Just a friendly reminder....Cap Kits are important!

[tholly]

well, i have changed a cap kit before, and i just got done doing another cabinet, this time, my Space Invaders Deluxe w/ Multi-game chip, and, i have to say that cap kits make a world of difference....the image is much crisper and much brighter, so, my advice to everyone is, if you have an arcade machine that you didn't change the cap kit in, DO SO!

[Mr.collection]

I know I should really do it in my Double Dragon, the screen is tinted yellow. The PC-10 could use it too.

[Flack]

well, i have changed a cap kit before, and i just got done doing another cabinet, this time, my Space Invaders Deluxe w/ Multi-game chip, and, i have to say that cap kits make a world of difference....the image is much crisper and much brighter, so, my advice to everyone is, if you have an arcade machine that you didn't change the cap kit in, DO SO!
I have at least half a dozen I need to do and I've never done one for fear of screwing the machine up. Any advice for a first time capper?

I have a feeling my soldering iron needs to be something other than what it is to do this.

[Arcade Antics]

I have at least half a dozen I need to do and I've never done one for fear of screwing the machine up. Any advice for a first time capper?
I've done several. And if even I can do it, anybody can. :)

You won't screw up the machine. And if the monitor is really rough due to the bad old caps, it's not like you'll really hurt it more... as long as you're careful. ;)

Best advice is to take your time. Discharge the monitor, make sure everything's disconnected, double and triple check everything. When you're puttering around doing that stuff, keep one hand in your pocket, don't wanna complete the circuit to the ol' ticker should you accidentally touch a live wire.

Look up the specific monitor you're recapping first - if you've got a picture of where all the caps are before you start, it's easier to find everything and you'll save hunting all over the board. If you can't find one online, use your digital camera to take pics of everything. Then when you do another of the same model later on down the road, you'll have a handy map. Offhand, if you're doing a Nintendo monitor, there's a great cap-map (and lots of other good articles and links on the subject) at www.arcaderestoration.com - specifically, check out >>this article<<. (http://www.arcaderestoration.com/index.asp?OPT=3&DATA=4&CBT=3)

If you order your cap kits from Bob Roberts, he includes a list of the caps in the bag. Use that list to check off the caps you've replaced one at a time, top to bottom. When you're done, go back and recheck all the caps on the list, marking them off again (check next to them, whatever).

Find the first cap, heat up the old solder, pull it out with a solder puller, then put the old cap in the trash pile. Put in the new cap, cross it off the list, move to the next. Stay away from the AC vents or fans while you're doing it, the breeze will cool off the solder while you're trying to heat it up and make things more difficult. :)

Use just enough solder to make a small hershey's kiss like connection and you're good. Be careful not to use too much (can touch neighboring connections = bad) or too little (bad connection). It's not as difficult as it sounds, it just takes a little practice.


I have a feeling my soldering iron needs to be something other than what it is to do this.
WHat kind do you have? As long as you've got something decent with a narrow tip you'll be fine, Weller is a good brand and they offer a variety of units.

[tholly]

@tholly

Who's selling b&w cap kits? And do they include the large multi-value 20/200/400/600 MFD one? There's only a few on the board, but that big one is hard to find (and is usually the problem).


@Flack

Advice? Sure- dont' kill yourself! LOL Seriously, what Dave said. As for the soldering iron/gun, any will do, but I'd recommend a low-watt (10-30w) pencil-type one.


Bob Roberts.....he is the only guy i have ever bought cap kits off of.....he is great to deal with and i can get you his email address if you need it....

[srabelpawz]

Bob Roberts is the man when it comes to cap kits. very nice guy to deal with

[googlefest1]

what would be your best guestimate for the life of the caps in the monitors

[Flack]

I think it depends on usage. From what I've read (I'm no expert), the caps are paper, and they are made more brittle and dry out due to the heat coming off the monitor. It stands to reason that a machine that's been in use for 15-20 years may need capping sooner than one that's only been used sparingly.

[DogP]

I'd also say it depends on the model of the monitor. Some monitors can have caps go way out of tolerance and still have a good picture (K4900s don't seem to need cap kits often), and others (especially Nintendo monitors) are practically unusable if not re-capped. Other ones (particularly Hantarex) will not work at all, or do really weird things with bad caps.

And monitors like the G07 and K7000 can be using the original caps and still have a good picture, but they usually develop jailbars on one side of the screen, which can be fixed by just replacing the filter capacitor (although if you're pulling it out, you might as well recap the whole thing).

But yeah... I think heat and the stress of charging/discharging is probably the main factor in the caps themselves going bad.

DogP