Anyone in the UK know how to replace capacitors in a VCR?

[Master Tape]

Hoping to find someone based in the UK that can replace all the capacitors inside my Panasonic VCR and DVD Recorder. Will be paid for their services of course.

[timtape]

Generally in electronic devices only certain capacitors need replacing, the "electrolytic" types, including some tantalums and perhaps one or two mains rated "X" capacitors. Replacing other capacitors known to not have these particular problems would probably not be justified. We can prolong the life of the problem capacitors by switching off the device at the wall when not in use, instead of leaving these devices in "standby mode".

[Master Tape]

Interesting, so not many would need replacing? Would this be a fairly straight forward thing to do on your own with a soldering iron with no prior experience?

[Subtitles]

Interesting, so not many would need replacing? Would this be a fairly straight forward thing to do on your own with a soldering iron with no prior experience?

Definitely not.
First of all you will need to identify the capacitors that need replacement and order new replacements, preferably with an unexpired date code.
Secondly, not all the capacitors would be through Hole some might be soldered to the board/boards using SMT/SMD technology.
If you have never dealt with replacing an SMD component, then you can spend time learning how to do that and buy the necessary equipment.
I fear if you try DIY, then you can kiss your VCR good buy.

[Master Tape]

Interesting, so not many would need replacing? Would this be a fairly straight forward thing to do on your own with a soldering iron with no prior experience?

Definitely not.
First of all you will need to identify the capacitors that need replacement and order new replacements, preferably with an unexpired date code.
Secondly, not all the capacitors would be through Hole some might be soldered to the board/boards using SMT/SMD technology.
If you have never dealt with replacing an SMD component, then you can spend time learning how to do that and buy the necessary equipment.
I fear if you try DIY, then you can kiss your VCR good buy.

Ah, yeah this is what i'm worried about and would rather find someone who knows what they're doing. I don't want to accidently break my good VCR.

[Sharc]

Do you have clear indications that your VCR and DVD recorder have bad capacitors at all?

[Master Tape]

Do you have clear indications that your VCR and DVD recorder have bad capacitors at all?

Well i've been getting bad rising whites with some tapes, which i put down to bad caps. It's relatively neutral at first, but after the machine has been on for 20 minutes it gets much worse. And herringbone noise too in bright colours such as the reds. I have an identical machine where it's even worse (that machine was in storage for a long time, so the caps have most likely dried on that too)

The DVD recorder has bad cheap caps to begin with, and makes the herringbone noise worse.

These machines are all over 20 years old, so aging caps is a factor aswell.

Is there a way to tell visually in what caps have gone bad and need replaced?

[timtape]

You mentioned "replace all the capacitors" hence my comments. Normally techs check some cap types visually for swelling or leakage of electrolyte, but also with an ESR meter. But you probably need someone who knows how to diagnose the cause of the picture faults down to component level.

[cholla]

I have only replaced 3 capacitors on a motherboard .
This was a problem with this model PC.
So the diagnosis was already made by others with the problem.
I could tell because the tops of the capacitors were domed.
They were supposed to be flat.
Some had problems with them leaking also but Mine were not leaking.
The replacement capacitors had flat tops.
It was a fairly easy soldering job.
If this is a DIY project.
I recommend getting a vacuum solder remover.
Then a good quality "pencil" type soldering tool.
Be careful not to use too much solder.
Get the fine or small wire size solder with resin.

[betwixt]

Having over half a century of experience in this field, I would say checking capacitors visually is not a reliable method. An ESR meter is far better but you have to measure the capacitors out of circuit, in other words remove them to test them. In almost all cases it is cheaper to replace them all than spend hours removing them and testing them individually. Usually, but not always, heat is the cause of failure so ones in the power supply section are the first to suspect. Electrolytic capacitors contain traces of liquid (the electrolyte that gives them their name) and imperfect sealing of the can allows them to dry out, the warmer they are the faster they dry.

Domed tops is an obvious sign of failure, it happens when internal gassing occurs and builds up pressure inside the can. The tops are deliberately weakened by design so they expand rather than explode. It usually works but sometimes there is a mess to clean up!

To remove physically bigger capacitors you need quite a big soldering iron, a pencil type will not provide enough heat to melt the solder, especially if the pin is soldered to a large expanse of copper or the connection is to tracks on both sides of the board. If you don't provide enough heat the solder wont liquefy and you risk tearing the plating from the hole in the board. Often the legs of capacitors are splayed slightly during manufacture to 'lock' them in position, a trick is to use pliers or small wire cutters to gently bend them straight before un-soldering so the wires lift cleanly through the holes.

On more modern equipment, some of the capacitors will be surface mounted (no wires, they solder to the component side of the PCB only), these can be hard to remove without damaging them and you need a hot air soldering tool to remove them. Not for the feint hearted!

Brian.

[Sharc]

Is there a way to tell visually in what caps have gone bad and need replaced?

You can find a lot of info about it by googling for "capacitor plague". A gradual deterioration over time due to "normal aging" will however not be visible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

[Master Tape]

Having over half a century of experience in this field, I would say checking capacitors visually is not a reliable method. An ESR meter is far better but you have to measure the capacitors out of circuit, in other words remove them to test them. In almost all cases it is cheaper to replace them all than spend hours removing them and testing them individually. Usually, but not always, heat is the cause of failure so ones in the power supply section are the first to suspect. Electrolytic capacitors contain traces of liquid (the electrolyte that gives them their name) and imperfect sealing of the can allows them to dry out, the warmer they are the faster they dry.

Domed tops is an obvious sign of failure, it happens when internal gassing occurs and builds up pressure inside the can. The tops are deliberately weakened by design so they expand rather than explode. It usually works but sometimes there is a mess to clean up!

To remove physically bigger capacitors you need quite a big soldering iron, a pencil type will not provide enough heat to melt the solder, especially if the pin is soldered to a large expanse of copper or the connection is to tracks on both sides of the board. If you don't provide enough heat the solder wont liquefy and you risk tearing the plating from the hole in the board. Often the legs of capacitors are splayed slightly during manufacture to 'lock' them in position, a trick is to use pliers or small wire cutters to gently bend them straight before un-soldering so the wires lift cleanly through the holes.

On more modern equipment, some of the capacitors will be surface mounted (no wires, they solder to the component side of the PCB only), these can be hard to remove without damaging them and you need a hot air soldering tool to remove them. Not for the feint hearted!

Brian.

I was thinking of just replacing them all too, considering how old they are now. And wouldn't hurt to have a better brand of caps.

Hopefully i'll find someone soon.

[JVRaines]

Betwixt gave you the best advice. It takes longer to remove and test caps than to simply replace them. And they are (generally) quite cheap. So it is far more economical to replace all of them in an old circuit board, unless you are dealing with something quite unusual.