5 ms·

It would also be a good idea to check every capacitor for leakage or bulged top and replace them. It's usually the capacitors that go bad after many years (read

It would also be a good idea to check every capacitor for leakage or bulged top and replace them. It's usually the capacitors that go bad after many years (read also: Capacitor Plague https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague), they contain electrolyte that deteriorates over time.

peteri 6y ago
Yeah, it is however often the RIFA RFI supression capacitor that goes pop. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/old-rifa-capacitors-and-a-disaster-story/ https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/old-rifa-capacitors-and-a...
- Johnythree 6y ago
  I have three Apple IIe's and they all needed the mains RFI caps to be replaced. However none of the other caps have failed. As an electronic serviceman I'm certain that the Capacitor plague story is a myth. Yes, there was a batch of bad caps produced for a short time, but the effect was limited. The myth is largely peddled by ebay sellers who sell kits of replacement capacitors. My experience is that more devices have been destroyed by inexperienced enthusiasts waving a soldering iron around, than those which actually had faulty capacitors.
  - Mauricebranagh 6y ago
    The Apple ][ predates that problematic area and for a lot of electronics replacing the Capacitors (Condensers) is vital. Check out Mr Calrsons Lab on YouTube which covers a lot electronics repair - Old Radios in particular have 1920's era capacitors which can cause some nasty failures
CamperBob2 6y ago
The IC sockets are what tend to cause grief in an Apple ][. They used the cheapest ones they could find, not the nicer machined-pin parts. Not sure if the //e still used sockets at all. It shouldn't have, if it did. (Well, OK, maybe for the 74LS259 that drove the annunciators on the game port. I went through a few of those back in the day, and was certainly grateful for the socket at the time.)
- matt-attack 6y ago
  I have a faint memory of opening up the Apple ][ plus to push on various ICs when the computer went wonky.
  - ngcc_hk 6y ago
    Yes. And we cannot afford intel memory and have to use the not that good Japanese one. Keep on pushing to avoid crash.

peteri 6y ago

Yeah, it is however often the RIFA RFI supression capacitor that goes pop. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/old-rifa-capacitors-and-a-disaster-story/ https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/old-rifa-capacitors-and-a...

Johnythree 6y ago
I have three Apple IIe's and they all needed the mains RFI caps to be replaced. However none of the other caps have failed. As an electronic serviceman I'm certain that the Capacitor plague story is a myth. Yes, there was a batch of bad caps produced for a short time, but the effect was limited. The myth is largely peddled by ebay sellers who sell kits of replacement capacitors. My experience is that more devices have been destroyed by inexperienced enthusiasts waving a soldering iron around, than those which actually had faulty capacitors.
- Mauricebranagh 6y ago
  The Apple ][ predates that problematic area and for a lot of electronics replacing the Capacitors (Condensers) is vital. Check out Mr Calrsons Lab on YouTube which covers a lot electronics repair - Old Radios in particular have 1920's era capacitors which can cause some nasty failures

CamperBob2 6y ago

The IC sockets are what tend to cause grief in an Apple ][. They used the cheapest ones they could find, not the nicer machined-pin parts. Not sure if the //e still used sockets at all. It shouldn't have, if it did. (Well, OK, maybe for the 74LS259 that drove the annunciators on the game port. I went through a few of those back in the day, and was certainly grateful for the socket at the time.)

matt-attack 6y ago
I have a faint memory of opening up the Apple ][ plus to push on various ICs when the computer went wonky.
- ngcc_hk 6y ago
  Yes. And we cannot afford intel memory and have to use the not that good Japanese one. Keep on pushing to avoid crash.