I was late to the cd32 party and picked up one up on ebay a few years back - for me one of the benefits is that due to their being practically no copy protection on it, it is quite happy to play a backup copy of a game as it is the original - which makes playing hard to get or very expensive originals possible.
So that's why all the ATI Radeon cards have pen marks on the caps? :D Seriously, fantastic effort. I get way too frustrated when trying to film my soldering, so that was great to watch!
Having done this very same job at the weekend I thought you'd like to know that on my revision 3 board from the factory both the caps you mentioned were installed the correct way and are labelled on the board correctly. I highly recommend to anyone trying this to test the pads as you showed rather than just assuming they are the wrong way round.
Watching this videos it's like viewing the fireplace channel in Christmas Night, with the addition of the voice-over it's perfect. Lovely work. My congratulations.
It’s like your videos are the blueprints of every amazing computer and console of my teenage years. I cannot thank you enough for these treasures. Your de-soldering and recap-ing of the board is epic and incredibly inspirational. I’m so building my own station to start practicing!
This brings back some great memories. I bought a CD-rom drive for my A1200 back in the day, it connected via PCMCIA and emulated that chip you spoke about, i dont recall the brand. I remember the intro to microcosm wowing me and my siblings. We would watch that intro over and over again in amazement of the FMV graphics!
Earlier today I got out my Cd32 and took its top off (ooh er!). I found those two large black caps near the psu input are reversed like yours, bulged and have a strange brown residue on them. Obviously these will have to be replaced and I'm hesitant to turn it on till I have. Thanks for making this video, you may have just saved my console!
Hi again. What capacitors would you recommend to replace those 2? I can't quite make out the voltage and resistance rating on the sides because of the residue. I think they're rated at 10v? Thanks.
De-ja-vu there on the reversed capacitor checks! Back to black works wonders on systems like this, but as you say - it doesn't last forever - makes you wonder where that silicone goes?!?! Good job though! It's a bit easier just adding the solder onto the cap connection as you hold the cap in place btw, rather than sliding the cap into a molten blob of solder - but there's many ways to crack a nut I guess! PlastX or Novus works well on the drive window too - where they have been scratched on hard surfaces when upside down etc. Nice to see this one saved from a fate worse than leakage!
GadgetUK164 - Retro Gaming Repairs & Mods I'll look those up for the window thank you. Interestingly in another comment someone had a rev 3 board which is labelled and fitted correctly so it's not a given they are wrong. Well worth double checking! Great to see you here as always 🖒
When I got my CD32, I instantly checked the capacitors. As I had done some background research of CD32. On mine they were fitted correctly, though I cannot be sure, if someone had corrected them earlier... Though I have a memory, that I didn't see soldering marks on capacitors. Anyway, I didn't do anything else, because the machine is in very good order. Very clean and no scratches. And what is most important, CD reads very, very well :) I just need a good gamepad for it now and I won't pay 100€ for one, so that too is going to be a challenge ;) Not so lucky on my STFM and STE, though. I'll probably start by getting a repair kit for their PSUs... And of course, then there is always the Acorn Archimedes with quite bad corrosion from leaked (clock/memory) cap... That one is going to be a real test ;) I need more time and money :D
Hi, Impressive work. I am amazed at your recapping. I just don't have steady enough hands for that kind of fine work. Soldering a 15 pin D-Sub was hard enough.
Still got my CD32 and A1200 and they work great. The A1200 has a 50mhz 030 accelerator and compact flash with Whdload. Wouldn't swap them for all the tea in China
Brill video as always. My (very spoilt) friend from school had one from launch. Luckily he got bored of it very quickly so I borrowed it and played it to death. Never really got on with Liberation but Diggers 2 was fun - kind of a Terraria, 20 years earlier. I think they were the packaged launch titles. There was a nice castles strategy game but don't recall the name.
Excellent. I can only wish I had a steady enough hand to do restoration work like this. I had an Amiga 500 back in the day, and had wanted a CD32, or at even an A1200 or 4000. Couldn't afford any of them, so instead I managed a used hard drive enclosure for my 500, and a modest Supra accelerator which had a 68010 CPU. And of course a modest RAM upgrade as well (I don't remember how much, but it was more than the official underside plugin RAM board. I was even looking forward to the upcoming AAA chipset, which alas never came before C= went bust. Sadly, I eventually had to sell the Amiga to get a more modern Windows-based PC.
the other alternative to hot air is adulterating the solder with a low-melting-point solder like the one ChipQuik makes. That way the solder stays liquid long enough after getting hit with an iron to be removed. Probably even more of a pain 'cause you'd then need to wick out all the low temperature solder before putting on the replacement.
Great job. Although I didn’t have a CD32 or A1200, I did have the CD expansion for the A500+ which involved putting the CD into a caddy before slotting it into the drive. I’ve not seen any mentions of this drive on retro channels or the like :/ I remember the videos from Pandora’s CD (intended for the CD32) clearly from all those years ago.
