Can bad caps be focused out?

RetroInjection

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Is it possible to fake a decent set of caps by adjusting the focus on the flyback? After about three hours, the picture on my K5600 will be almost in focus. The caps on it must suck, because I bought it recapped (eBay), and it lasted less than a year on light use. I don't really want to cap it again already, so I was wondering if it could be tweaked so that it's not an issue. Thanks.
 
Is it possible to fake a decent set of caps by adjusting the focus on the flyback? After about three hours, the picture on my K5600 will be almost in focus. The caps on it must suck, because I bought it recapped (eBay), and it lasted less than a year on light use. I don't really want to cap it again already, so I was wondering if it could be tweaked so that it's not an issue. Thanks.

could have a weak flyback too.
 
Thanks, guys, but the original question remains. ;) I don't want to move machines away from the wall if there's no chance of clearing things up. I will get the thing re-capped eventually, but I've got other arcade projects on my plate right now.
 
Is it possible to fake a decent set of caps by adjusting the focus on the flyback? After about three hours, the picture on my K5600 will be almost in focus. The caps on it must suck, because I bought it recapped (eBay), and it lasted less than a year on light use. I don't really want to cap it again already, so I was wondering if it could be tweaked so that it's not an issue. Thanks.

thats why there is so many posts of BR caps needing to be replaced after 1-3 years along with many other low hour/life kits out there. you sometime get what you pay for and spending alittle extra now saves you tons of hours of work down the road.
 
Bob Roberts fans are thoroughly butthurt over the BR cap disses. Richey caps are shit, he probably has mixes of brands since you get like every color of the rainbow in some kits.

focus is controlled by the flyback though. if your focus is drifting or is unable to be adjusted properly then you should suspect the flyback is on the way out. similar symptom of failing flybacks is where the brightness changes on its own; it's the screen pot.
 
Bob Roberts fans are thoroughly butthurt over the BR cap disses. Richey caps are shit, he probably has mixes of brands since you get like every color of the rainbow in some kits.

I've used a few BR cap kits / flybacks and haven't had problems as of yet (about a year and a half).
It bums me out that I have about $250 worth of kits and flybacks sitting on my bench waiting to be installed during the long, cold winter days that are fast approaching. I more than likely will not even use them since so many of you have had problems. I sure don't want to repeat the job every year or two!

One thing that did piss me off: I installed a BR AR II rebuild kit on my Centipede and it turns out that the bottle cap transistor was defective and damaged my PCB upon firing it up. Plugged it in and I immediately heard a loud hum and jerked the cord out. Checked my work and all was fine. Removed the transistor and put the old one back in and the game coined up. The voltage surge wiped out an IC in the motion section as I could not move the archer vertically. Well, now I test everything before it goes on....even though it's new.

I have read a ton of comments regarding the debate of shotgun the board versus leave it alone if it ain't broken. Here many of us go and spend time and money with best intentions to preserve the machine and keep it running as well as possible, only to discover the new Chinese crap is worse than the 35 year old stuff....grrrr.

The good that came out of it is that now I have a nice test rig for Centipede PCBs and I learned something :)
 
I have read a ton of comments regarding the debate of shotgun the board versus leave it alone if it ain't broken. Here many of us go and spend time and money with best intentions to preserve the machine and keep it running as well as possible, only to discover the new Chinese crap is worse than the 35 year old stuff....grrrr.

The good that came out of it is that now I have a nice test rig for Centipede PCBs and I learned something :)

With the questionable quality of components these days I joined the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' camp. The only time I deviate from that plan now is if I have a piece of equipment that I know a failure of a certain part is going to do a lot of damage, like the 2SC4770 HOT on a D9200. That one is worth the risk but mostly I don't mess with anything if its working now. Sometimes the 'repair' is like a shot in the dark with some of the garbage that is being sold.
 
Is it possible to fake a decent set of caps by adjusting the focus on the flyback? After about three hours, the picture on my K5600 will be almost in focus. The caps on it must suck, because I bought it recapped (eBay), and it lasted less than a year on light use. I don't really want to cap it again already, so I was wondering if it could be tweaked so that it's not an issue. Thanks.

I've tried it to get a game of mine to the end of a bday party. I had limited success, it looked better and than an hour later it was a bit out of focus again.

Best to just do all the caps and use quality parts, then its a done deal.
 
a. Electrolytics have a shelf life. They last longer under use than sitting around turned off. This is subject to environmental conditions, of course (e.g. if the electrolytic is sitting right next to a hot HOT, it's not going to last as long). Don't save old cap kits or buy in advance, get them when you plan to use them. You also have to hope your vendor hasn't had them sitting around for years.

b. You can just order the caps off Mouser or other electronics parts websites. Then you've got control over the brand. Nichicon and Panasonic have good reputations.
 
a. Electrolytics have a shelf life. They last longer under use than sitting around turned off. This is subject to environmental conditions, of course (e.g. if the electrolytic is sitting right next to a hot HOT, it's not going to last as long). Don't save old cap kits or buy in advance, get them when you plan to use them. You also have to hope your vendor hasn't had them sitting around for years.

b. You can just order the caps off Mouser or other electronics parts websites. Then you've got control over the brand. Nichicon and Panasonic have good reputations.

thats exactly why all my monitor cap kits have 105C Nichicon caps. one thing you will find even with the mouser or other places is old inventory so don't think its fresh because i have seen them with 8-10 year old caps. i work very hard trying to make sure all caps are fresh and i store 100% of my caps at a constant 55 Degrees year round.
 
thats exactly why all my monitor cap kits have 105C Nichicon caps. one thing you will find even with the mouser or other places is old inventory so don't think its fresh because i have seen them with 8-10 year old caps. i work very hard trying to make sure all caps are fresh and i store 100% of my caps at a constant 55 Degrees year round.

And you will not find a guy more committed to customer service either.
 
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