Your ability to "chat" with your audience as you do your work is amazing - it's almost like we're there with you having a conversation! Excellent YT skillset, Adrian.
@@adriansdigitalbasement2 Something I hate of the ceramic caps... is that they don't say the value😠... they should be laser engraved or something 🥺... next time you need to work in this board.. you will not have a way to tell the value of this caps🤷♀....
Hi Adrian, According to my research, the so-called capacitor plague is caused by chemical decomposition of the electrolyte. Hydrogen gas is being formed, causing the safety valve to spew out whatever electrolyte is left in the capacitor. The electrolyte itself mainly consists of water, ethylene glycol and boric acid. Other types of acid or bases may be present too. From a chemists point of view: you should consider using a double treatment, first with a mild base like a solution of sodium carbonate (soda), followed by another treatment with a mild acid like white vinegar or even citric acid. Generally I would prefer citric acid over vinegar as citric acid is just more capable of complexing metal ions.
Would a product like Goo-Gone be safe to use on a PCB? I'd figure the citric acid in it would work as intended, but I'm not sure if it would remove any of the silk-screen or solder mask as well.
Most other videos I've seen like this use vinegar. I think since everyone pretty much has a jug of it laying around, and I'm guessing the metal ions aren't as much of the problem, as neutralizing the corrosiveness of the usually alkaline electrolyte. And as long as you don't neglect the vinegar and leave it on, it's pretty mild. I may also boil down to mileage may vary, I'm guessing different ppl have different solutions work for them. So it's highly likely someone out there prefers the citric acid method like you mention. So I guess, try each and see. LoL
@@tvtoms ohh actually wasn't intentional, but I'll take it. Lol. But I'm a firm believer in that sort of things. Some people find different things work better for themselves. If it's "stupid" but works, it's not stupid.
FYI, If you replace electrolytic capacitors with ceramic capacitors you really should use ceramic capacitors that are rated for at least 2-3 times the voltage the capacitor will see. The reason is ceramic capacitors actually have lower capacitance the closer they get to their rated voltage. The loss of capacitance is often severe - 60% or more if they are operated near their rated voltage. Using a capacitor rated for a higher voltage mitigates this by shifting the operating voltage further down so the capacitance ends up close to the expected value while in circuit. Some manufacturers of ceramic capacitors (such as Murata) publish charts showing exactly how much the capacitance drops in relation to rated voltage and operating voltage for each model capacitor.
Yes. This effect is called DC Bias. You probably want something like a 25V ceramic cap for a 5V rail to avoid the DC Bias effect. One other thing: please don't blindly substitute ceramic caps for electrolytics unless you know 100% that they are suitable for the circuit in question. Ceramic caps have effectively zero ESR, but some circuits will be reliant on the small ESR of an electrolytic cap to function properly. It might 'work', but in reality the circuit may be unstable or erratic (e.g. a linear voltage regulator oscillating, which may appear fine on a multimeter, but a 'scope will show is a hot mess).
Yup, I learned this lesson the hard way, ceramic caps capacitance goes down the closer you get to the rated working voltage, so you want much higher voltage versions to ensure they're actually large enough at whatever voltage they're operating at.
I was thinking the same thing. Most of the time it is fine to do this if you give good voltage rating headroom, but occasionally you can get burned and invite unwanted oscillations in the circuit.
I'm consistently impressed at how I can watch a video for more than an hour and be engrossed the entire time. It's so rare I find someone who can do that!
@@jbrown9742 I'd say he's half right, but that's not a bad thing. This video can used as background noise yet still be fascinating to listen to or see.
While you're taping over the SIMM sockets, you might want to slap a piece on the CPU socket too if you're going to leave the CPU out while you're doing solder work on the board.
The Centris to Quadra change was about 68LC040 to 68RC040. In other words, changing to ones with the FPU. In the case of the 610, they also increased the speed from underclocked 20MHz to the actual 25MHz the CPU was capable of. In the LC vs Quadra series such as LC 475/Quadra 605, there was the same pattern of LC vs RC model 040; FPU vs no FPU. In any case, I think the idea was that Macintosh LC series were supposed to be low end, and Quadras high-end, and Centris something in-between. That naming didn't live long, and they started with the Performa stuff shortly after. The clock oscillator is the G1/G2 or perhaps G5/G6, a 4-pin chip, it's just an SMD version of the common tin can oscillator. There used to be commercial clip-on accelerators that overclocked these, and it's one of the first Macs that were commonly overclocked. I had a Quadra 900 at the time and overclocked it to 33MHz. The actual Quadras (700/900/950) of this Centris era had all tantalum caps.
"Macintosh LC series were supposed to be low end" - It's even in the name: LC = Low Cost ;) oh, and the oscillator OC was also popular on the mac IIsi as apple built the IIsi from the same spec parts as its higher clocked, more expensive brother, the IIci - so the IIsi could handle IIci speeds just as well as a real IIci. The former owner of my IIsi had already swapped the original 40 MHz tin can for a 50 MHz one in a socket. I've read that you can go up to 55 MHz before things start falling apart.
@@KenjiUmino Yes, but there were other crippling on the IIsi as well, such as the policy of making expansion slots a premium feature. Artificial product segmentation, and way too much of it was another core sin of Apple and many others at the time, which only led to them sabotaging their own products. All this crippling of their own products (and the same within Commodore and Atari) led to the win of the lackluster PCs. If they had properly competed against each other and PCs instead of against their own artificial product segmentations of overpriced vs crippled products, history would've been different, because PC assemblers (calling them manufacturers would be too much) couldn't afford such crippling, and just went with the best bang for buck components at any given time. That, and the fact that boomers were responsible for financial decisions such as which computers to buy for their companies or homes despite not understanding computers, so they bought the only brand they recognized such as IBM (compatibles). They also had weird ideas such as that good graphics and sound capabilities somehow made computers inferior, and dismissed such computers as "game computers". This was also seen later in the 90s and even in the 2000s as giving kids some awful random old PC they salvaged from their work-place's junk bin as a "game computer" despite lacking any of such gaming features, such as sound or hi-res color graphics. Sure kid, go ahead and enjoy some PC games like Quake on this random 286 with Hercules graphics and sound capabilities comparable to a vacuum cleaner.
@@dvpierce248 The SE/30 is of older design, it's a direct descendant of the IIx and lacks things like being 32-bit clean and the newer more integrated chipsets. The IIsi is just a crippled IIci, as if that required further crippling, yet there's also the LC that's even more crippled. The Classic OTOH is just a super integrated SE descendant, with just slight crippling. Regardless, this kind of wasted R&D on internal intentional crippling of artificially produced models without achieving any significant actual cost reduction (more like cost increase due to extra manufacturing lines and the R&D and software support) is one of the things that was about to kill Apple and what killed Atari, Commodore and the likes. The competition after all was IBM PC clones rather than other products of the same company, and with so much competition between PC clone makes that there was no room for intentional criplling and the PCs were basically the sum of their components, like they still are.
I had an old 32" lcd tv that went bad. I opened it u and it had 3 bulging caps on the power board. i bought new ones and soldered them on and now it works again. I bought a cheap iron. I think I will do that again. It's all thanks to watching you and Noel and Necroware.
As someone who has recapped a lot of computers, TVs etc, I approve of this comment. Hope you'll end up repairing lots of things 😃 Another common fault on TVs is the backlights going bad, it's usually not too expensive or difficult to replace them.