Nice :) Another one saved. Those two cap footprints are actually hybrid, and are silk screened correctly for SMT caps. It’s just been misinterpreted for the thru-mounts they actually used.
Here’s an interesting thought... if you don’t have a hot air gun station you can use a 12v halogen lamp (car headlight) on a 6v supply to regulate the heat output... careful of your eyes... and yes the heat is less direct!
Ive just finished renovating my technics rs-bx727 quartz tape deck, fitted sockets for the 4066 chips and replaced them with texas instruments and changed 30 capacitors 4 resistors and other bits, before the vu meter wasnt accurate when recording its spot on now
Nice job. I've still got a CD32 sitting in the living room, somewhere, Haven't tried to power it up in years, maybe i should. If I recall it was a developer machine got straight from CBM.
VulpisFoxfire Just don't get mixed up and drink the Isopropanol version by mistake - yes, it will likely get you very drunk, but only before your liver and kidneys fall out. lol
I saw the CD32 at only one dealer in the area back in the time. And unfortunately that CD32 was not for sale. It was part of a kind of promotion piece. So I ended up buying a CDTV set including the CDTV, the black monitor, the keyboard and mouse and the remote control trackball and I was not really unhappy about it. Later i bought the genlock card and the expansion memory card.
Great episode Neil, and some top detective work. Excited to hear of upgrade plans too, this is what I had planned to do back in the day but didn't get to do it, so very interested to see how that works out.
MadPete It is amazing how many people are scared of learning to read a few block diagrams and schematics tbh. I hope vids like Neils will encourage more people to give it a go, as it can help narrow down certain faults VERY quickly at times. (assuming the rest of the caps in a device might be OK, and the fault is only in one area.) For people who are only just starting to read schematics, it can be daunting, but a good tip is that you can often work backwards from the video / audio outputs instead. You should then instantly see the caps and other components that are involved in those outputs, find the designator (eg. C236 etc.), then locate it on the board. You don't necessarily re-cap every retro machine of course, but many of them were only designed to last maybe 5-6 years (if that), so if you ,REALLY care to preserve these machines for many more years / decades, then replacing the electrolytics very often helps. There is still a big issue atm with "fake" / poor quality cheap caps though, and the fallout from an apparent case of espionage and stolen electrolyte formulas. Only a few trusted sources of good electrolytics remain, like Panasonic, Vishay, Dubillier, Nichicon, but they can often be quite expensive when a lot of caps are needed. Personally, I have often just took a chance on some lesser-known brands, and they are still often preferable to bulging / leaky original caps. (eg. I re-capped a 3DO FZ-1 the other day, and used some rather cheap "105C" rated caps from an eBay UK seller. They might not be the best quality caps, but I think they will be more than good enough, and way better than the failing originals.) Best to periodically check them though, or even better - check them with an ESR meter that is designed to work in-circuit. ;)
A fantastic addition to the Cave, and brought back to full health by just recapping -- replacing the RGB encoder chip would have been a fun exercise =/. Well done.
I remember my CD32, I had the SX-1 expansion with a floppy drive etc. Due to the downfall of Commodore I put it all up for sale in Micro Mart some time in 1995, and bought an SVGA monitor for my PC with the proceeds. The thing I remember clearest of all - when playing Cannon Fodder during the level load screens (when the helicopter flew past) the CD drive made an alarming racket, yet it seemed to work just fine. Odd. Thanks for the memories keep up the good work 👍
You will enjoy episode 3 in a couple of weeks when some recent orders arrive then :). Cannon Fodder was a game I watched Jon Hare demo at an expo way back when it was in beta on a gigantic screen. When it came out I played it so much I would hear the damn "eurgh" sound of the soldiers in my sleep. Great memories
Nice job on that recap! Surface mount capacitors scare me lol. The only thing I would have done differently is I would have put some fresh grease on the cd laser rails just to complete the job, but it was an excellent restoration none the less :)
@@refractionpcsx2 Hi, my CD32 board is away being professionally recapped at the moment, and the CD drive works fine but I’d like to grease the rails as you suggest - should then have a solid machine once the board returns. What grease is best - not sure where to get some? Any videos on the subject? Thanks!
Can I suggest Servisol Foam Cleanser 30 for cleaning enclosures? I have used it for more years than I care to remember and it seems to lift off dirt better than pretty much anything. It never seems to attack plastics or leave a residue like general household sprays can. Expensive at Maplin, but quite a lot cheaper elsewhere (CPC etc).
I'm really looking forward seeing more since I'm interested in getting a CD32. But I would really love to be able to connect a hard drive and RGB output :D (Haven't done the research yet though) so I am guessing the upcoming A1200 transformation will be very interesting one indeed. :) And this restoration was deeply satisfying btw.
Another fantastic vid. Glad to see you restoring old tech. It must be really satisfying to do. Could you recomend any books to learn the basics of elictronics to learn how to do this?.
