User avatar
McTrinsic

Posted Wed Sep 04, 2019 12:06 am

Hi all,

a question to the tech-wizards here.

Do Phoenixboards require re-capping?

As mine is one of the original ones and it seems that I need to do some serious re-work on my "Paladin"-system I thought this could be an opportunity to do whatever is required on the actual board as well. The battery is already replaced with a coin cell.

What do you think?

One feedback I got was "no, doesn't need recapping as the Phoenix has Tantals".

Thanks,
McT

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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Wed Sep 04, 2019 6:50 am

This is a great (and scary) question!

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obitus1990
USA

Posted Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:49 pm

I've only seen people recommend replacement of electrolytic capacitors, due to leakage potential.
Tantalums...well, those fail in a different, more "magnificent" fashion. Damage ranges from a badly burned board to a total hole blown right through it, from what I have seen. Is it wise to replace them? What about ceramic caps, which can short disastrously and kill stuff on aboard? That's a question I'd like to see answered as well, so, I am tagging along. Personally, I can't see a reason to do anything other than electrolytic, unless they are testing out of spec, or you're noticing any kind of weird behavior from the Phoenix.

User avatar
McTrinsic

Posted Thu Sep 05, 2019 1:15 pm

Hi Obitus,

thanks a lot for the answer.

It’s just..,
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User avatar
obitus1990
USA

Posted Thu Sep 05, 2019 1:33 pm

In plain English... I'd just leave them alone. Electrolytics are known to leak and fail, but, the others (tantalum and ceramic) don't -- instead they just explode or short out. Will it happen? Maybe, maybe not. I suppose you could remove them from circuit and test their values to make sure they are within spec, but, is it worth doing so? Probably not.

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McTrinsic

Posted Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:17 pm

Thanks a lot for the translation!!

:D <3

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Christian

Posted Mon Oct 07, 2019 9:53 pm

For what it’s worth...

The GVP Spectrum graphics cards tend to have their tantalum capacitors blow up. They often damage the board as they are surface mount. (Even through hole tantalums can burn up with enough heat to damage the board)

Tantalums should be de-rated 50% minimum (i.e. for 5V use a 10 V tantalum).

I replaced those capacitors with 35 V ones from AVX (largest manufacturer of tantalum capacities - and ordered from Digikey, NOT from China). I seriously doubt that they will ever blow up. You could do the same with through hole tantalums.
Last edited by Christian on Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
McTrinsic

Posted Tue Oct 08, 2019 12:11 am

Thanks for your input here, greatly appreciated!





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