palmer@whistler.sfu.ca (Leigh Palmer) (04/05/91)
Well, I did it. My Mac+ exploded for the second time (it's old and used to be a Fat Mac) giving off a great cloud of pungent smoke. Having paid $160 (Canadian) for a board swap last time, I vowed to have a go at fixing the beast this time, in the old fashioned way: replace only what's broken! It turned out to be a bipolar electrolytic capacitor at the top of the board, and I didn't even have to pull the board to replace it, though a satisfactory substitute component (4 mfd @ 50V versus the old 3.9 mfd @ 25V) was more difficult to locate in the limited selection of stores we have here. It cost $1.70 including tax, a 99% saving! There is also the rush attendant to fixing something onesself which is worth even more than the money saved, in my opinion. The smoke was vaporized RTV silicone potting material which had been vaporized in the blowout of the cap. If you get a similar etiology in the demise of your Mac+ (screen first starts to shrink horizontally, then POOF! you might try the same solution. Oh, yes: I saved the old component - to solder back in in case I ever really do need a board swap!