Funny thing, I thought that these solid state capacitors should hold for very long time and I mean - long time. Far longer than electrolytic. I guess you learn something new every day :) But it is also becoming quite obvious to me that I'll have very hard time trying to do repair like this in case I'll finally decide to try. My hands shake like hell, oh goodness... it looks so easy when you watch someone who knows what to do. Well, excellent work as always.
Even my 775 Gigabyte motherboard cardboard box says in big print that they replaced most of caps with solid state ones for higher durability. By description, I consider electrolytic caps to be those standard non-solid aluminum electrolytic bulging bastards - just to make it simple.
I have very shaky hands too, and not the best grip. But I do manage to solder and paint. A good work surface where I can rest my elbows is important, and taking a moment to work out the best angle to work at. I try to take the strain off my hands by moving the object around rather than soldering at a difficult angle. But anyone starting out soldering, shaky hands or not should start with some trash boards to learn first.
I only ever got to use one in an electronics store here in Australia when they first came out here. Couldn't afford to get one as they were so expensive at the time. Would have loved to have owned one though.
I had a CD32 and an SX-1 expansion. I couldn’t afford an SX32 Pro that I would have liked and eventually sold the lot for a pitifully low price. I look forward to the expansions episode.
Love the look of this system and yours came up great! Just a shame no real exclusive software took advantage of it. I happened to come across an unused CD32 not too long ago but it turned out to be one destined for the Canadian market so is NTSC, would like to get it running PAL and not have to switch upon booting it each time!
This is a system I always wanted. I had an A500, but missed the A1200 and wanted a CD32. However, I don't remember them being available is Australia at all :(
I bought one of these second hand in 1995, I do believe it was my first CD player, as It was cheaper than buying a Mega CD addon at the time, I remember sitting in my room playing Diggers, scratching my head wondering what this console really was and why I had never seen one before (New Zealand) , I remember it was backbenched when I got my Playstation and I don't know what happened to it, wish I had it still I would turn it into an A1200 and take over the world
I've bought a CD32 off Ebay in great condition. Having played Superfrog this afternoon, I ran into a problem where the right audio channel suddenly started outputting really quietly. Having done some research online, I have reason to believe that the fault lies with some capacitors. Is there any way I can quickly identify which capacitors are the culprit by any chance please?
Caps man... Every kit of gear that is worth keeping ist also worth recaping. That's at least how I keep it with my audio gear. As a tip, I would consider using some flux to help melting your solder. Even though leaded solder on these oldschool boards melts earlier than todays lead-free variants.
Those smd capacitors why did they use so many? The machine looks near museum quality you've future proofed yet another retro micro for another day. Great vid Neil 😋...Kim
Fantastic video, as usual.👍will you fit, or is there one of those fancy flash drives that has all the games on it? I'd imagine cd32 cds to be a bit thin on the ground.
Are you kidding me with those Through hole capacitors!? How does it even work at all? All those caps should have just gone up in smoke as soon as you powered up the machine, no? Awesome job man, just how long did it take you to replace all of the caps? Man!
Marvio Botticelli hehe thank you. Probably about 5 hours in 2 sittings. Music on, pot of coffee, slow and steady. You could do it in half the time but filming and checking camera angles adds a lot of time
Back in the day i saw these consoles at the dixons store in the netherlands and i wanted one, however they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, so i never got me one.
rimmersbryggeri I love that channel, and he is top-notch in pretty much everything else he does, but cutting or twisting any SMD cap off the board is a definite electronics no-no. Some PCBs are quite hardy, but some of them very much aren't (like certain older retro machines.) Twisting the caps off the board, or even snipping through the cases definitely puts unnecessary risk on the PCB pads and traces. Even if the pads don't lift at the time, it can weaken the epoxy bond slightly, and then cause pads and traces to lift during re-soldering. Have I snipped through SMD caps in the past? Well, yes (lol), but that was way before I bought a hot air station, and I only did that on equipment that I kept. (as an absolute last resort, if you have no money nor access to better tools, nor anyone else nearby to repair something, and if it's a device you will personally keep, then snipping through SMD caps with a sharp pair of snips is mildly preferable to twisting them off the board. But please don't do either of those if you really care about not creating far more damage.) Put it this way - if you were a solderer / reworker in an electronics factory, and they saw you twisting or snipping the old caps off the boards, you'd probably get fired. It probably goes without saying that people should never work on mains power supplies nor any other potentially dangerous stuff without first gaining a fair bit of knowledge and experience. A poorly repaired PSU, or simply fitting slightly the wrong part can be a huge fire risk, or create the risk of electric shock or electrocution. :o There was even an example recently where a guy watched videos of people repairing and modifying CRT TVs, and he apparently got quite hurt after getting zapped. Just a friendly reminder to anyone reading this - PLEASE don't work around mains stuff, large capacitors / CRTs etc., and definitely never try repairing a microwave oven - those things are deadly. (as is most of the food that they heat up, but I can't complain, as I'll be using one in about five minutes. lol)
It works fine it you do it precisely as he describes (practice on old boards first), the pins will shear off against the caps base plate. I'd say that if the pad comes off, it was already de-bonded or the person removing it is ham-fisted.
