I’ve got one of the TE+IKEA Frekvens speakers. It’s got a single large encoder knob for volume control. Over time, it’s started to increase the volume while I’m turning the knob to decrease the volume, and it does so per notch of the encoder.
I figure the encoder is failing. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this? Is cleaning the encoder a fix? If so, what do I clean it with?
I’ve replaced scrollwheel encoders in gaming mice before (desoldering/soldering). It’s not fun and I wouldn’t want to do it except as a last resort here. Figuring out the exact or better replacement part will probably be difficult due to a dearth of markings on encoders in general.
This problem kept getting worse and worse until I got fed up and decided to take apart the Frekvens 20x10.
I followed the directions on the iFixIt website for disassembly. They leave out a few steps but nothing major.
The volume encoder appears to be a commonplace mechanical rotary incremental encoder. Based on the photos from the iFixIt teardown of the tiny Frekvens portable speaker, I confirm that the encoder is the exact same in both models. iFixIt has excellent photos of the encoder in the “Frekvens Portable” teardown if you wish to see it up close–it has the gray plastic shaft. I do not recognize the logo stamped in the metal body of the encoder, but it is very clear in one of the iFixIt photos.
Here are the measurements.
Base: 14mm x 12mm x 5mm
Shaft: flatted plastic, 14.5mm from top of base to tip of shaft, 6mm in diameter, 7mm D-cut length along axis, 10mm exposed plastic shaft outside of non-threaded metal collar
Pin spacing: 5mm between centers of pins 1 and 3
Footprint: base mounting clips spaced 12.5mm apart, from the mounting clips’ axis to pins is 7.5mm
24 detents
Based on the above, I think these two could serve as a replacement (but I have not tried them yet).
Bourns PEC11R-4215F-N0024, but its base is 6.5mm tall (should be 5mm tall) and shaft is 15.0mm (should be 14.5mm)
Wurth Elektronik 482024764004, but its base is 6.0mm tall (should be 5mm tall) and the shaft is 14mm long (should be 14.5mm)
I’m going to order the Wurth and try it out. Mouser and Digikey carry it for just under $5.