Capacitor needed for a Parker Bros game

[Scooter83]

The markings on it says 104Z 16V. ive seen some 104 .01uf which i dont know how that translates. The game itself is worth the work but trying to understand how to convert the info on mine to match up with what im seeing forsale online.

[Joey Z]

The markings on it says 104Z 16V. ive seen some 104 .01uf which i dont know how that translates. The game itself is worth the work but trying to understand how to convert the info on mine to match up with what im seeing forsale online.

 

104 is kind of like scientific notation a bit

you take the first digits, and multiply by 10 to the power of the last digit. The resulting number is the number of pF (10^-12 F).

so 104: 10 x 10^4 = 100000 pF, or 100 nF, or .1uF

 

The letter Z refers to the tolerance of the capacitor. If this is just a bypass cap, then you probably don't really need to worry about the tolerance.

 

Lastly, 16V is the voltage rating. This cap can safely take up to 16V before the insulation inside breaks down and the cap burns.

 

so you're looking for a .1uF 16V capacitor, likely a ceramic cap.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Joey Z

[Scooter83]

Hi yep its a ceramic one. but the casing just says

 

104Z

16V

 

 

I was looking online and saw a bunch of different looking 104 caps and nothing said z nor does anything say 16V.

 

so if your equation is right a 104 16V 1uF should work then

 

[Joey Z]

so if your equation is right a 104 16V 1uF should work then

that should be 0.1uF, not 1uF

 

and here is how the tolerance codes work: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_capacitor#Capacitance_standard_values_and_tolerances

 

so Z would be -20/+80%, which is pretty much the lowest tolerance you'll find, meaning just about any .1uF 16V cap will work.

 

Also keep in mind you should probably keep the .1uF the same, but you can go higher on the voltage if you have trouble finding a 16V cap.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Joey Z

[Scooter83]

That would be the next question. also would this be the reason the game stopped playing? if the cap is bad would that give me nothing on the screen. or is it just for noise

[BigO]

It may be a decoupling cap to reduce noise introduced to the chip through the power source. If that's true, it would be connected across the chip pins where the power connects (power and ground from the cart socket)

 

If that cap went to a dead short condition, it would cause the game not to play. But it would also cause other problems with the console. It seems unlikely to me that the cap is the source of the problem.

 

If the cap were removed completely from a normally functioning game, the game should still work, though might be more subject to occasional glitches.

[Joey Z]

It may be a decoupling cap to reduce noise introduced to the chip through the power source. If that's true, it would be connected across the chip pins where the power connects (power and ground from the cart socket)

 

If that cap went to a dead short condition, it would cause the game not to play. But it would also cause other problems with the console. It seems unlikely to me that the cap is the source of the problem.

 

If the cap were removed completely from a normally functioning game, the game should still work, though might be more subject to occasional glitches.

I would agree, it's likely not the reason the game isn't working. most of the time, you could remove these caps and have no issues. if you remove enough of them from any large system though, you will start having issues, but one usually won't make much of a difference.

[+tf_hh]

Hi,

 

as already written here... these caps are not mandatory in such a simple PCB. Of course they have to be included in every circuit design, but it works also without.

 

I would suggest to examine the PCB itself. The photo isn´t very detailed, but on both sides are scratches and damages visible. It´s not very hard to remove the solder resist, but some force is needed. I wonder how this can be happen within the cart... ?

 

So check all uncoated, coppery traces - maybe there´s a cut trace anywhere, and then you got the reason why the cart won´t work

 

Jurgen

[+mytek]

Using bypass or sometimes called decoupling caps across the individual chip VDD (+5) and VSS (GND) connections is good insurance that everything will run glitch free. How it actually works is to provide a small reservoir of energy, so if something is switching on thereby presenting a load, the reservoir provides back-up current to minimize the voltage drop. But like others have already said, missing one here or there rarely ever causes a problem. However with that said, I always design my stuff with a bypass cap on every IC just to be sure.

 

- Michael

[Scooter83]

The cap change didnt do anything to help the situation. Not sure what the next stage is. The chips could be bad the board looks clean so im not really sure the board is an issue. kinda stuck what my next move should be.

[BigO]

Is it a particularly valuable cartridge?

 

Have you cleaned the game cartridge and the cartridge slot multiple times?

With apparently dead 2600 cartridges when I have nothing else to lose, I scrub the contacts with a Scotch-Brite pad and DeoxIt. Have managed to save a couple that way.

 

Options include:

• Replacement of the whole cartridge
• Replacement of the guts
• Replace chips with EPROMs programmed with correct image (if pin/function compatible EPROM's exist)
• Replace bad chip with good chip from a board where the other chip is bad (how likely is one to find such a board?!)

 

Someone with the right equipment might be able to read the ROM chips to figure out which one is bad without pulling chips from the board. I ain't that guy, though.

[Scooter83]

Its for a copy of Frogger 2. ThreeeDeep!. not a real common game but not a real pricy title either. More about this was for a friend. it worked in my XEGS once and wouldnt play on his or my 800 and now wont play on my xegs So kinda at a loss.

[BigO]

Its for a copy of Frogger 2. ThreeeDeep!. not a real common game but not a real pricy title either. More about this was for a friend. it worked in my XEGS once and wouldnt play on his or my 800 and now wont play on my xegs So kinda at a loss.

Without really knowing much about anything, I'd have to guess that one of the ROM chips bit the dust.

 

If you're handy with desoldering tools and know somebody with an EPROM programmer/reader, you might be able to figure out exactly what happened.

[AtariGeezer]

I have an Assembler Editor with the same problem, pulled the roms and plugged into a good pcb and it works ok. Next to try is re-flowing the solder and do a continuity check from front to back...

[BigO]

I have an Assembler Editor with the same problem, pulled the roms and plugged into a good pcb and it works ok. Next to try is re-flowing the solder and do a continuity check from front to back...

Good thought. Much more appropriate than pulling the chips.