It can "work", but it's just not one of those done things. We were taught some of the mechnical stuff at college as well, but it comes mainly from experience tbh. I've seen too many boards broken by people doing that exact thing, and to the people who are absolutely determined to repair their stuff themselves, I'd say that snipping through the caps is a tad less risky. That normally leaves the plastic base of the caps on the board, and then you can either carefully break that away, or you have better access to the pins / pads to where you can use a regular soldering iron to heat and remove them. ;)
I know you love using your shiny new angled pliers, but sometimes, tweezers just make more sense.. I suggest you consider getting a good set of tweezers for fiddly work. Nice job, btw!
I have a really nice all original IBM PS/1 model 2011 which is today really rare, especially because it is pretty much custom and proprietary (it is IBM 1990 second try at home computing after PCjr), I've nightmares about caps that probably need or will need to be replaced at some point
Quite the satisfying restoration. And tedious, haha all those caps. Nice job.
The zen like state of the recap job is how I find inner peace Clint. Ohmmm. Looking forward to playing some games now.
Oh hi. Didn't expect to see you here.
The Caps look like they have seen some things
Hail to the king! 😁
Great to see you here. I'm a huge fan!
brilliant stuff, you've mastered the art of making a very tedious recap compelling viewing. Well done sir
Agreed. You are a madman.
I was late to the cd32 party and picked up one up on ebay a few years back - for me one of the benefits is that due to their being practically no copy protection on it, it is quite happy to play a backup copy of a game as it is the original - which makes playing hard to get or very expensive originals possible.
You may just as well run UAE on a raspberry pi. Compatibility is near 100%, and it's doing cycle accurate simulation.
A testament to your patience. Replacing that many surface mounted caps is a job and a half.
So that's why all the ATI Radeon cards have pen marks on the caps? :D Seriously, fantastic effort. I get way too frustrated when trying to film my soldering, so that was great to watch!
Having done this very same job at the weekend I thought you'd like to know that on my revision 3 board from the factory both the caps you mentioned were installed the correct way and are labelled on the board correctly. I highly recommend to anyone trying this to test the pads as you showed rather than just assuming they are the wrong way round.
Ooh now that is interesting. Differences on the same revision board could definitely cause some confusion if assumptions are made
Nice job! Looking forward to the A1200 upgrade part. :)
Watching this videos it's like viewing the fireplace channel in Christmas Night, with the addition of the voice-over it's perfect. Lovely work. My congratulations.
Thank you Pedro I'm glad you enjoyed it
I really wanted a cd32 as a kid, and I still do one. I miss my 500+ and keep trying my luck on freecycle !
When you spend the whole day watching Retro Man Cave and Jan Beta restoration videos and a new one is delivered as if by magic.
It’s like your videos are the blueprints of every amazing computer and console of my teenage years. I cannot thank you enough for these treasures. Your de-soldering and recap-ing of the board is epic and incredibly inspirational. I’m so building my own station to start practicing!
Good man I always love to hear of people being inspired to get going. Break things until you make them work :D
The patience you have for this work is incredible, great video.
Cheers. The reward of a working system is worth it 🖒
This brings back some great memories.
I bought a CD-rom drive for my A1200 back in the day, it connected via PCMCIA and emulated that chip you spoke about, i dont recall the brand. I remember the intro to microcosm wowing me and my siblings. We would watch that intro over and over again in amazement of the FMV graphics!
Earlier today I got out my Cd32 and took its top off (ooh er!). I found those two large black caps near the psu input are reversed like yours, bulged and have a strange brown residue on them. Obviously these will have to be replaced and I'm hesitant to turn it on till I have. Thanks for making this video, you may have just saved my console!
ste309w excellent work well done. Saved just in time 🖒🕹
RetroManCave Cheers! Hopefully all will be good once I've done that. Not looking forward to a complete recap.
Hi again. What capacitors would you recommend to replace those 2? I can't quite make out the voltage and resistance rating on the sides because of the residue. I think they're rated at 10v? Thanks.
Excellent work diagnosing the faulty cap, great video.
What a labor of love. This was great to watch.
This is a golden age for retro game/hardware content! Excellent video as always.
Great job. Inspired me to recap my CD32s when I have enough spare time.
De-ja-vu there on the reversed capacitor checks! Back to black works wonders on systems like this, but as you say - it doesn't last forever - makes you wonder where that silicone goes?!?! Good job though! It's a bit easier just adding the solder onto the cap connection as you hold the cap in place btw, rather than sliding the cap into a molten blob of solder - but there's many ways to crack a nut I guess! PlastX or Novus works well on the drive window too - where they have been scratched on hard surfaces when upside down etc. Nice to see this one saved from a fate worse than leakage!
