Ordering capacitors, should I buy extras for the future or ...?

[Cornelius]

I've got a particular VCR I think I can get working if I re-cap the power supply. I don't have a local (Minneapolis) store where I can get all of them I need. So I'm putting together an order on Mouser. I'm also super cheap, so it is annoying to have $3 of capacitors and $5 shipping. With that in mind are there any systems I should re-cap just as a matter of course at this point?

I'm not an electronics whiz at all. I can only recall ever needing to re-cap the sound boards on a Game Gear years ago. I once thought I'd replace a fuse on a DS lite until it came in the mail and I realized there was no way I was going to be able to work with stuff that tiny.

[jb143]

Usually I'd suggest a catalog site like mouser or digikey and bulking up on everything you'd ever need. But have you checked Micro Center? Looks like there's one in Minneapolis. Their DIY section carries a fair bit of electronics components and might have what you're looking for.

[Cornelius]

Usually I'd suggest a catalog site like mouser or digikey and bulking up on everything you'd ever need. But have you checked Micro Center? Looks like there's one in Minneapolis. Their DIY section carries a fair bit of electronics components and might have what you're looking for.

I checked with Microcenter online and they don't have several that I need listed online. Think they have more stuff in store than on their website? Another place had more, but there is one cap I can't get there (18uF, 50V), so l'll likely be ordering online.

[jb143]

Probably not, they seem to track their inventory online rather well. I was mainly throwing them out there as a local option that might have been overlooked.

If ordering parts for future re-caps, I can't really remember what systems will definitely need one other than the Game Gear...all will somewhere down the line, but I'm talking more immediate future. You could always get some CR2032's and battery holders, and wire, solder, and other odds and ends.

[Bratwurst]

Sadly these days, Mouser is one of the last few suppliers of electronic components who won't bend you over on shipping. I used to have a distributor account with MCM Electronics until they merged with Newarks, I miss them already.

$5 shipping can be a steal when you bulk buy and avoid paying sales tax- I would suggest making a list of every one of your video game systems you intend to keep for the long term and tally every capacitor you'll need to recap the lot of them. This might involve opening up individual consoles to ascertain their board revision- and then plan on recapping everything in the span of a year or two. You'll be set for the next two or three decades afterwards. You don't have to do it all at once, and if that's still too daunting, just grab enough to do a system or two at a time then. My last order I bought enough to do my PC Engine and two TG16s along with parts I need for an unrelated project. I spent something like $22 total?

Not to dismiss the likes of Console5.com as a supplier, (whose wiki you'll likely be referencing for the capacitor lists,) when I am asked to do a recap for a friend I like to refer them to those kits for use because they're all top brand caps and they're pre-sorted. To me a cap is a cap (with respects to a video game system), and if there's ever an issue with whatever I buy for myself I can just replace it easily. For someone else out of state their system warrants worry free business.