Zaxxon sound recap

Thench

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Donor 3 years: 2017-2019
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Hi all!
Although I'm new here, I'd like to think that I'm handy and a quick learner.

Anyway, I have a Zaxxon that was supposed to have been recapped about a year ago.
It plays well except that not all of the sounds work all of the time. They seem to work for a few minutes after the machine is turned on, then kind of drop out after that.

I've done a bit of research here, and around the web and this seems to be a common problem with these boards.
So, I ordered a recap kit and am going to attempt the repair myself. It looks pretty straight forward and I think I understand all of the basics, get the polarity correct on the capacitors, don't overheat the board, etc, etc.

My question is: Is there anything I should know besides the basics? This seems to be the perfect beginner repair project for me, but if there are any hidden dangers I should look out for, I'd appreciate any tips or help.
 
It is a good project to start with, because there are not too many caps and they are easy to get to. Hopefully that solves your missing sound problem, which is definitely a common one on the Zaxxon boards.

As far as the soldering goes, it's best to use a solder sucking tool when removing the capacitors to avoid stressing the board with pulling and risk lifting a solder pad. Just take your time and use common sense and all will go well.

If you do the sound cap kit and still find sounds missing (happened to me), then there is a group of chips in the sound section of the board that you can replace next. The last couple posts on this thread gives details on that procedure:
https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=327778&page=2&highlight=zaxxon+sound

Hope it goes well for you!
 
the fun thing is to use an ESR meter on the caps to determine which one is out of specification

also fun to see what you are installing is correct too

but if youre just going to be doing onesey twosies, then it doesn't make sense to buy an ESR meter. most likely the caps you will be installing will be within specifiation
 
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