BPPC - Capacitors
 

Hi!

I'm just began a short/long journey to repair one of my accelerator boards for Amiga 1200. So far so good, but one of my cards, the Phase 5 Blizzard PPC card has some bad ceramic Capacitors. Anyone here who knows the exact values on them the ones displayed on the picture below?

http://www.ikod.se/tomcrazy/bppc_capacitors.jpg

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I will hazard a guess that they are 0.1uf decoupling caps. only way to know for sure is to remove and measure. Use a toothbrush and some isopropyl to see if they clean up before you remove them

A wise man once told me that capacitors are unlikely to fail on these cards so probably not a cause for concern. What are the symptoms of your issues?

Unless you have reason to suspect them?

@Kipper2k: Thanks, I will do that this week and test.

@fitzsteve: My computer won't boot with the card. I only get a black screen but KB etc works. The capacitors was the only visible ting I could find so why not change them.

When I think of it, doesn't the BPPC use alot more juice from the Amiga? Today I use Indivision AGA and a SD as harddrive with the standard small Amiga 1200 PSU. Could that we a reason?

It could very well be the PSU. You need a beefy PSU to run an accelerator like a PPC board. More than the typical 2.5A/3A. There are some 4.5A A500 PSUs out there. Alternatively people usually modify a PC PSU for use with the Amiga.

Edit: Ceramic caps like the ones you have, don't usually go bad although it can happen. I'd rather buy in to the PSU theory or dirty connectors.

Tried with some Isopropyl alcohol and it worked great, see the result below. I will try to find a new PSU, preferebly Amiga 500 version 2 with 4.5A instead of 3A.

http://www.ikod.se/tomcrazy/bppc_iso.jpg

next step is to get some of the plastic scouring pads and clean off the edge connector. Oxides build up over time and interrupt the connections. You can try a higher rated PSU as well.