulay

This is definitely soldered to the pcb. You can try with a desoldering wick and a soldering iron but the pads look through plated so the only reliable way is with a good quality desoldering station.
You should get a tech who can do this.
By the way, it takes quite a bit of force to shear the shaft off like that! Did the Mbox fall down or something?

Yeah accidently dropped it and the knob caught on the desk I think, but I saved it before it hit the ground.

Joel - yes I have sent them a note

Darryl - I see another code on the side 0L3
Housing 15x10mm
Shaft diameter 7 mm

[Darryl Ramm]

Thanks for the extra info.

Oh this is not looking good. I looked at usual suspects like Alpha, Alps, Bourne etc. and I suspect your pot body width might be a little off. But either way this may be a custom part. Trying to find these things can be amusing, I used to work with a great electronics component purchasing/manufacturing costing expert, she could just about find anything (and get manufacturing sampels )

So an option is to buy a Mbox 3 or Mbox 3 Mini for parts (and hope it uses the same pot... it hopefully will, if not you get to resell it). A little practice and dealing with the soldering these pots is not hard, but if you are not handy with a soldering iron then any electronics repair place could swap pots for you.

An Avid authorized repair center *might* be able to find parts through Avid for you but I expect that to cost over $300 or so... so just not worth it. And it just does not look like Avid has a repair partner in Europe that deals with interfaces http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/faq/en210711

Or buy a used Mbox 3 Pro... or look for a new interface from somebody else (even look to see who has good service/repair in Greece , or more likely nearby EU countries). Poor support for consumer hardware is one reason I'd not buy any Avid consumer (non-HD) interface. Sorry but that's just he way things seem to be with Avid.