Well that's just bloody typical!!!

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rubber_jonnie
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Well that's just bloody typical!!!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

We got in late last night, gone midnight, so didn't do a lot other than go to bed and sleep.

I woke up this morning and headed down to make a cuppa, and on the way past my wife's study, went to power on her PC.

Or not as it turned our :pullhair: :pullhair:

The power light just flashed, the fan would spin up and down and the power light on the USB powered speakers was pulsing too. I'm thinking dead PSU, trouble is it's a slimline one in a low profile case.

OK, so I get a spare PSU and it powers up to the BIOS screen, so good.

I popped the top off the PSU and had a look for anything obvious and found this fella with a bit of a dome:

IMG20240713132456.jpg
IMG20240713132456.jpg (119.75 KiB) Viewed 463 times

So pulled it out, and it's this:

IMG20240713144559.jpg
IMG20240713144559.jpg (108.08 KiB) Viewed 463 times

So let's test:

IMG20240713144418.jpg
IMG20240713144418.jpg (191.36 KiB) Viewed 463 times

OK, so you're not capacitoring as advertised then!

I'm assuming it was a 'starter' cap for the PSU, but had failed over time and didn't reveal itself until we went away and switched off, and since the machine is normally left running we wouldn't have noticed until we'd powered it off.

Luckily I had some identical replacements and replacing it did the trick. No obvious issues with any of the other caps, but this one looked like it was in a warm spot.

Anyway, she's happy now so that's all good.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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stephen_usher
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Re: Well that's just bloody typical!!!

Post by stephen_usher »

Ah, yes. the great capacitor death isn't over yet.
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Well that's just bloody typical!!!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2024 6:18 pm Ah, yes. the great capacitor death isn't over yet.
No. No it isn't
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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exxos
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Re: Well that's just bloody typical!!!

Post by exxos »

I think electronics goes into a sulk when you don't use it for a few days. It gets jealous and makes sure you don't leave it unattended again..
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Well that's just bloody typical!!!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

exxos wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2024 11:47 pm I think electronics goes into a sulk when you don't use it for a few days. It gets jealous and makes sure you don't leave it unattended again..
Very true in this case...
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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