If you need some electronics recapped I can do this for you with a few provisos that generally apply to recapping old amplifiers that have large numbers of them.
I don’t just work on HiFi so can take on most electronics such as vintage home computers and gaming machines. Please contact me for a quote etc.
Ordering say 50 different capacitors for an amplifier is very time consuming and expensive as they often come in packs of five or ten. There’s also stock problems due to global component shortages.
The cheapest way is to buy a recapping kit and give me the kit with the equipment.
There’s plenty of recapping kits on places like eBay for popular equipment. Try to find a kit with parts sourced from well known established component suppliers as they stock genuine parts. Just because a capacitor has Panasonic written on it doesn’t mean anything unless it’s sourced from a proper Panasonic distributer.
Note: If you have a vintage amplifier or receiver that doesn’t work, replacing every capacitor is unlikely to fix it. It’s just as likely to be a failed semiconductor or resistor. The proper way to track down faults is with an oscilloscope and multimeter.
If you’re in the UK and want some electronics repaired please contact me for a quote.
Old amplifiers have lots of capacitors so replacing all of them could easily be a days work so it won’t be cheap. If it’s just a couple of big power supply capacitors you want changing the cost would be far less and probably come under my minimum charge assuming major disassembly isn’t required to get to them.
In the first instance email me about the required work, ideally with a photo of the equipment or circuit board along with the model number.
Why change the capacitors?
Electrolytic capacitors can fail, change value or stop working completely. Some fail with obvious bulges on the top or by leaking fluid all over the board while other faulty ones look perfectly fine. In certain cases they explode!
Large and heavy capacitors usually found in power supply sections often have glue between the capacitor and circuit board to prevent strain on the solder joints and the component. The glue can take many forms and might look like a leaking capacitor when it isn’t. If all the big capacitors have the same looking ‘leak’ it’s probably glue.
Electrolytic capacitors fitted next to parts that get hot such as heatsinks or high wattage resistors are prime candidates for failure, especially older ones as they’re often only rated at 85°C. These are the ones I’d be inclined to replace with newer ones rated at 105°C.
Failing capacitors in the power supply of audio equipment such as amplifiers can cause low frequency hum to be heard on the speakers.
Non electrolytic capacitors are unlikely to need replacing as they’re of a completely different construction and don’t change value much if at all over time.
Resistors also change value over time
It’s not unusual for resistors to change value over many years which can cause things like transistor biasing to change. This can effect the sound quality just as much as a bad capacitor so you can go down a rabbit hole replacing all sorts of components in old equipment.
Generally, if the equipment isn’t working properly it’s better to diagnose the fault rather than perform wholesale component replacement.
If you want some advice on what to have replaced and the cost please contact me.
I use earthed anti static mats and wrist straps to minimize the risk of static damage.
Contact me by Email: orangevalleysystems@gmail.com