Pro-tip for solder wick. Take the end between thumb and index of both hands and wiggle side to side along the thin profile. This will open up the weave of the wick, and it works better that way. When the wick is being made, the tension of the braiding machine will make the wires too close together, hampering the "wicking" action. Also, while every solder wick i have ever used has rosin in it, add some liquid rosin to the braid before you apply it to the joint and heat. I never used to believe in liquid flux, till i had to do some really challenging repairs. Now, i will only not use it if it's not available for some reason. It's easy mode, for sure.
@@kaitlyn__L Learned that trick from an 80 year old man back when i was a teenager. Solder wick wasn't even a thing when he started in electronics. That old bastard taught me a ton of stuff i never realized was gold, until i was much older. For instance, how to solder. I owe my soldering skills to that man. Sadly, i am way out of practice, but i expect to remedy that very soon.
@@jeromethiel4323 that’s great! I learned to solder in electrical engineering class, but only the teacher was allowed the expensive wick. We all had to make do with awful solder suckers! (And cheap, uncooperative solder!)
@@kaitlyn__L I have used every de-soldering mechanism known to man. One of the best, is the silly soldering iron with the red rubber ball on top and a hollow tip. It takes a ton of practice to get good with it, but when you do, it's amazing at de-soldering through hole components. The control you get over the suction makes all the difference. Plus you can use the hollow tip to wiggle leads to break any last little bit of solder holding on down in a plated through hole. But nothing beats solder wick for just mopping up extra solder on PCB pads.
@@jeromethiel4323 I’ll have to look into that! I only see people comparing suckers, wick, and high-power (and high-cost!) desoldering stations. Kind of sounds like it’s a manual-pumped version of the latter? But also more compact and cheaper. Which sounds right up my alley - I don’t do enough soldering to warrant a full station, but I’m starting to do enough again that wick is beginning to feel excessive.
Try putting a drop of flux on the solder wick, as well as the item being desoldered. Most solder wick comes prepped with a coating of solid flux, but the addition of a drop of liquid rosin flux on the wick really helps remove oxidation in the wick, and makes superb capillary action occur.
There's no perfect way to take those evil corrosive buggers off, we all just do what works best for us. I recently recapped an Amiga 600 and the electrolyte had worked it's way underneath surface mounted passives. It's a big worry that without removing everything there might still be corrosion happening. Love listening to you rambling!
I just recapped a SE/30 board (not on video) and it's unbelievable how bad it looked. You couldn't even see the pads it -- I wouldn't even tell if they were there or not! But with a bit of work I was able to save it. I'll need to make a little Patreon video showing the before and after as I did take some pictures at least.
In regard of replacing electrolitics with ceramics, or perhaps film or tantalums, be aware that different sorts of caps mostly are chosen for their properties. A electrolitic performs different on higher frequencies than a ceramic. Though it often is not really critical, it is wise to review the function of the cap before changing the type.
It's always best to replace type with type for that reason. Except when you know for sure that the specific properties of the cap don't matter, but even then type with type is best.
Yeah, as some others here have suggested, an old toothbrush and some IPA is perfect for cleaning PCBs from all sorts of gunk :) Also, there is never too much flux when it comes to deoxidizing pads :) You can always wash it away when you're happy with it
Can't say I've EVER tried this personally, but I've read that the salts left by the electrolyte are polar and a polar solvent should be used. From what I've read, distilled or deionized water is best. Just soak the board in distilled or deionized water and wait for the salts to dissolve, then clean with an old toothbrush and bake the board to dry it (110F). I also read that a pencil eraser can help scrub the salts off. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out. I don't have any boards from that generation that need recapped, so I can't do my own experimenting. BTW: the previous commenters were right. 'Quick' and 'super mini' don't really apply here. 🤣
That's interesting! What I find is that the salts appear after I wash the board -- so perhaps scrubbing it first with just distilled water is the way to go before using any soap?
I wish I had known this removal method earlier. Recapped an SE 30 back in 2013 and had to rebuild some traces. This is amazing! Also the ceramic capacitors tip is gold! Thank you for this amazing video!
Hey Adrian just wanted to say thank you for making a video like this. As someone who is very much an amateur solderer (my only experience has come from youtube videos over the past year), having this sort of step by step process is super helpful. Although some might complain about it being a repetitive video and thus less entertaining, this is perfect for someone like me who is trying to improve/refine techniques. I will be trying out the twist method the next time I have to do a recap. Any similar "tutorial" videos in the future when it comes to technical work like this will be very much appreciated.
I'd recommend baking soda or, ta-da, Windex to clean the electrolyte crusties. One of the more common electrolytes in those caps is boric acid, so a diluted base would be your best bet to neutralize it. Just make sure you rinse it off with some IPA or similar once you're done.
Adrian, two things: First, I will have you know I drove my wife bonkers as I was commenting at the screen trying to warn you about the rogue tantalums on the motherboard, as if you could hear me through the screen and in the past! 😂 Second, I love this and all your videos. They are relaxing and educational and have actually encouraged me to finally learn electronics and electronics repair specifically. I recently completed a class at a local community college that taught me how to solder and inspect boards to professional certification standards. Armed with that training and confidence from watching your videos, I was able to diagnose and repair a faulty Bluetooth speaker I had been given. My first actual successful repair! I would not have tried to learn and do if not for your videos making it look so easy. Thank you for all you do and your work preserving these vintage computers and electronics!
I'm all for twisting off those types of capacitors. I tried doing it the "sensible" way and it caused carnage to a CD32 motherboard. When I started twisting them loose there was no further damage. In fact, I think I discovered your channel by googling "surface mount electrolytic capacitor removal" and landing on one of your videos! 😊
So salty in this one, Adrian! It was great. I love these old Macs, My elementary school had tons of these in our computer labs and a couple of the "fat pizza box" PowerPC machines too. Then the single machine that was assigned to each classroom was usually an LCIII or something similar. Good memories of that startup sound (and the sad one, for that matter).
You've inspired me Adrian, I have a Centris 610 in storage that I picked up a few months ago - tested it at the time and confirmed it worked and booted and a quick visual inspection of the caps didn't really show any signs of leaking - so I put it aside for another day repair. But seeing your video now makes me thing I need to get those caps off quick smart! ;-) Thanks for the great content and especially love it when you do Apple stuff!
Don't wait too long! I have an LC II that I popped open and inspected all quick-like. Didn't notice any leaking, so I left it for a year or so. When I got back around to it later and took a little more thorough look, they were definitely leaking. I lost some pads on that one because the damage directly underneath was a lot worse than it seemed at first glance.
I can tell you, I have tried other methods, but damaged a board. I had to purchase a replacement board. Now I use your method. And now it works wonders. Let your friend know I am using his method and thanks for passing it along. And all I have to do is remove the original legs. That is extremely easy. Thank you for showing how to use it. I have seen you do many boards this way. I am part Canadian myself. But live in the USA. The winters in Canada are way too cold for me.
If there was one actor who could play you, it would be Will Ferrell. Not sure why I just thought that, but your voice, especially when you get a bit frustrated is a perfect match.
I'm with you, I've used the twist on about 100 boards and have not had a problem. You have to be really careful to collect the remnants of the cap's contacts though. I also use the dishwasher method.
