On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 17:52:53 -0500, BOB URZ
wrote:

Well, not the kind you smoke anyway. (And that's Potentiometer to
LV to be politically grammatically correct). Just ran across a powered
sub woofer that was dead. Nothing seemed fried. Further tests showed no
continuity off the volume control. Pretty standard cheap dual gang 50K
control. Took it off expecting to see a cracked board. The board was not
cracked on either section. Thought this was quite strange. I fluked
across the carbon and it was OK. What seems to have happened in this
unit was where the carbon track gets riveted to the terminal developed a
open circuit condition.

Yep, definitely seen that before. I used to do consumer electronic
(stereo) repair, back when the stuff was actually repairable.
I have only seen it on very inexpensive pots. I would not have
expected to see that crap in pro audio gear ten years ago.
But today ... it's everywhere.
Mike T.