GadgetUK164 - Retro Gaming Repairs & Mods I'll look those up for the window thank you. Interestingly in another comment someone had a rev 3 board which is labelled and fitted correctly so it's not a given they are wrong. Well worth double checking! Great to see you here as always 🖒
When I got my CD32, I instantly checked the capacitors. As I had done some background research of CD32. On mine they were fitted correctly, though I cannot be sure, if someone had corrected them earlier... Though I have a memory, that I didn't see soldering marks on capacitors. Anyway, I didn't do anything else, because the machine is in very good order. Very clean and no scratches. And what is most important, CD reads very, very well :) I just need a good gamepad for it now and I won't pay 100€ for one, so that too is going to be a challenge ;)
Not so lucky on my STFM and STE, though. I'll probably start by getting a repair kit for their PSUs... And of course, then there is always the Acorn Archimedes with quite bad corrosion from leaked (clock/memory) cap... That one is going to be a real test ;)
I need more time and money :D
Hi, Impressive work. I am amazed at your recapping. I just don't have steady enough hands for that kind of fine work. Soldering a 15 pin D-Sub was hard enough.
Atten 8586 hot air rework station here. Hot air is great. Reversed audio caps. All the classics!
Still got my CD32 and A1200 and they work great. The A1200 has a 50mhz 030 accelerator and compact flash with Whdload. Wouldn't swap them for all the tea in China
Brill video as always. My (very spoilt) friend from school had one from launch. Luckily he got bored of it very quickly so I borrowed it and played it to death. Never really got on with Liberation but Diggers 2 was fun - kind of a Terraria, 20 years earlier. I think they were the packaged launch titles. There was a nice castles strategy game but don't recall the name.
Awesome job RetroManCave really looking forward to part 3 now.
Great work, love your vids and the CD32 was one of my many consoles it's good to see one brought back to life.
Excellent. I can only wish I had a steady enough hand to do restoration work like this. I had an Amiga 500 back in the day, and had wanted a CD32, or at even an A1200 or 4000. Couldn't afford any of them, so instead I managed a used hard drive enclosure for my 500, and a modest Supra accelerator which had a 68010 CPU. And of course a modest RAM upgrade as well (I don't remember how much, but it was more than the official underside plugin RAM board. I was even looking forward to the upcoming AAA chipset, which alas never came before C= went bust. Sadly, I eventually had to sell the Amiga to get a more modern Windows-based PC.
Qun Mang a sad and familiar tale indeed. Thank you for sharing your memories
And thank you, sir, for taking the time to reply, and especially for what you you do on this channel.
Awsome video, thank you for all the care you put in them!
EXO 2xii you're welcome and thank you for watching
the other alternative to hot air is adulterating the solder with a low-melting-point solder like the one ChipQuik makes. That way the solder stays liquid long enough after getting hit with an iron to be removed. Probably even more of a pain 'cause you'd then need to wick out all the low temperature solder before putting on the replacement.
Great job. Although I didn’t have a CD32 or A1200, I did have the CD expansion for the A500+ which involved putting the CD into a caddy before slotting it into the drive. I’ve not seen any mentions of this drive on retro channels or the like :/
I remember the videos from Pandora’s CD (intended for the CD32) clearly from all those years ago.
The A570. I too had that back in the day long after CDTV had failed but the PDTV CD's kept me busy for hours and hours. I'd love to get one.
Bringing CD32 back to life. Easily earned sub!
such a neat re-cap!! more so considering the amount of them..i guess it's helpful that the majority are not soldered through the board!!
Nice :) Another one saved. Those two cap footprints are actually hybrid, and are silk screened correctly for SMT caps. It’s just been misinterpreted for the thru-mounts they actually used.
Ah now that would explain the confusion at C= a little better. Thanks for that
Aaah, that nice Super Stardust music at the start bring back memories. Nice job and keep those awesome video's coming!
Discovered you by UA-cam recommendation and loving your work, another happy subber
Thanks and welcome to the cave Carl
Here’s an interesting thought... if you don’t have a hot air gun station you can use a 12v halogen lamp (car headlight) on a 6v supply to regulate the heat output... careful of your eyes... and yes the heat is less direct!
Ive just finished renovating my technics rs-bx727 quartz tape deck, fitted sockets for the 4066 chips and replaced them with texas instruments and changed 30 capacitors 4 resistors and other bits, before the vu meter wasnt accurate when recording its spot on now
Nice work I bet that was satisfying so see fixed as a result
Mate the recordings it makes sound beautiful! best tape deck ive ever owned
My lovely CD32@1200+HDD! This is my second (after A500) and my last AMIGA model. I sell it in 1996 for PC :( I love your videos. Ah memories...
Nice job. I've still got a CD32 sitting in the living room, somewhere, Haven't tried to power it up in years, maybe i should. If I recall it was a developer machine got straight from CBM.