Hi Adrian. I've been a fan of your channel for a long time! Especially enjoy your content on the TRS-80s and other Tandy devices. My boss in my first job out of high school holds the patent on a dial-up modem for the Coco. So I always send him your content on those machines and he gets a huge kick out of them. But seeing you boot up a machine with OS 7.5.3 was more my neighborhood! I had OS 7.5.3 on a 5260/100 that my mom bought me when I was 13. That was my first computer. And I still have it! Running OS 7.5.3! It was good to see the old machine working!
Thank you for the repeated details cap removal demonstration, I want to recap my Amiga 4000/040 and mostly that means those sorts of caps, so I'm very happy to have had the clear instructions. (I'm sure it's the "push down" part that's important and not doing that is probably why some people have bad experiences.)
Biggest difference between this and the Quadra 610 is the processor- this has a 68LC040 (which lacks the FPU) and the Quadra has the full-fleged 68040. The 68EC040 also lacks the MMU. I believe the clock oscillator is the one next to the NIC chip (NS DP83932 SONIC). The NCR 53C96 is the SCSI controller, one of the first single-chip SCSI controllers, which was designed in east Wichita, KS, about 25 miles from where I live. Speaking of brittle plastics, my Performa 636 has almost all of its plastics missing.
To clean flux and crust I use a vibrating (not rotating) "sonic toothbrush", I found in the dumpster. After wetting the location with isoprop it applies just the right amount of mechanical force to remove the crust like a charm.
There is a video comparing the different decapping methods, and it came to the same conclusion: Twisting or cutting them off is the most effective and much less prone to damage due to stray heat.
W/O even watching, this is my most favorite ADB video! My first computer love was my Centris 610 w/an Apple (Sony Trinitron) monitor and DOS card! Once in love, always in love... Still own it today
If you rip a pad with the twist method, that pad was toast anyway and needs to be epoxied. Heat causes way more damage than physical stress. To me, the twist method falls under the category of "oddly satisfying", and I had no trouble using it to recap my A1200. 8)
I agree that watching that cap removal intially pinged my "oh my god no" instinct. But as you demonstrate and your experience shows. Sometimes the best process does feel "wrong". We as people need to accept things that challenge or beliefs when there is sufficient evidence.
Wow, I loved this video 😃. More than one hour that flew in a moment! I mean, listen to you while watching you working is great, and as usual I’ve learnt a lot
Only problem with MLCC's is that the capacity at the rated voltage is not what it says. Sometimes is is less than 50% of this so if you use them ever use 50V+ types for recapping 16V ones.
That, and while not necessarily applicable in this application cracking can be an issue for boards prone to experiencing vibrations or bending forces. As well as microphonics in some specific cases. Oh! and if you happen to be using murata capacitors they have a wonderful web tool called simsurfing that lets you check the derated capacitance for any of their caps at the voltage, temperature and frequency you're using.
I had one. It didn't have a true 68040 but a 68LC040 which was missing the FPU. You could also overclock it to 24 Mhz by clipping the oscillator with a 12 Mhz one and disabling the stock 10 Mhz one by grounding one of the pins. Once you overclock the CPU. you can add a fan heatsink to the CPU. This made the machine 20% faster.
Fascinating to watch, especially in real time, rather than the usual sped up stuff. And, speaking as someone who lives in the country that the language is named after, it's Solder, not sodder. 🙂
I'm Canadian and been soldering since the mid 70s... and I pronounce it "sodder" :) I save all my old toothbrushes for cleaning flux and other gunk off boards. It works ok. btw, I had some anxiety as you were cleaning up the cap pads and moved your soldering iron tip over those video dimm sockets (until you put masking tape over them) ;)
HAHA! I need someone to slap my hand anytime I solder near SIMM slots without putting tape over them. And yeah, growing up everyone I knew said "sodder" too
Like MANY differences in pronunciation and word usage, Brits and Americans used to pronounce it the American way and then Brits changed their pronunciation later.
I like the 2 soldering iron method of removing those kind of caps. On a Symetrix 528E voice processor you do stand a good chance of tearing the pads off with the twist method but then those devices have possibly the worst built board I have ever seen. I have done dozens of them and after having to repair pads I'll just stick to the 2 soldering iron method. Love those little caps you have.
I was playing this video as background noise, like ASMR, while rearranging my back room to have a second desk which will be like an electronics workstation which I've loosely modeled on Adrian's bench setup. I'm not a trained electronics person or an expert, it's more of a decent spot for tinkering and learning electronics. Repurposing a really old computer to run linux mint and a 32" TV to use as the monitor for viewing pictures of PCB's, schematics and manuals.
Adrian, I also use the twist method to remove caps; I learned from your channel. I have removed hundreds of capacitors with no damaged traces. This method is both quick and effective. I applaud you in keeping on using it and showing it to your viewers.
10:25 - it's a great method and the removal is aided due to the leaking electrolyte as it corrodes the legs of the cap - this can be used as an indicator that the cap needed to be replaced. If it was a healthy cap, yes, there is a risk that you might lift the pads - if there is a suspected risk then consider cutting through the body of the cap and remove it that way. Cutting it down enough and removing all the plastic to reveal the legs will allow you to use solder braid or your preferred method of cleaning up the pads.
Love it. I have a 660AV which has caddy CD drive and full set of video ports in the back. My worst mistake was getting rid of my Quadra 605 FPU which was my first computer.
So cool, really inspiring. I have an old Sunspar v440 from the late 90's early 2000s, might just take that off the shelf in my garage and go over it? hehe thanks for all you do!!!!
This is a good template for me to get my dad's old Quadra 660AV running again. A while ago I opened it up (and snapped off one of the clips that kept the case on) I really didn't know know what to do from there. I now feel more compelled to see if I can do some maintenance before I try booting it up
@@adriansdigitalbasement2 If a mild acid works on that "salt" corrosion then I would try Citric Acid first. It's sold for sterilising equipment and is non toxic. If you buy it as crystals you can make your own strength of solution (dissolve in water) so it can be a weak or strong as you might wish 😀
Using amtech flux while soldering or desoldering or even reflowing an SMD componet makes a great difference. Also using a metal/fiber brush with 99% IPA will help a lot. I learned a lot from your channel but Alex is doing good also in his YT channel NorthridgeFix. Thanks for everything you teach us.
You are doing an excellent job Adrian, I have watched a lot of your videos the past few years, and I haven’t seen one single thing that I thought of as wrong. On the comments, UA-cam have a couple of times banned me for 24 hours for leaving normal comments without anything that should trigger the guidelines of the tube.
49:09 "So I dunno what these'd cost if you were to buy them" -- From the Digikey bag you showed us, they're Venkel 47uF 16V X5R-temperature 1210-sized caps, at $87 for a tape of 100, or $200 for a reel of 1000. If you need fewer, you'll need a different brand, but expect to pay between $0.50-$1.00 each.
I always thought the small, Centris line was an interesting one. It's run was at a time when Apple had (IMHO) far too many lines running at the same time - many of which were near identical, overlapping models. The Centris 610 and 650's had hints of the earlier snow white design with its similar, yet sculpted floppy drive (sans lips), but not quite like the later Quadra's. They were quicker than the '030 models they helped replace, but not as fast as the '040 models that were introduced only a few months after the Centris' debut. I don't know why, but I've always had a soft spot for the Centris Mac's.
I’d be interested to see what card you’re wanting to make a video about. Other than the usual expansion cards I can only think of the Apple iie PDS card for the LC series.
