Don’t forget to check your capacitors!

awbacon

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The amount of emails I get asking if I do pcb repair due to electrolytic fluid leaks is too damn high! Just check every six months and catch it before it’s a mess

A public service announcement haha
 

Neo Alec

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I like your approach of proactively checking rather than just the blanket replacing that seems to be all the rage now.
 

awbacon

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I like your approach of proactively checking rather than just the blanket replacing that seems to be all the rage now.

I don’t like doing full recaps lol. Takes forever. So I def don’t just recap full boards that aren’t showing signs of needing it.

But in reality I use a “check and decide” method. If the console is working with zero issues, and a physical inspection shows no signs of bulging/leakage, etc...I wait six months. Even if I don’t have time to do a recap then and there if I see issues I’ll make a capacitor map and cut them all off / desolder them to prevent further damage / any damage.

I’d rather catch it early and let a capacitorless board sit until I have the time to finish the job than not check and find solder mask and traces eaten away.
 

GutsDozer

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Awesome video! I got to go check my CDX.
 

awbacon

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Awesome video! I got to go check my CDX.

Gooooood luck. I should put a disclaimer on the CDX. Bastard is a miserable design. All the pcb’s sandwiched together with shielding. Only system I probably wouldn’t attempt a repair on myself...I’d just send it to someone who has tons of experience working on it.

It’s like the Oreo of consoles
 

Neo Alec

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I don’t like doing full recaps lol. Takes forever. So I def don’t just recap full boards that aren’t showing signs of needing it.

But in reality I use a “check and decide” method. If the console is working with zero issues, and a physical inspection shows no signs of bulging/leakage, etc...I wait six months. Even if I don’t have time to do a recap then and there if I see issues I’ll make a capacitor map and cut them all off / desolder them to prevent further damage / any damage.

I’d rather catch it early and let a capacitorless board sit until I have the time to finish the job than not check and find solder mask and traces eaten away.
When I RGB modded my brother's childhood Turbo Duo, I only replaced the audio caps, since it was showing the familiar audio issues, but no other problems. The system is sometimes giving off a fishy smell when powered on, so although I already gave it a visual inspection and couldn't find anything, I will open it and double check for bulging caps and leakage. Maybe I just didn't clean off some old leakage well enough. With the Duo though I suppose, it's probably a good idea to just replace everything. Not with my skills though -- the audio caps work but it looks like a war zone. And that hurts when it's a system you've owned since the early 90's.

Same goes for the Turbo Express. I haven't touched it, but I don't think it has any audio now. It needs attention sooner than later, but neither my brother or I care enough to send it away.

My CDX works, but the RGB picture is too noisy. I'll probably keep it stock and use my Genesis 1, which has good RGB.
 

awbacon

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When I RGB modded my brother's childhood Turbo Duo, I only replaced the audio caps, since it was showing the familiar audio issues, but no other problems. The system is sometimes giving off a fishy smell when powered on, so although I already gave it a visual inspection and couldn't find anything, I will open it and double check for bulging caps and leakage. Maybe I just didn't clean off some old leakage well enough. With the Duo though I suppose, it's probably a good idea to just replace everything. Not with my skills though -- the audio caps work but it looks like a war zone. And that hurts when it's a system you've owned since the early 90's.

Same goes for the Turbo Express. I haven't touched it, but I don't think it has any audio now. It needs attention sooner than later, but neither my brother or I care enough to send it away.

My CDX works, but the RGB picture is too noisy. I'll probably keep it stock and use my Genesis 1, which has good RGB.

Yeah I’d check. Fishy smell is always something with caps. Cap fluid just smells foul as shit haha
 

Bratwurst

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When I RGB modded my brother's childhood Turbo Duo, I only replaced the audio caps, since it was showing the familiar audio issues, but no other problems. The system is sometimes giving off a fishy smell when powered on, so although I already gave it a visual inspection and couldn't find anything, I will open it and double check for bulging caps and leakage.

FYI, I recapped and repaired tracework on a Turbo Duo a few years ago and found that leaked electrolytic had snuck under some chips on the board, the audio op amps in particular, which I had to replace. So it can outwardly look clean but issues could be hiding.
 

HeavyMachineGoob

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FYI, I recapped and repaired tracework on a Turbo Duo a few years ago and found that leaked electrolytic had snuck under some chips on the board, the audio op amps in particular, which I had to replace. So it can outwardly look clean but issues could be hiding.

I used to own a PC Engine Duo (black model) that had that happen. There's some op amps near the super capacitor for save files, one op amp is under the board right underneath a cap that likes to leak. I had to remove the op amp and clean the solder pad it was sitting on, curiously the op amp was still good so I put it back on after. The PCE Duo is super notorious for trace damage and faulty chips due to capacitor leakage.

I'd also like to share a PSA about early 2000s Apple computers with bad capacitors, like the iMac and eMacs from that time. I've now done full cap replacements in four Apple eMac G4 all-in-one computers, they had really bad capacitors in them. The 2003 - 2005 eMac systems are relatively straight forward, just the power and main logic boards to do. The 2002 eMac has a lot of its leaky power capacitors on the analog board for the CRT, along with the smaller power board that plugs into the logic board. Curiously, the 2002 eMac logic board doesn't have much for capacitors on it.
 
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GutsDozer

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Gooooood luck. I should put a disclaimer on the CDX. Bastard is a miserable design. All the pcb’s sandwiched together with shielding. Only system I probably wouldn’t attempt a repair on myself...I’d just send it to someone who has tons of experience working on it.

It’s like the Oreo of consoles
Now I'm sad lol
 

jdoll

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great vid! Had to get a game gear recapped and of course xbox has the one that fails that gets removed alot or not and then...
 
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