Anyone else bother fixing switchers?

Scucci

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I have a stack of switching power supplies here that I've been saving up for a while now. I finally spent 10 minutes this morning looking at them and already fixed 2 of them.

Seems like such a waste to just toss them out when they go "bad", but that's where I get these from... the trash.

Does anyone else even bother with fixing these things or are they just considered disposable parts? ... am I really that big of a cheap bastard?
 
I have a stack of switching power supplies here that I've been saving up for a while now. I finally spent 10 minutes this morning looking at them and already fixed 2 of them.

Seems like such a waste to just toss them out when they go "bad", but that's where I get these from... the trash.

Does anyone else even bother with fixing these things or are they just considered disposable parts? ... am I really that big of a cheap bastard?

I fix them.....sometimes. Though, I don't toss the broke ones out. I've got boxes of broken ones.....I keep telling myself, one day I'll fix them.

Edward
 
Heck yes; @ 30 bucks a pop, if it's a cheap fix I'll do it.

Often all that's bad are the caps; the big ones are pricey, but cheaper than a brand new PS.
 
I fix them.....sometimes. Though, I don't toss the broke ones out. I've got boxes of broken ones.....I keep telling myself, one day I'll fix them.

Edward

I'm betting you can knock out a box or two in a day, easy. I have a few more to look at, but I don't really NEED more than two of them right now, so I'll probably just get to the point where I just fix them when I need them ... or when I get really bored.
 
Heck yes; @ 30 bucks a pop, if it's a cheap fix I'll do it.

Often all that's bad are the caps; the big ones are pricey, but cheaper than a brand new PS.

Yep, caps and the switching transistors are usually the guilty culprits.

Edward
 
I only wish that the caps were the same between the different models. I've got a few Peter Chou, a few of a different brand, and the caps are different on all of them. Makes it hard to get the "quantity discount" when ordering caps.
 
You haven't seen the size of these boxes. :)

Well, you should drop a box off here then so I can see them... I don't have enough here to bother fixing to resell them or anything, but I'll be happy to take one of those boxes off your hands... you know, help you lighten the load a little. :D
 
I only wish that the caps were the same between the different models. I've got a few Peter Chou, a few of a different brand, and the caps are different on all of them. Makes it hard to get the "quantity discount" when ordering caps.

Most of the ones I have here are the newer ones. I've managed to lose the case to the one I just fixed (I don't care about the cases)... but a few of these are the ones with the LED that changes from yellow/orange to green to red... HAPP I guess? No idea. The caps in them are still pretty new, but for the couple I've fixed, seems to be the same parts in them... the 2 diodes that are attached to that "heatsink" beside the transformer. One of these always seems to short... design flaw? Bad luck? No idea... but so far, that seems to be a failure point.
 
Thanks for sharing that. I've got a handful of brand new, DOA switchers that I'd love to put back in service. Funny thing is that Bob Roberts and Randy Fromm have a very old debate about this very issue in the old RGVAC archives. Randy was all about fixing them, Bob not so much.

Chris

You haven't seen the size of these boxes. :)

Raymond (channelmaniac) has a nice tech. article about fixing them on the New Life Game forum....

http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=23.0

Edward
 
Thanks for sharing that. I've got a handful of brand new, DOA switchers that I'd love to put back in service. Funny thing is that Bob Roberts and Randy Fromm have a very old debate about this very issue in the old RGVAC archives. Randy was all about fixing them, Bob not so much.

Chris

Yup, I remember those old fart fights :)

I think Bob looked at it from a repair shop stand-point. It's not worth it for a customer to pay me to fix his switcher....when a drop in new one is the same price ( or cheaper). Now, if the operator has his own tech....it might be cheaper (or a draw)....and for the hobbiest who knows what they're doing....usually cheaper.

Edward
 
For an op or a repair shop, it's cheaper to drop in a new one. Unless it's a dead-easy repair. Time used = money lost.

For a hobbiest? Clearly in their best interest to repair them. They're such simple devices they can be repaired pretty easily and cheaply.
 
For an op or a repair shop, it's cheaper to drop in a new one. Unless it's a dead-easy repair. Time used = money lost.

For a hobbiest? Clearly in their best interest to repair them. They're such simple devices they can be repaired pretty easily and cheaply.

I don't understand that sometime either... I mean, if you get them in bulk or something, maybe it's cheaper... but lets say you're paying your tech "properly"... at 5-10 mins each, a working switcher still only costs you a few bucks, I don't see how buying a new one could be cheaper than that.

I guess it all depends on the work load... if you send your guy out in the morning and he has 10+ games on his list, then every minute counts. But since I normally just bring stuff like this home with me, I can knock a few out in my spare time and make stuff easier on everyone. When I go through the trouble of heating the soldering iron up and getting all my stuff rounded up, I usually try to get as much done as possible.
 
Five to ten minutes each? Takes nearly five minutes just to get one apart. Then to troubleshoot properly (unless it's something very obvious like a "working" supply with bad caps), testing and reassembly, a minimum of 1/2 an hour for each. Even assuming having all parts on hand and a hot iron it's going take time.

Now...if a dedicated time could be allotted specifically for repairing them, that would be different. But for a one-off, it's smarter to just swap.
 
i've fixed the couple bad ones i've had. just fuse issues. but why not? i think one of them i got for free, and putting in a cheap fuse is a lot quicker and less costlier than buying another switcher.
 
Five to ten minutes each? Takes nearly five minutes just to get one apart. Then to troubleshoot properly (unless it's something very obvious like a "working" supply with bad caps), testing and reassembly, a minimum of 1/2 an hour for each. Even assuming having all parts on hand and a hot iron it's going take time.

Now...if a dedicated time could be allotted specifically for repairing them, that would be different. But for a one-off, it's smarter to just swap.

Yeah, that's probably what's keeping it fast for me is they're already taken apart... it's pretty much just a lot of the actual boards. I have the cases around here somewhere... but I don't really worry too much about them since I HATE the cases anyway (they make it near impossible to reach the adjustment pot once it gets pushed it).

I just hook up the 110V to them, check to see if anything's coming out. When it's not, I just start with the obvious stuff I'd expect to fail (diodes/bridges) and go from there. Sometimes it take a little more, sometimes it takes a little less... but so far, it's either diodes or wires (for those that don't have the connectors attached directly to the board). Since most of these are coming from the same place (with REALLY shitty line voltage) I guess that's why it's always the diodes... no idea.

I have yet to lose one at home yet, but in the arcade at the mall... seems like we're losing power supplies left and right sometimes. I've replaced I don't know how many linear power supplies with switchers... and switchers seem to fail pretty often as well... well, not VERY often, but much more frequently than I'd like, that's for sure.

All I know is if there was somewhere else locally that was just tossing out power supplies, I'd be dumpster diving there every week to scavenge these guys. I know there's a couple of OPs just down the street, but since they work out of their houses, I'd imagine digging through their personal garbage would probably be frowned upon.
 
i've fixed the couple bad ones i've had. just fuse issues. but why not? i think one of them i got for free, and putting in a cheap fuse is a lot quicker and less costlier than buying another switcher.

Fuses generally blow for a reason. If you replace them and they work, you got lucky.
 
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