11:35 "But that power switch needed some attention with the IPA'...and here I thought the IPA was for the tech after the job's done? :-)
VulpisFoxfire
Just don't get mixed up and drink the Isopropanol version by mistake - yes, it will likely get you very drunk, but only before your liver and kidneys fall out. lol
I saw the CD32 at only one dealer in the area back in the time. And unfortunately that CD32 was not for sale. It was part of a kind of promotion piece. So I ended up buying a CDTV set including the CDTV, the black monitor, the keyboard and mouse and the remote control trackball and I was not really unhappy about it. Later i bought the genlock card and the expansion memory card.
Good or not the CDTV sure did look good
Of course it did and still does.
Nice work mate, enjoying your content...Keep it up.
Great episode Neil, and some top detective work. Excited to hear of upgrade plans too, this is what I had planned to do back in the day but didn't get to do it, so very interested to see how that works out.
MadPete
It is amazing how many people are scared of learning to read a few block diagrams and schematics tbh.
I hope vids like Neils will encourage more people to give it a go, as it can help narrow down certain faults VERY quickly at times.
(assuming the rest of the caps in a device might be OK, and the fault is only in one area.)
For people who are only just starting to read schematics, it can be daunting, but a good tip is that you can often work backwards from the video / audio outputs instead.
You should then instantly see the caps and other components that are involved in those outputs, find the designator (eg. C236 etc.), then locate it on the board.
You don't necessarily re-cap every retro machine of course, but many of them were only designed to last maybe 5-6 years (if that), so if you ,REALLY care to preserve these machines for many more years / decades, then replacing the electrolytics very often helps.
There is still a big issue atm with "fake" / poor quality cheap caps though, and the fallout from an apparent case of espionage and stolen electrolyte formulas.
Only a few trusted sources of good electrolytics remain, like Panasonic, Vishay, Dubillier, Nichicon, but they can often be quite expensive when a lot of caps are needed.
Personally, I have often just took a chance on some lesser-known brands, and they are still often preferable to bulging / leaky original caps.
(eg. I re-capped a 3DO FZ-1 the other day, and used some rather cheap "105C" rated caps from an eBay UK seller. They might not be the best quality caps, but I think they will be more than good enough, and way better than the failing originals.)
Best to periodically check them though, or even better - check them with an ESR meter that is designed to work in-circuit. ;)
A fantastic addition to the Cave, and brought back to full health by just recapping -- replacing the RGB encoder chip would have been a fun exercise =/. Well done.
Loving the music choice this episode! Can’t wait for the next part :)
Awesome as always can wait to see the 3th part with expansion and other cool stuff.
Great work :)
I remember my CD32, I had the SX-1 expansion with a floppy drive etc. Due to the downfall of Commodore I put it all up for sale in Micro Mart some time in 1995, and bought an SVGA monitor for my PC with the proceeds.
The thing I remember clearest of all - when playing Cannon Fodder during the level load screens (when the helicopter flew past) the CD drive made an alarming racket, yet it seemed to work just fine. Odd.
Thanks for the memories keep up the good work 👍
You will enjoy episode 3 in a couple of weeks when some recent orders arrive then :). Cannon Fodder was a game I watched Jon Hare demo at an expo way back when it was in beta on a gigantic screen. When it came out I played it so much I would hear the damn "eurgh" sound of the soldiers in my sleep. Great memories
RetroManCave I was playing it on an emulator not so long back, still a funny and playable game I think
Nice job on that recap! Surface mount capacitors scare me lol. The only thing I would have done differently is I would have put some fresh grease on the cd laser rails just to complete the job, but it was an excellent restoration none the less :)
Nice idea I might just do that. No odd noises from it but it would be a nice touch for preventative maintenance
Indeed :) Always a good idea for preventative maintenance, may as well make sure that laser continues to work :)
@@refractionpcsx2 Hi, my CD32 board is away being professionally recapped at the moment, and the CD drive works fine but I’d like to grease the rails as you suggest - should then have a solid machine once the board returns. What grease is best - not sure where to get some? Any videos on the subject? Thanks!
@@rosstee I'm not 100% on the stuff, but I believe Molykote EM-30L is the go-to for this kind of thing
@@refractionpcsx2 Ok, thanks for the quick response. I’ll have a look.
Great happy to see some Great retro hardware given new life!
"At long last, Trill is a free man.... but he will forever curse his parents for naming him after budgie food.."
Can I suggest Servisol Foam Cleanser 30 for cleaning enclosures? I have used it for more years than I care to remember and it seems to lift off dirt better than pretty much anything. It never seems to attack plastics or leave a residue like general household sprays can. Expensive at Maplin, but quite a lot cheaper elsewhere (CPC etc).
Ah yes I know the stuff, might be worth getting a few in stock for future work
I'm baffled this channel doesn't have more subscribers. Primo content!
It has a great subscription number, given the niche subject.
