Atari 5200 C13 & C14 loacation

[DarthVaper]

If somebody looks for C13 and C14 to replace the two with 820pF MLCC replacement caps for the syrene audio caps, attached a nice screeny

[DarthVaper]

if somebody can give me a hint, where to find the place for the rest part of audio recapping the 10uF capacitor -please with a nice screeny thx

[nick3092]

There is no 10uf cap in the audio circuit. As far as I am aware, the 5200 only has four 10uf caps, and they are all tantalum. Two are in the voltage regulation circuit, and I think the other two are on the +5v line.

 

Tantalum caps generally have a longer lifespan than electrolytics. The early ones in the 70s had a bad rap for exploding. But they seemed to have sorted that out by the early 80s. Also, tantalum caps have different characteristics than electrolytics. So you sometimes have to be careful if you replace them with electrolytics. The engineers may have selected them for their specific characterteristics.

Edited August 8, 2018 by nick3092

[DarthVaper]

nick3092 thx for your clearing answer.

[atari-dna]

I’d recommend keeping 820 pF polystyrene in the audio section. These caps are excellent for their application in audio, and are unrivaled by any other type of capacitor.

 

 

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Edited August 9, 2018 by atari-dna

[atari-dna]

Tantalum caps generally have a longer lifespan than electrolytics. The early ones in the 70s had a bad rap for exploding. But they seemed to have sorted that out by the early 80s. Also, tantalum caps have different characteristics than electrolytics. So you sometimes have to be careful if you replace them with electrolytics. The engineers may have selected them for their specific characterteristics.

There should be no reason to tamper with the tants either, they’re basically inert. And replacements are expensive.

 

 

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[nick3092]

I've sort of been wondering, how bad is the issue with these 820pf caps? It seems like people blanket replace them along with the electrolytics. But I've had three 2600s, two 5200s, and two 7800s. All with these caps. None of them exhibited any sound issues.

 

I wonder if there was just a bad batch once upon a time, and they got a bad reputation for life.

[DarthVaper]

I've sort of been wondering, how bad is the issue with these 820pf caps? It seems like people blanket replace them along with the electrolytics. But I've had three 2600s, two 5200s, and two 7800s. All with these caps. None of them exhibited any sound issues.

 

I wonder if there was just a bad batch once upon a time, and they got a bad reputation for life.

Well, one of my 5200er was making a clean picture but worst sound.

[nick3092]

Well, one of my 5200er was making a clean picture but worst sound.

Did replacing the 820pf caps fix it? I had a 7800 where the sound was mostly static. But it wasn't the 820pf caps, as I replaced them with no improvement. It turns out it was a transistor. Atari used a similar circuit on all 3 of them from what I recall, so it could cause issues in all 3 consoles.

 

My notes said it was a 3563 transistor on the schematic, but it was actually a 9018 in the console. Found a suitable replacement on Mouser for the 9018 and my 7800 was back in business