@55:51 Don't worry friends, that plastic piece with leads (spoiler, it's a SMD cap) that seems to fall out of the battery holder is caught at @57:38. Then makes a return at @1:01:36, the floor didn't eat it after all, don't worry it goes for a circuit board sleigh ride at @1:05:07 and is caught again.
I wonder if the board you're talking about ruining because of the solder in the socket could be resurrected with some solder wick around a very sharp knife tip? There are tips with basically razor blades on the ends of them. Still might be too tight, but it was the first thing I thought of and probably what I would have tried if it happened to me. Also, Vinegar. That will neutralize any of the corrosive cap juices (because they're alkaline) and the very mild acid of the vinegar will loosen it up, too. Let the vinegar sit for 15 or 20 minutes and then get a good, stiff toothbrush and scrub it. Should take the bulk of it off without damaging anything further. Clean as usual with soap/water/ipa and it should be good. Also, also, the different cap types aren't just a manufacturing thing. There are different characteristics for electrolytics vs ceramic vs tantalum, etc. The engineers who designed the board would have known that and chose each type based on what the circuit was doing. Now, _in practice_ for applications that aren't super sensitive, you can get away with switching them like this. But just know that there is a difference in how they function that will affect the circuit in subtle ways.
I enjoyed the video, particularly the bit about setting up the 7.5 system to boot on the HD. I have a couple of macs of this vintage, but never used them much.
I just finished bringing a Mac LC back to life, and recapping it. Similar situation, although I didn't twist the old caps off. I'm going to be using this method in future, thanks! Always trust what Mr. Carlson says :D
Having done numerous recaps myself using the twisting method, can confirm it works wonderfully. Sometimes you have to use sidecutters to shear the ends of the legs after the capacitor is twisted off so that the little plastic stand can be freed from the board as well, but that's about it.
anyone know what the component is that moves on the board between C11 and C12 when Adrian sets the board down at 1:01:40? Very top of the screen, just left of center.
6:30 - Leaking capacitors was not unique to Apple products of that era. Around 1999~2007 nearly all if not all electrolytic capacitors from Taiwan leaked - known as the "capacitor plague". This was considered likely due to incorrect electrolyte being used. It was suggested this was due to industrial espionage - where the incorrect/incomplete electrolyte formula was used. It impacted almost every manufacturer back in the day.
Hi Adrian, rosin based flux isn't corrosive. I've got an old radio, manufactured in 1939 in original shape, this was soldered using rosin based flux and there is neither corrosion or bad solder joints. The solder joints are still nice and shiny, when clean the dust away. The important thing is still using leaded tin for recapping. This has two advantages. On one hand you have very long lasting solder joints, on the other hand you have a lower melting point than lead free tin. So you don't burden the pads too much during soldering.
Static-free detailing brush can help get your neutraliser or isoprop into tight gaps between IC legs, as well as providing a gentle agitating - in combination with a qtip to mop up the slop seems helpful.
I love to see any work you do, wether it's recapping or other repairs and/or mods especially on Amigas as that's the computer I grew up with. Apples and Machintosh were the computers I primarily used in school. Remember using 5 1/4 inch floppies to play The Oregon Trail. Never got very far 😂.
Throughout my 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, I was always told to clean the rosin flux residue “ because it is corrosive”. I have seen many cards where the flux was clearly not cleaned, and I never saw corrosion on those spots. Still I clean flux residue because that is how I was taught.
It is corrosive, but it usually does not matter. What does matter more IMHO, is that rosin is sticky. And you can get a lot of dust and other buildup. Plus, it just looks bad. And i have heard (has not happened to me personally) is that rosin flux is slightly conductive, and can result in odd behavior. In short, clean your flux! It's just the right thing to do. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing correctly. ^-^
I found the video i was thinking about. It was the 8 bit guy, and he hand built an 8 bit computer kit, and it didn't work. Once he cleaned the flux residue, the board worked just fine. In short, an instructor i had a long time ago preached "cleanliness is the best way to ensure a good solder joint." And he wasn't lying. To the point that he'd have us clean the legs of through hole components with a paper wipe and alcohol. And you'd get residue when you did, so you could tell it was doing something. Same with the PCB pads, clean clean clean. This instructor taught the class to solder to NASA specs, which are super restrictive on what is a good solder joint and what isn't. As well as lead bend radius's, strain relief and other stuff.
@@jeromethiel4323 Solder 7 certification, also known as high reliability soldering. I was fortunate to take that and many other advanced certifications, being stationed at McClellan while there was a depot there. Many of those principles _could_ be taught in abbreviated form during tech school, but sadly are not.
![Adrian's Digital Basement ][](http://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AIdro_k7CrQRe71qN6c0Ua7A1P_I8KkxjqLa70u0zYeCvdvnKw=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
Your ability to "chat" with your audience as you do your work is amazing - it's almost like we're there with you having a conversation! Excellent YT skillset, Adrian.
Thanks!
The Bob Ross of retro computing UA-camrs.
@@adriansdigitalbasement2 Something I hate of the ceramic caps... is that they don't say the value😠... they should be laser engraved or something 🥺... next time you need to work in this board.. you will not have a way to tell the value of this caps🤷♀....
@@inrit Happy little capacitors?
i actually like to fall asleep to these videos lol
Hi Adrian,
According to my research, the so-called capacitor plague is caused by chemical decomposition of the electrolyte. Hydrogen gas is being formed, causing the safety valve to spew out whatever electrolyte is left in the capacitor. The electrolyte itself mainly consists of water, ethylene glycol and boric acid. Other types of acid or bases may be present too. From a chemists point of view: you should consider using a double treatment, first with a mild base like a solution of sodium carbonate (soda), followed by another treatment with a mild acid like white vinegar or even citric acid. Generally I would prefer citric acid over vinegar as citric acid is just more capable of complexing metal ions.
Would a product like Goo-Gone be safe to use on a PCB? I'd figure the citric acid in it would work as intended, but I'm not sure if it would remove any of the silk-screen or solder mask as well.
Most other videos I've seen like this use vinegar. I think since everyone pretty much has a jug of it laying around, and I'm guessing the metal ions aren't as much of the problem, as neutralizing the corrosiveness of the usually alkaline electrolyte. And as long as you don't neglect the vinegar and leave it on, it's pretty mild. I may also boil down to mileage may vary, I'm guessing different ppl have different solutions work for them. So it's highly likely someone out there prefers the citric acid method like you mention. So I guess, try each and see. LoL
What about the other way - I'd think it would be better to douse the thing in lemon juice first, then use baking soda to bring it back to pH neutral?
@@cobrag0318 Different people; different solutions, eh? I see what you did there.
@@tvtoms ohh actually wasn't intentional, but I'll take it. Lol. But I'm a firm believer in that sort of things. Some people find different things work better for themselves. If it's "stupid" but works, it's not stupid.
Adrian is the Bob Ross of recapping, the random chatting is great.
haha, i was thinking the same thing!
It's a happy little corroded capacitor.
that would mean that Mr Carlson is Mr Rogers
Find yourself an old board, and "beat the devil out of it"
Happy little Caps
FYI, If you replace electrolytic capacitors with ceramic capacitors you really should use ceramic capacitors that are rated for at least 2-3 times the voltage the capacitor will see. The reason is ceramic capacitors actually have lower capacitance the closer they get to their rated voltage. The loss of capacitance is often severe - 60% or more if they are operated near their rated voltage.
