How frustrating! Even after the takeup-lever trick? I've never had this not work, even on machines in rough condition.
If there wasn't the little matter of the Atlantic Ocean, I'd be happy to work your machine over until the problem was gone. If you have more than one 15K, may I suggest swapping out some of the parts to see if the problem can be isolated?
Touche on the Top Cat. Despite tearing through Downton Abbey, Upstairs/Downstairs, Sherlock, Karl Pilkington, Victorian Farm and even physically driving from Glasgow to London, I'm still not able to distinguish most British accents beyond the big obvious regions.
I thought about doing one NYC-viewer-specific demo video with full-blown accent cranked up to 10. It would be fun to demonstrate the entire procedure in 30 seconds flat.