Game Gear Capacitors

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17daysolderthannes
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Game Gear Capacitors

Post by 17daysolderthannes » Sun May 24, 2009 4:47 pm

OK, so I'm finally done with class for the summer so I have some more time and I want to re-cap my Game Gears as they are quickly nearing death (they switch themselves off if you don't turn the brightness all the way down and wait a few seconds before turning it up). I know there's a how-to online listing the capacitors, but I don't know very much about the industrial availability of capacitors. Do capacitors of the same capacitance come in different sizes? How will I know if I am ordering capacitors that will physically fit when I put the case back together? If someone could help inform me on the ins and outs of buying capacitors for this job, I would greatly appreciate it. I've done plenty of soldering so that won't be a problem, and I have 2 game gears (one with a bum d-pad) so I can afford to mess up one in a worst-case scenario.

this is the how-to if you want to know what I'm talking about:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ ... epair.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

nevermind1534
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Re: Game Gear Capacitors

Post by nevermind1534 » Sun May 24, 2009 5:18 pm

17daysolderthannes wrote:OK, so I'm finally done with class for the summer so I have some more time and I want to re-cap my Game Gears as they are quickly nearing death (they switch themselves off if you don't turn the brightness all the way down and wait a few seconds before turning it up). I know there's a how-to online listing the capacitors, but I don't know very much about the industrial availability of capacitors. Do capacitors of the same capacitance come in different sizes? How will I know if I am ordering capacitors that will physically fit when I put the case back together? If someone could help inform me on the ins and outs of buying capacitors for this job, I would greatly appreciate it. I've done plenty of soldering so that won't be a problem, and I have 2 game gears (one with a bum d-pad) so I can afford to mess up one in a worst-case scenario.

this is the how-to if you want to know what I'm talking about:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ ... epair.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They do come in different sizes. You'll know if you measure them.
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17daysolderthannes
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Re: Game Gear Capacitors

Post by 17daysolderthannes » Sun May 24, 2009 10:40 pm

nevermind1534 wrote:
17daysolderthannes wrote:OK, so I'm finally done with class for the summer so I have some more time and I want to re-cap my Game Gears as they are quickly nearing death (they switch themselves off if you don't turn the brightness all the way down and wait a few seconds before turning it up). I know there's a how-to online listing the capacitors, but I don't know very much about the industrial availability of capacitors. Do capacitors of the same capacitance come in different sizes? How will I know if I am ordering capacitors that will physically fit when I put the case back together? If someone could help inform me on the ins and outs of buying capacitors for this job, I would greatly appreciate it. I've done plenty of soldering so that won't be a problem, and I have 2 game gears (one with a bum d-pad) so I can afford to mess up one in a worst-case scenario.

this is the how-to if you want to know what I'm talking about:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ ... epair.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They do come in different sizes. You'll know if you measure them.
ok, that doesn't really help me. There's no place to buy them locally as Radio Shack pretty much sells 4 or 5 types individually or a multi pack comprised of mostly ceramic capacitors that still probably won't have what I need. The question here is how to go about ordering these online to get capacitors that will do the job (and last longer than the factory crap) and also fit within the limitations of the case.

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Re: Game Gear Capacitors

Post by Tibia » Mon May 25, 2009 11:29 am

I sat down with an open GG and used the voltage and capacitance rating to order equivalents off of Mouser.com. A higher voltage will work, its the uf number that absolutely must match. I prefer to use regular through-hole radial mount ones. There's tons of room in the GG case.

I'm going to strongly recommend leaving the old ones in until you get the new ones. Then, you can replace them one at a time, taking careful note of what's positive and negative. The old caps are clearly marked near the bottom with a + and -. The ones I use have a white band on the negative side.

I doubt very much you're going to find the correct sizes at Radio Shak. They have a very small selection, and some of the GG caps are uncommon sizes.
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Re: Game Gear Capacitors

Post by nevermind1534 » Mon May 25, 2009 8:16 pm

newark.com has a HUGE selection. For caps, you'll have to pay a nice flat handling fee, though.
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Re: Game Gear Capacitors

Post by 17daysolderthannes » Tue May 26, 2009 7:07 pm

nevermind1534 wrote:newark.com has a HUGE selection. For caps, you'll have to pay a nice flat handling fee, though.
well that's fine, I'm expecting to spend about $15 per game gear at least.

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Re: Game Gear Capacitors

Post by Rekarp » Wed May 27, 2009 10:33 am

mouser.com

No handling fees.
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Re: Game Gear Capacitors

Post by robm » Sat Jun 13, 2009 9:47 am

How is this coming along?

If you haven't already ordered the parts, you can get the capacitors from any waste piece of electronics (VCRs, CD/DVD players, etc.) You just need to make sure that the capacitance (measured in uf, as in 100uf for isntance) is the same as the existing capacitor. The voltage needs to meet or exceed the existing capacitor's rating, it CAN NOT be less, but can be rated much higher. Watch the size; if you get one that's too tall you'll need to lay them down so that the case will close.

It's an easy-peezy repair, especially as you've had experience soldering.

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