Using a capacitor rated for a higher voltage mitigates this by shifting the operating voltage further down so the capacitance ends up close to the expected value while in circuit.
Some manufacturers of ceramic capacitors (such as Murata) publish charts showing exactly how much the capacitance drops in relation to rated voltage and operating voltage for each model capacitor.
Yes. This effect is called DC Bias. You probably want something like a 25V ceramic cap for a 5V rail to avoid the DC Bias effect.
One other thing: please don't blindly substitute ceramic caps for electrolytics unless you know 100% that they are suitable for the circuit in question. Ceramic caps have effectively zero ESR, but some circuits will be reliant on the small ESR of an electrolytic cap to function properly. It might 'work', but in reality the circuit may be unstable or erratic (e.g. a linear voltage regulator oscillating, which may appear fine on a multimeter, but a 'scope will show is a hot mess).
Yup, I learned this lesson the hard way, ceramic caps capacitance goes down the closer you get to the rated working voltage, so you want much higher voltage versions to ensure they're actually large enough at whatever voltage they're operating at.
I was thinking the same thing. Most of the time it is fine to do this if you give good voltage rating headroom, but occasionally you can get burned and invite unwanted oscillations in the circuit.
I'm consistently impressed at how I can watch a video for more than an hour and be engrossed the entire time. It's so rare I find someone who can do that!
Heh thanks! Yeah I figured this video would be mostly “background” video for someone working on something else.
@@adriansdigitalbasement2 Nobody puts Adrian in the background 😊 I love your videos!
@@jbrown9742 I'd say he's half right, but that's not a bad thing. This video can used as background noise yet still be fascinating to listen to or see.
Twist and press down is the best way to remove those caps. Fully agree! Thanks for sharing
Totally agree. People that rip traces pull up on the caps when twisting, thats what's killing traces.
Nope, it's unprofessional and lazy. Shows he doesn't care he's adding structural damage to the board.
@@Breakfast_of_Champions 🤡
@@Breakfast_of_Championsso? It's a hobby. Does not have to be professional and it's good to be lazy then.
And it worked just fine!
@@Breakfast_of_Champions It never happened to him as he said, it's his stuff anyway and he's way more competent than David Murray for example
Intro "just a quick video"
😂😂
Love your long videos Adrian :) Always a highlight in the day when you upload 😀
Best wishes from the UK
While you're taping over the SIMM sockets, you might want to slap a piece on the CPU socket too if you're going to leave the CPU out while you're doing solder work on the board.
Thanks Adrian for the Centris 610 video and the full tutorial on your recapping process! No angry comments here.
The Centris to Quadra change was about 68LC040 to 68RC040. In other words, changing to ones with the FPU. In the case of the 610, they also increased the speed from underclocked 20MHz to the actual 25MHz the CPU was capable of. In the LC vs Quadra series such as LC 475/Quadra 605, there was the same pattern of LC vs RC model 040; FPU vs no FPU. In any case, I think the idea was that Macintosh LC series were supposed to be low end, and Quadras high-end, and Centris something in-between. That naming didn't live long, and they started with the Performa stuff shortly after. The clock oscillator is the G1/G2 or perhaps G5/G6, a 4-pin chip, it's just an SMD version of the common tin can oscillator. There used to be commercial clip-on accelerators that overclocked these, and it's one of the first Macs that were commonly overclocked. I had a Quadra 900 at the time and overclocked it to 33MHz. The actual Quadras (700/900/950) of this Centris era had all tantalum caps.
"Macintosh LC series were supposed to be low end" - It's even in the name: LC = Low Cost ;)
oh, and the oscillator OC was also popular on the mac IIsi as apple built the IIsi from the same spec parts as its higher clocked, more expensive brother, the IIci - so the IIsi could handle IIci speeds just as well as a real IIci.
The former owner of my IIsi had already swapped the original 40 MHz tin can for a 50 MHz one in a socket.
I've read that you can go up to 55 MHz before things start falling apart.
@@KenjiUmino Yes, but there were other crippling on the IIsi as well, such as the policy of making expansion slots a premium feature. Artificial product segmentation, and way too much of it was another core sin of Apple and many others at the time, which only led to them sabotaging their own products.
All this crippling of their own products (and the same within Commodore and Atari) led to the win of the lackluster PCs. If they had properly competed against each other and PCs instead of against their own artificial product segmentations of overpriced vs crippled products, history would've been different, because PC assemblers (calling them manufacturers would be too much) couldn't afford such crippling, and just went with the best bang for buck components at any given time.
That, and the fact that boomers were responsible for financial decisions such as which computers to buy for their companies or homes despite not understanding computers, so they bought the only brand they recognized such as IBM (compatibles). They also had weird ideas such as that good graphics and sound capabilities somehow made computers inferior, and dismissed such computers as "game computers".
This was also seen later in the 90s and even in the 2000s as giving kids some awful random old PC they salvaged from their work-place's junk bin as a "game computer" despite lacking any of such gaming features, such as sound or hi-res color graphics. Sure kid, go ahead and enjoy some PC games like Quake on this random 286 with Hercules graphics and sound capabilities comparable to a vacuum cleaner.
@@jammi__ I prefer to think of the IIsi as an SE/30 with an external monitor. Slightly faster, Used the same expansion cards, etc. I love mine. 🙂
@@dvpierce248 The SE/30 is of older design, it's a direct descendant of the IIx and lacks things like being 32-bit clean and the newer more integrated chipsets. The IIsi is just a crippled IIci, as if that required further crippling, yet there's also the LC that's even more crippled. The Classic OTOH is just a super integrated SE descendant, with just slight crippling.
Regardless, this kind of wasted R&D on internal intentional crippling of artificially produced models without achieving any significant actual cost reduction (more like cost increase due to extra manufacturing lines and the R&D and software support) is one of the things that was about to kill Apple and what killed Atari, Commodore and the likes. The competition after all was IBM PC clones rather than other products of the same company, and with so much competition between PC clone makes that there was no room for intentional criplling and the PCs were basically the sum of their components, like they still are.
I love these rambling videos. Would love to hear about your time in IT security and your thoughts about the future in that industry.
ooh that would be awesome!
I had an old 32" lcd tv that went bad. I opened it u and it had 3 bulging caps on the power board. i bought new ones and soldered them on and now it works again. I bought a cheap iron. I think I will do that again. It's all thanks to watching you and Noel and Necroware.
As someone who has recapped a lot of computers, TVs etc, I approve of this comment. Hope you'll end up repairing lots of things 😃 Another common fault on TVs is the backlights going bad, it's usually not too expensive or difficult to replace them.
Pro-tip for solder wick. Take the end between thumb and index of both hands and wiggle side to side along the thin profile. This will open up the weave of the wick, and it works better that way. When the wick is being made, the tension of the braiding machine will make the wires too close together, hampering the "wicking" action.
Also, while every solder wick i have ever used has rosin in it, add some liquid rosin to the braid before you apply it to the joint and heat.
I never used to believe in liquid flux, till i had to do some really challenging repairs. Now, i will only not use it if it's not available for some reason. It's easy mode, for sure.
I never thought to do it with my fingertips, I always struggled to get consistent splaying with two sets of tweezers 😅
@@kaitlyn__L Learned that trick from an 80 year old man back when i was a teenager. Solder wick wasn't even a thing when he started in electronics.