I'm really looking forward seeing more since I'm interested in getting a CD32. But I would really love to be able to connect a hard drive and RGB output :D (Haven't done the research yet though) so I am guessing the upcoming A1200 transformation will be very interesting one indeed. :) And this restoration was deeply satisfying btw.
Great work! Love the channel.
Am I the only one that thinks he has an amazingly soothing voice?
Another fantastic vid. Glad to see you restoring old tech. It must be really satisfying to do. Could you recomend any books to learn the basics of elictronics to learn how to do this?.
Funny thing, I thought that these solid state capacitors should hold for very long time and I mean - long time. Far longer than electrolytic. I guess you learn something new every day :) But it is also becoming quite obvious to me that I'll have very hard time trying to do repair like this in case I'll finally decide to try. My hands shake like hell, oh goodness... it looks so easy when you watch someone who knows what to do. Well, excellent work as always.
Polymer capacitors are designed to last 20 years under normal usage, whereas electrolytics typically have a 5-10 year lifespan.
Those were all electrolytics he replaced.
Even my 775 Gigabyte motherboard cardboard box says in big print that they replaced most of caps with solid state ones for higher durability. By description, I consider electrolytic caps to be those standard non-solid aluminum electrolytic bulging bastards - just to make it simple.
I have very shaky hands too, and not the best grip. But I do manage to solder and paint. A good work surface where I can rest my elbows is important, and taking a moment to work out the best angle to work at. I try to take the strain off my hands by moving the object around rather than soldering at a difficult angle. But anyone starting out soldering, shaky hands or not should start with some trash boards to learn first.
I only ever got to use one in an electronics store here in Australia when they first came out here. Couldn't afford to get one as they were so expensive at the time. Would have loved to have owned one though.
The CXA1145 encoder is also used on some Sega Master System and Mega Drive boards, in case that's useful to anybody.
I had a CD32 and an SX-1 expansion. I couldn’t afford an SX32 Pro that I would have liked and eventually sold the lot for a pitifully low price. I look forward to the expansions episode.
Love the look of this system and yours came up great! Just a shame no real exclusive software took advantage of it. I happened to come across an unused CD32 not too long ago but it turned out to be one destined for the Canadian market so is NTSC, would like to get it running PAL and not have to switch upon booting it each time!
You must have the patience of a saint! Just watching all that recapping was painful!
Glad to see another CD32 brought back from the brink! Great work!
Impressive video. That would be way too daunting a task for me.
up until year 2000 the CD32 & SX-1 was my PC ... good stuff
Great video! That monitor is so cool :p
This is a system I always wanted. I had an A500, but missed the A1200 and wanted a CD32. However, I don't remember them being available is Australia at all :(
Great video man, very informative...as was part one!
Lovely video. That was a job and a half with so many caps!
3:23 Was it the cap or the grubby encoder IC pins?
The bodge through hole resistor looks interesting
More liquid flux, please
Great work!
Backwards factory caps, wow!
I can still hear 15625 Hz from the monitor
Excellent recap of a recap...
Amazing soldering. Taught me a lot. Thank you.
I remember seeing this for the first time on The Big Breakfast morning TV show.
What a interesting machine, Commodore sure did love the UK. Never saw that here :(
I bought one of these second hand in 1995, I do believe it was my first CD player, as It was cheaper than buying a Mega CD addon at the time, I remember sitting in my room playing Diggers, scratching my head wondering what this console really was and why I had never seen one before (New Zealand) , I remember it was backbenched when I got my Playstation and I don't know what happened to it, wish I had it still I would turn it into an A1200 and take over the world
Damn fine soldering job! SMDs always scares the pi** out of me.
Its nice to see that it actually was exactly this fault. Well done video!
It's always nice to track it down instead of blanket fixing it if possible, we learn more that way
Awesome parts one and two, love these videos keep them coming buddy
Good job! impressive hand skills and a fab refurb :)
What is the name of game at 15:32? Cheers, video production is like on Discovery channel, well done!
well done! very inspiring restoration!
No fires or explosions 🌋📀💣
Woo Hoo !! 😄
Luv these nitty gritty into the electronic weeds videos.👍
And u got a nice vice. Kudos. 👌
I've bought a CD32 off Ebay in great condition. Having played Superfrog this afternoon, I ran into a problem where the right audio channel suddenly started outputting really quietly. Having done some research online, I have reason to believe that the fault lies with some capacitors. Is there any way I can quickly identify which capacitors are the culprit by any chance please?
I had that stonekeep box, it came with a book
ovel as well which I read. Its a shame you don't get boxed games like that anymore.
It has an interesting story behind it, I intend to review it soon and cover the history of it
I am considering doing this (cap replacement) with my old C64 ... nothing wrong with it, but thinking for preventative maintenance...
Good man 🖒
Caps man... Every kit of gear that is worth keeping ist also worth recaping. That's at least how I keep it with my audio gear.
