Timeline for When or should we expect our 8-bit motherboards to fail due to the capacitors?
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| Apr 13, 2017 at 12:52 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced http://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/ with https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/
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| Feb 5, 2017 at 10:22 | history | edited | tofro | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Feb 4, 2017 at 19:52 | history | edited | wizzwizz4♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Minor typo fixes.
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| Jan 28, 2017 at 12:44 | comment | added | tofro | On the other hand, by replacing 5 or six capacitors with proper quality replacements, you're done for the next 35 years or so... | |
| Jan 28, 2017 at 8:50 | comment | added | tofro | @traal Note that after ~35 years, all ZX Spectrums have now lived far longer than their originally expected lifetime. From a product perspective, I think that is far more than you have been paying for. On the other hand, using more modern memory chips, you can get rid of the -5V and -12V voltages completely, and disable the whole circuit, if you think you want to squeeze another 35 years out of the boxes without maintenance. You do, however, lose the original set-up | |
| Jan 28, 2017 at 5:46 | comment | added | snips-n-snails | @tofro But cbmeeks in another answer says, "Heat can drastically shorten the life of those caps." So 20 years may not be reliable, and anyway capacitors don't have expiration dates stamped on them like milk cartons. It would be nice if ZX Spectrums didn't self-destruct whenever they feel like it. :-) | |
| Jan 28, 2017 at 0:23 | history | edited | tofro | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jan 28, 2017 at 0:21 | comment | added | tofro | @traal What for? As long as your capacitors are OK, nothing bad happens and everything works fine. Just make sure they are not older than 20 years ;) | |
| Jan 27, 2017 at 21:12 | comment | added | snips-n-snails | Would it be a good idea to put in some fuses to protect TR4 and TR5? | |
| Jan 27, 2017 at 14:49 | history | edited | tofro | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jan 27, 2017 at 14:33 | history | edited | tofro | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jan 27, 2017 at 14:27 | history | edited | tofro | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jan 27, 2017 at 14:04 | comment | added | scruss | ISTR the Spectrum uses a simple linear power supply to step down from the 9 V DC (nominal) supply. If the caps leak and short, you can get supply voltage across the logic, with predictable (bad) results. This warning is good, and more people should know to eyeball the capacitors before powering on old equipment. | |
| Jan 27, 2017 at 13:52 | comment | added | bjb | This is a good answer to me - it gives a specific example of a platform that I should take extreme caution with. That being said, is the caps issue on the motherboard or the power supply? I've only used Sinclair ZX81 (in the form of the Timex Sinclair 1000) which I think used "wall wart" power packs. My question is assuming you need to be careful with power supplies, so rather I'm directing at concerns with caps on the mobo AFTER a supply voltage. +1 though :) | |
| Jan 27, 2017 at 13:00 | history | edited | tofro | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jan 27, 2017 at 11:06 | history | answered | tofro | CC BY-SA 3.0 |