That old bastard taught me a ton of stuff i never realized was gold, until i was much older. For instance, how to solder. I owe my soldering skills to that man.
Sadly, i am way out of practice, but i expect to remedy that very soon.
@@jeromethiel4323 that’s great! I learned to solder in electrical engineering class, but only the teacher was allowed the expensive wick. We all had to make do with awful solder suckers! (And cheap, uncooperative solder!)
@@kaitlyn__L I have used every de-soldering mechanism known to man. One of the best, is the silly soldering iron with the red rubber ball on top and a hollow tip.
It takes a ton of practice to get good with it, but when you do, it's amazing at de-soldering through hole components. The control you get over the suction makes all the difference. Plus you can use the hollow tip to wiggle leads to break any last little bit of solder holding on down in a plated through hole.
But nothing beats solder wick for just mopping up extra solder on PCB pads.
@@jeromethiel4323 I’ll have to look into that! I only see people comparing suckers, wick, and high-power (and high-cost!) desoldering stations. Kind of sounds like it’s a manual-pumped version of the latter? But also more compact and cheaper. Which sounds right up my alley - I don’t do enough soldering to warrant a full station, but I’m starting to do enough again that wick is beginning to feel excessive.
I like to use the "twist method" to remove processors. I live on the edge.
LOL!!
Try putting a drop of flux on the solder wick, as well as the item being desoldered. Most solder wick comes prepped with a coating of solid flux, but the addition of a drop of liquid rosin flux on the wick really helps remove oxidation in the wick, and makes superb capillary action occur.
Take that "This Does Not Compute" !!
There's no perfect way to take those evil corrosive buggers off, we all just do what works best for us.
I recently recapped an Amiga 600 and the electrolyte had worked it's way underneath surface mounted passives. It's a big worry that without removing everything there might still be corrosion happening.
Love listening to you rambling!
I just recapped a SE/30 board (not on video) and it's unbelievable how bad it looked. You couldn't even see the pads it -- I wouldn't even tell if they were there or not! But with a bit of work I was able to save it. I'll need to make a little Patreon video showing the before and after as I did take some pictures at least.
This is completely wrong. You’re supposed to lift the caps off with a levitation spell and use melted gummy bears for flux. Duh
In regard of replacing electrolitics with ceramics, or perhaps film or tantalums, be aware that different sorts of caps mostly are chosen for their properties. A electrolitic performs different on higher frequencies than a ceramic. Though it often is not really critical, it is wise to review the function of the cap before changing the type.
It's always best to replace type with type for that reason. Except when you know for sure that the specific properties of the cap don't matter, but even then type with type is best.
This video has made me realize that it's absurd that I'm intimidated by recapping a board when I've built several keyboards using SMD diodes.
Yeah, as some others here have suggested, an old toothbrush and some IPA is perfect for cleaning PCBs from all sorts of gunk :) Also, there is never too much flux when it comes to deoxidizing pads :) You can always wash it away when you're happy with it
Can't say I've EVER tried this personally, but I've read that the salts left by the electrolyte are polar and a polar solvent should be used. From what I've read, distilled or deionized water is best. Just soak the board in distilled or deionized water and wait for the salts to dissolve, then clean with an old toothbrush and bake the board to dry it (110F). I also read that a pencil eraser can help scrub the salts off. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out. I don't have any boards from that generation that need recapped, so I can't do my own experimenting. BTW: the previous commenters were right. 'Quick' and 'super mini' don't really apply here. 🤣
That's interesting! What I find is that the salts appear after I wash the board -- so perhaps scrubbing it first with just distilled water is the way to go before using any soap?
I was wondering if vinegar would help remove the salts and any corrosion that might be present.
I wish I had known this removal method earlier. Recapped an SE 30 back in 2013 and had to rebuild some traces. This is amazing! Also the ceramic capacitors tip is gold! Thank you for this amazing video!
The Bob Ross of ancient computers. "That happy little capacitor lives right there."
Hey Adrian just wanted to say thank you for making a video like this. As someone who is very much an amateur solderer (my only experience has come from youtube videos over the past year), having this sort of step by step process is super helpful. Although some might complain about it being a repetitive video and thus less entertaining, this is perfect for someone like me who is trying to improve/refine techniques. I will be trying out the twist method the next time I have to do a recap. Any similar "tutorial" videos in the future when it comes to technical work like this will be very much appreciated.
I'd recommend baking soda or, ta-da, Windex to clean the electrolyte crusties. One of the more common electrolytes in those caps is boric acid, so a diluted base would be your best bet to neutralize it. Just make sure you rinse it off with some IPA or similar once you're done.
Some stores sell a cheap dilute ammonia solution in their cleaning aisle, that would be ideal for getting rid of electrolyte crust.
Adrian, two things:
First, I will have you know I drove my wife bonkers as I was commenting at the screen trying to warn you about the rogue tantalums on the motherboard, as if you could hear me through the screen and in the past! 😂
Second, I love this and all your videos. They are relaxing and educational and have actually encouraged me to finally learn electronics and electronics repair specifically.
I recently completed a class at a local community college that taught me how to solder and inspect boards to professional certification standards. Armed with that training and confidence from watching your videos, I was able to diagnose and repair a faulty Bluetooth speaker I had been given. My first actual successful repair!
I would not have tried to learn and do if not for your videos making it look so easy. Thank you for all you do and your work preserving these vintage computers and electronics!
I have been in the field for 50 + years. There's nothing wrong with your process!
I'm all for twisting off those types of capacitors. I tried doing it the "sensible" way and it caused carnage to a CD32 motherboard. When I started twisting them loose there was no further damage. In fact, I think I discovered your channel by googling "surface mount electrolytic capacitor removal" and landing on one of your videos! 😊
So salty in this one, Adrian! It was great. I love these old Macs, My elementary school had tons of these in our computer labs and a couple of the "fat pizza box" PowerPC machines too. Then the single machine that was assigned to each classroom was usually an LCIII or something similar. Good memories of that startup sound (and the sad one, for that matter).
I thought you were going to talk about the electrolytes!😂
Haha Mr Carlson's lab it feels like back to school learning electronics.. I love to watch his videos about his restoration and the explainations..
You've inspired me Adrian, I have a Centris 610 in storage that I picked up a few months ago - tested it at the time and confirmed it worked and booted and a quick visual inspection of the caps didn't really show any signs of leaking - so I put it aside for another day repair. But seeing your video now makes me thing I need to get those caps off quick smart! ;-) Thanks for the great content and especially love it when you do Apple stuff!
I tend the remove the caps and wash the board even if I don’t have time to finish the recap … I’d rather is not keep corroding away while in storage.
Don't wait too long! I have an LC II that I popped open and inspected all quick-like. Didn't notice any leaking, so I left it for a year or so. When I got back around to it later and took a little more thorough look, they were definitely leaking. I lost some pads on that one because the damage directly underneath was a lot worse than it seemed at first glance.
I can tell you, I have tried other methods, but damaged a board. I had to purchase a replacement board. Now I use your method. And now it works wonders. Let your friend know I am using his method and thanks for passing it along. And all I have to do is remove the original legs. That is extremely easy. Thank you for showing how to use it. I have seen you do many boards this way. I am part Canadian myself. But live in the USA. The winters in Canada are way too cold for me.
If there was one actor who could play you, it would be Will Ferrell. Not sure why I just thought that, but your voice, especially when you get a bit frustrated is a perfect match.