As a tip, I would consider using some flux to help melting your solder. Even though leaded solder on these oldschool boards melts earlier than todays lead-free variants.
Thanks Etna. I am using flux paste on every joint to desolder and clean up. I demonstrate early on with the first cap.
Oh, I am sorry! I have totally missed that! Then thumbs up for your work and the demonstration!
Cheers Etna, I'm always listening for tips though, there are always ways to improve :D
I love watching these videos
Very well Done Retro Man
Those smd capacitors why did they use so many? The machine looks near museum quality you've future proofed yet another retro micro for another day. Great vid Neil 😋...Kim
Fantastic video, as usual.👍will you fit, or is there one of those fancy flash drives that has all the games on it? I'd imagine cd32 cds to be a bit thin on the ground.
Are you kidding me with those Through hole capacitors!?
How does it even work at all? All those caps should have just gone up in smoke as soon as you powered up the machine, no?
Awesome job man, just how long did it take you to replace all of the caps? Man!
Marvio Botticelli hehe thank you. Probably about 5 hours in 2 sittings. Music on, pot of coffee, slow and steady. You could do it in half the time but filming and checking camera angles adds a lot of time
Cheers to you sir! I wish I had steady enough hands to do this sort of soldering :)
Am I crazy or are we hearing the high-pitched whine from the CRT screen around 15:00?
I hope odd tinkering does a video on the CD32
Back in the day i saw these consoles at the dixons store in the netherlands and i wanted one, however they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, so i never got me one.
Great video as always
You must try Simon the Sorcerer, Chris Barrie does a 'talkie' version and it's absolutely wonderful. One of the best games on the system.
If only they could have gotten him back for the follow up game, Brian Bowles just wasn't as apt as good old sarcastic Rimmer!
Not to mention one of the best graphic adventures i've seen! :D (I have an A1200)
Did you see Mr Carlsons Labs video on desoldering smd electrolytics? If not I think it could save you alot of hassle for the next project.
rimmersbryggeri
I love that channel, and he is top-notch in pretty much everything else he does, but cutting or twisting any SMD cap off the board is a definite electronics no-no.
Some PCBs are quite hardy, but some of them very much aren't (like certain older retro machines.)
Twisting the caps off the board, or even snipping through the cases definitely puts unnecessary risk on the PCB pads and traces.
Even if the pads don't lift at the time, it can weaken the epoxy bond slightly, and then cause pads and traces to lift during re-soldering.
Have I snipped through SMD caps in the past? Well, yes (lol), but that was way before I bought a hot air station, and I only did that on equipment that I kept.
(as an absolute last resort, if you have no money nor access to better tools, nor anyone else nearby to repair something, and if it's a device you will personally keep, then snipping through SMD caps with a sharp pair of snips is mildly preferable to twisting them off the board. But please don't do either of those if you really care about not creating far more damage.)
Put it this way - if you were a solderer / reworker in an electronics factory, and they saw you twisting or snipping the old caps off the boards, you'd probably get fired.
It probably goes without saying that people should never work on mains power supplies nor any other potentially dangerous stuff without first gaining a fair bit of knowledge and experience.
A poorly repaired PSU, or simply fitting slightly the wrong part can be a huge fire risk, or create the risk of electric shock or electrocution. :o
There was even an example recently where a guy watched videos of people repairing and modifying CRT TVs, and he apparently got quite hurt after getting zapped.
Just a friendly reminder to anyone reading this - PLEASE don't work around mains stuff, large capacitors / CRTs etc., and definitely never try repairing a microwave oven - those things are deadly.
(as is most of the food that they heat up, but I can't complain, as I'll be using one in about five minutes. lol)
It works fine it you do it precisely as he describes (practice on old boards first), the pins will shear off against the caps base plate. I'd say that if the pad comes off, it was already de-bonded or the person removing it is ham-fisted.
It can "work", but it's just not one of those done things.
We were taught some of the mechnical stuff at college as well, but it comes mainly from experience tbh.
I've seen too many boards broken by people doing that exact thing, and to the people who are absolutely determined to repair their stuff themselves, I'd say that snipping through the caps is a tad less risky.
That normally leaves the plastic base of the caps on the board, and then you can either carefully break that away, or you have better access to the pins / pads to where you can use a regular soldering iron to heat and remove them. ;)
I know you love using your shiny new angled pliers, but sometimes, tweezers just make more sense.. I suggest you consider getting a good set of tweezers for fiddly work.
Nice job, btw!
Cheers! I have tweezers but I just like working with the pliers unless I'm working in a very tight space. Just a personal preference
Wonderfull.... Congrats on a once again, working machine. They are wonderfull.
I have a really nice all original IBM PS/1 model 2011 which is today really rare, especially because it is pretty much custom and proprietary (it is IBM 1990 second try at home computing after PCjr), I've nightmares about caps that probably need or will need to be replaced at some point
Make sure to replace the AE-35 unit or you could leave it in until it fails and then replace it.