proto
Active member
Looking to recap my chassis. It has many types of caps… i see how cap kits only seem to have electrolytic caps. So i assume only electrolytic caps tend to need replacing?
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Looking to recap my chassis. It has many types of caps… i see how cap kits only seem to have electrolytic caps. So i assume only electrolytic caps tend to need replacing?
there's instances where leaving the old caps can be bad. one that sticks out is C511 on G07s, that's the B+ filter cap, the HOT can die, which blows F901, which can be a debacle for the inexperienced. on a raster monitor it's usually a 47 uf/160V cap, K7000s burned them out a lot and that will result in the monitor either not turning on or being intermittent. so if your monitor only kind of maybe works sometimes, that's a good time to cap it. lolHonestly, I only perform a capkit if the monitor has color or functional issues. Otherwise, I leave it alone.
And yes, a capkit does make a big difference in the quality of the picture (colors, sync, voltage regulation, etc).
So there are two points of view, I guess ->
1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
2. Preventive maintenance (even if nothing is obviously wrong).
Electrolyics have a dielectric that degenerates over time. This incurs lower capacitance and increased ESR.
Both of which will affect the circuit performance.
Keep in mind, also, that it is argued that capacitors made many years ago can still be functional and within spec as the quality was better BITD.
Testing (out of circuit) is the best way to know if a cap is still in spec. Capacitance is frequency dependent, so a good ESR/Capacitance meter with variable frequency options should be used.
Other types of caps, mylar/ceramic etc, do not have the same dependencies on time/temperature/voltage-affects/ripple etc.
However, any cap can degrade if abused. Visual inspection is not always a definitive way of determining if a cap is bad or not.
Due to the local heating affects in a monitor or power supply, electrolytics on these boards are typically more scrutinized than others (i.e. those on a logic PCB).
YMMV
Great! Thanks for the discussion. Didn't realise there's a debate about whether its a good idea to do it or not.
I always say treat your games like they're classic cars. I follow a guy named Car Wizard YouTube and he talks about people buying cars 25+ years old at auctions and how the seals on them will fail and it will just become a greater issue later.Great! Thanks for the discussion. Disnt realise there's a debate about whether its a good idea to do it or not.