Super Shammy! My dad used to have a bag of those on his workbench when he was repairing VCRs!
UA-cam Video of the Year! So helpful.
I totally agree that twisting the caps is the best method.
That scan converter does sometimes identify 640x480 as 1280x480 ...
I have spent 1.5 hrs watching this... and i am now late for work!! Thank you so much!! 🙂 Awesome vid.
Don't let the haters get you down, Adrian!
I'm with you, I've used the twist on about 100 boards and have not had a problem. You have to be really careful to collect the remnants of the cap's contacts though. I also use the dishwasher method.
I find that extra-firm toothbrushes do well to clean flux using IPA. I've had good results from a pack of bamboo toothbrushes I got from amazon.
Hi Adrian. I've been a fan of your channel for a long time! Especially enjoy your content on the TRS-80s and other Tandy devices. My boss in my first job out of high school holds the patent on a dial-up modem for the Coco. So I always send him your content on those machines and he gets a huge kick out of them. But seeing you boot up a machine with OS 7.5.3 was more my neighborhood! I had OS 7.5.3 on a 5260/100 that my mom bought me when I was 13. That was my first computer. And I still have it! Running OS 7.5.3!
It was good to see the old machine working!
Thank you for the repeated details cap removal demonstration, I want to recap my Amiga 4000/040 and mostly that means those sorts of caps, so I'm very happy to have had the clear instructions. (I'm sure it's the "push down" part that's important and not doing that is probably why some people have bad experiences.)
Biggest difference between this and the Quadra 610 is the processor- this has a 68LC040 (which lacks the FPU) and the Quadra has the full-fleged 68040. The 68EC040 also lacks the MMU. I believe the clock oscillator is the one next to the NIC chip (NS DP83932 SONIC). The NCR 53C96 is the SCSI controller, one of the first single-chip SCSI controllers, which was designed in east Wichita, KS, about 25 miles from where I live.
Speaking of brittle plastics, my Performa 636 has almost all of its plastics missing.
French Mac"s here are thanking you for the video. WE LOVE YOU
To clean flux and crust I use a vibrating (not rotating) "sonic toothbrush", I found in the dumpster. After wetting the location with isoprop it applies just the right amount of mechanical force to remove the crust like a charm.
There is a video comparing the different decapping methods, and it came to the same conclusion: Twisting or cutting them off is the most effective and much less prone to damage due to stray heat.
Thanks for the creator comments on comments, Adrian. Insightful.
W/O even watching, this is my most favorite ADB video!
My first computer love was my Centris 610 w/an Apple (Sony Trinitron) monitor and DOS card! Once in love, always in love... Still own it today
If you rip a pad with the twist method, that pad was toast anyway and needs to be epoxied. Heat causes way more damage than physical stress. To me, the twist method falls under the category of "oddly satisfying", and I had no trouble using it to recap my A1200. 8)
I think that Epitronics uses Vinegar to neutralize those crystals from Cap/Battery leachate.
This is Great Info... I'm about ready to re-cap on my SE/30..
I agree that watching that cap removal intially pinged my "oh my god no" instinct. But as you demonstrate and your experience shows. Sometimes the best process does feel "wrong". We as people need to accept things that challenge or beliefs when there is sufficient evidence.
Wow, I loved this video 😃. More than one hour that flew in a moment! I mean, listen to you while watching you working is great, and as usual I’ve learnt a lot
Only problem with MLCC's is that the capacity at the rated voltage is not what it says. Sometimes is is less than 50% of this so if you use them ever use 50V+ types for recapping 16V ones.
That, and while not necessarily applicable in this application cracking can be an issue for boards prone to experiencing vibrations or bending forces. As well as microphonics in some specific cases.
Oh! and if you happen to be using murata capacitors they have a wonderful web tool called simsurfing that lets you check the derated capacitance for any of their caps at the voltage, temperature and frequency you're using.
I had one. It didn't have a true 68040 but a 68LC040 which was missing the FPU. You could also overclock it to 24 Mhz by clipping the oscillator with a 12 Mhz one and disabling the stock 10 Mhz one by grounding one of the pins. Once you overclock the CPU. you can add a fan heatsink to the CPU. This made the machine 20% faster.
Fascinating to watch, especially in real time, rather than the usual sped up stuff. And, speaking as someone who lives in the country that the language is named after, it's Solder, not sodder. 🙂
I'm Canadian and been soldering since the mid 70s... and I pronounce it "sodder" :) I save all my old toothbrushes for cleaning flux and other gunk off boards. It works ok. btw, I had some anxiety as you were cleaning up the cap pads and moved your soldering iron tip over those video dimm sockets (until you put masking tape over them) ;)
HAHA! I need someone to slap my hand anytime I solder near SIMM slots without putting tape over them. And yeah, growing up everyone I knew said "sodder" too
How do you pronounce colder, folder and holder?
@@Okurka.How do you pronounce could, would or half?
Like MANY differences in pronunciation and word usage, Brits and Americans used to pronounce it the American way and then Brits changed their pronunciation later.
Perfect examples that show you can't try to make sense of the english language :)
I like the 2 soldering iron method of removing those kind of caps. On a Symetrix 528E voice processor you do stand a good chance of tearing the pads off with the twist method but then those devices have possibly the worst built board I have ever seen. I have done dozens of them and after having to repair pads I'll just stick to the 2 soldering iron method. Love those little caps you have.
I think we had one of these in the desktop publishing lab when I was in high school. Neat to see!
I was playing this video as background noise, like ASMR, while rearranging my back room to have a second desk which will be like an electronics workstation which I've loosely modeled on Adrian's bench setup. I'm not a trained electronics person or an expert, it's more of a decent spot for tinkering and learning electronics.
Repurposing a really old computer to run linux mint and a 32" TV to use as the monitor for viewing pictures of PCB's, schematics and manuals.
I love your enthusiasm!
Adrian, I also use the twist method to remove caps; I learned from your channel. I have removed hundreds of capacitors with no damaged traces. This method is both quick and effective. I applaud you in keeping on using it and showing it to your viewers.
Fully agree about the method you use to remove these caps. It's always worked for me.
Great job you did Adrian! Thankx for sharing with us. Greetings from Steven from the Netherlands
10:25 - it's a great method and the removal is aided due to the leaking electrolyte as it corrodes the legs of the cap - this can be used as an indicator that the cap needed to be replaced. If it was a healthy cap, yes, there is a risk that you might lift the pads - if there is a suspected risk then consider cutting through the body of the cap and remove it that way. Cutting it down enough and removing all the plastic to reveal the legs will allow you to use solder braid or your preferred method of cleaning up the pads.
i really enjoy this video format, it's like a vlog/podcast but interesting.
Love it. I have a 660AV which has caddy CD drive and full set of video ports in the back.
My worst mistake was getting rid of my Quadra 605 FPU which was my first computer.
Love the video. Love that you tell so many good things and stories. Love your content. Thank you very much!
So cool, really inspiring. I have an old Sunspar v440 from the late 90's early 2000s, might just take that off the shelf in my garage and go over it? hehe thanks for all you do!!!!
love theese chillax videos Adrian!
This is a good template for me to get my dad's old Quadra 660AV running again. A while ago I opened it up (and snapped off one of the clips that kept the case on) I really didn't know know what to do from there. I now feel more compelled to see if I can do some maintenance before I try booting it up
I always put a little solder on both pads is what Im doing wrong so youre method is awesome
cleaning vinegar neutralizes the electrolyte and loosens the salt. followup by cleaning with IPA to remove residues.
So like the regular white vinegar?
@@adriansdigitalbasement2 If a mild acid works on that "salt" corrosion then I would try Citric Acid first. It's sold for sterilising equipment and is non toxic. If you buy it as crystals you can make your own strength of solution (dissolve in water) so it can be a weak or strong as you might wish 😀
@adriansdigitalbasement2 yes ordinary white vinegar will work. Cleaning vinegar is slightly stronger, but shouldn't make much difference.
Using amtech flux while soldering or desoldering or even reflowing an SMD componet makes a great difference. Also using a metal/fiber brush with 99% IPA will help a lot. I learned a lot from your channel but Alex is doing good also in his YT channel NorthridgeFix. Thanks for everything you teach us.
You are doing an excellent job Adrian, I have watched a lot of your videos the past few years, and I haven’t seen one single thing that I thought of as wrong. On the comments, UA-cam have a couple of times banned me for 24 hours for leaving normal comments without anything that should trigger the guidelines of the tube.
49:09 "So I dunno what these'd cost if you were to buy them" -- From the Digikey bag you showed us, they're Venkel 47uF 16V X5R-temperature 1210-sized caps, at $87 for a tape of 100, or $200 for a reel of 1000. If you need fewer, you'll need a different brand, but expect to pay between $0.50-$1.00 each.
I always thought the small, Centris line was an interesting one. It's run was at a time when Apple had (IMHO) far too many lines running at the same time - many of which were near identical, overlapping models. The Centris 610 and 650's had hints of the earlier snow white design with its similar, yet sculpted floppy drive (sans lips), but not quite like the later Quadra's. They were quicker than the '030 models they helped replace, but not as fast as the '040 models that were introduced only a few months after the Centris' debut. I don't know why, but I've always had a soft spot for the Centris Mac's.
I’d be interested to see what card you’re wanting to make a video about. Other than the usual expansion cards I can only think of the Apple iie PDS card for the LC series.
Like long videos and like repair. Love your channel from Sweden 😊
@55:51 Don't worry friends, that plastic piece with leads (spoiler, it's a SMD cap) that seems to fall out of the battery holder is caught at @57:38.
Then makes a return at @1:01:36, the floor didn't eat it after all, don't worry it goes for a circuit board sleigh ride at @1:05:07 and is caught again.
Haha yeah and guess what, they are still sitting on my bench! There was actually 4 of them floating around haha.
Movie length Adrian,,,, Freakin' awesome !!!
I wonder if the board you're talking about ruining because of the solder in the socket could be resurrected with some solder wick around a very sharp knife tip? There are tips with basically razor blades on the ends of them. Still might be too tight, but it was the first thing I thought of and probably what I would have tried if it happened to me.
Also, Vinegar. That will neutralize any of the corrosive cap juices (because they're alkaline) and the very mild acid of the vinegar will loosen it up, too. Let the vinegar sit for 15 or 20 minutes and then get a good, stiff toothbrush and scrub it. Should take the bulk of it off without damaging anything further. Clean as usual with soap/water/ipa and it should be good.
Also, also, the different cap types aren't just a manufacturing thing. There are different characteristics for electrolytics vs ceramic vs tantalum, etc. The engineers who designed the board would have known that and chose each type based on what the circuit was doing. Now, _in practice_ for applications that aren't super sensitive, you can get away with switching them like this. But just know that there is a difference in how they function that will affect the circuit in subtle ways.
Hey, like a surgeon! Love it 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
I enjoyed the video, particularly the bit about setting up the 7.5 system to boot on the HD. I have a couple of macs of this vintage, but never used them much.
Amazing Sassy video. You rock!🎉
Whoehoee Adrian again :) :) Always looking forward to this.
Great topic!
i love the long vids thank you Adrian for posting
Try using a baking soda/ water mixture for cleaning your board i know it works excellent with batteries.
Oh man this is awesome. I have this exact model that I've been needing to recap
I'm saving this video somehow
I just finished bringing a Mac LC back to life, and recapping it. Similar situation, although I didn't twist the old caps off. I'm going to be using this method in future, thanks! Always trust what Mr. Carlson says :D
Having done numerous recaps myself using the twisting method, can confirm it works wonderfully.
Sometimes you have to use sidecutters to shear the ends of the legs after the capacitor is twisted off so that the little plastic stand can be freed from the board as well, but that's about it.
anyone know what the component is that moves on the board between C11 and C12 when Adrian sets the board down at 1:01:40? Very top of the screen, just left of center.
ha, it was a stray capacitor. it falls off the board at 1:05
Loving the 'sassy' cap removal well explained and why.
TRIGGERED!!! ;) I've used the same method for years without issue as well.
6:30 - Leaking capacitors was not unique to Apple products of that era. Around 1999~2007 nearly all if not all electrolytic capacitors from Taiwan leaked - known as the "capacitor plague". This was considered likely due to incorrect electrolyte being used. It was suggested this was due to industrial espionage - where the incorrect/incomplete electrolyte formula was used. It impacted almost every manufacturer back in the day.
Hi Adrian, rosin based flux isn't corrosive. I've got an old radio, manufactured in 1939 in original shape, this was soldered using rosin based flux and there is neither corrosion or bad solder joints. The solder joints are still nice and shiny, when clean the dust away. The important thing is still using leaded tin for recapping. This has two advantages. On one hand you have very long lasting solder joints, on the other hand you have a lower melting point than lead free tin. So you don't burden the pads too much during soldering.
Static-free detailing brush can help get your neutraliser or isoprop into tight gaps between IC legs, as well as providing a gentle agitating - in combination with a qtip to mop up the slop seems helpful.
I love to see any work you do, wether it's recapping or other repairs and/or mods especially on Amigas as that's the computer I grew up with. Apples and Machintosh were the computers I primarily used in school. Remember using 5 1/4 inch floppies to play The Oregon Trail. Never got very far 😂.
Throughout my 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, I was always told to clean the rosin flux residue “ because it is corrosive”. I have seen many cards where the flux was clearly not cleaned, and I never saw corrosion on those spots. Still I clean flux residue because that is how I was taught.
It is corrosive, but it usually does not matter. What does matter more IMHO, is that rosin is sticky. And you can get a lot of dust and other buildup. Plus, it just looks bad. And i have heard (has not happened to me personally) is that rosin flux is slightly conductive, and can result in odd behavior.
In short, clean your flux! It's just the right thing to do. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing correctly. ^-^
I found the video i was thinking about. It was the 8 bit guy, and he hand built an 8 bit computer kit, and it didn't work. Once he cleaned the flux residue, the board worked just fine.
In short, an instructor i had a long time ago preached "cleanliness is the best way to ensure a good solder joint." And he wasn't lying. To the point that he'd have us clean the legs of through hole components with a paper wipe and alcohol. And you'd get residue when you did, so you could tell it was doing something. Same with the PCB pads, clean clean clean.
This instructor taught the class to solder to NASA specs, which are super restrictive on what is a good solder joint and what isn't. As well as lead bend radius's, strain relief and other stuff.
@@jeromethiel4323 Solder 7 certification, also known as high reliability soldering. I was fortunate to take that and many other advanced certifications, being stationed at McClellan while there was a depot there. Many of those principles _could_ be taught in abbreviated form during tech school, but sadly are not.