337alant
13-09-2015, 19:46
Recapping the Studer A810
The studer decks are beautifully built decks but are still getting on in age and mine is 30 years old.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5821/21093181816_634dc24220_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/y8W55y)IMG_2531 (https://flic.kr/p/y8W55y) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
Looking at the plug in circuit boards there are capacitors that although were very good quality Capacitors in their day can fail short and can take out other components or worse still the microprocessors which may be very difficult to obtain now.
The electrolytic capacitors are mainly from Frako and Phillips with non polar Bakelite caps from Roe roederstein. The frako and Phillips caps have a reputation for failing short and the Roe caps get leaky crack and dry out. At this age they have also generally drifted out of spec so are worth replacing with good modern alternatives. For this I chose the Nichicon Muse KZ, Fine Gold and Bi polar ES series and Panasonic FC.
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/nichicon.html
Here are a couple of shots of the boards before recapping generally these boards use all metal film resistors and good quality solid tantalum, Wima and Phillips Film capacitors that have a good reliability reputation.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/519/18987138945_332f861af2_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uVQ3Uz)20150620_150633 (https://flic.kr/p/uVQ3Uz) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/720/20767994414_f58282c78d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDcpcd)IMG_2389 (https://flic.kr/p/xDcpcd) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/719/21202815268_b823e01e07_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yiBYhu)IMG_2388 (https://flic.kr/p/yiBYhu) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
After recapping here are a couple of shots of the same boards. Re capping isn’t easy but the board have quite robust tracks but tight holes. The Roe and blue Phillips caps in particular measured quite different to their intended values and showed signs of cracking in the case.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5703/21380097542_f057c406a0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yzhA8q)IMG_2488 (https://flic.kr/p/yzhA8q) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/592/20769842603_28f9ef49e0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDmSAx)IMG_2487 (https://flic.kr/p/xDmSAx) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
This is just the start of recapping the full recorder will need to be done and I will post my progress as I remove other boards
After a replacement I listened to the deck and TBH I thought it didn’t sound as good as before :eek::scratch: but after a few days and now weeks it is sounding noticeably better :eyebrows:;).
I would like to leave it switched on for a long period but the capstan motor turns all the time on this deck and I don’t want to damage that so I switch off when not in use. There is supposed to be a way of switching off the capstan so I will check the manual.
Anyway happy days so far and a worthwhile exercise
Alan
The studer decks are beautifully built decks but are still getting on in age and mine is 30 years old.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5821/21093181816_634dc24220_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/y8W55y)IMG_2531 (https://flic.kr/p/y8W55y) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
Looking at the plug in circuit boards there are capacitors that although were very good quality Capacitors in their day can fail short and can take out other components or worse still the microprocessors which may be very difficult to obtain now.
The electrolytic capacitors are mainly from Frako and Phillips with non polar Bakelite caps from Roe roederstein. The frako and Phillips caps have a reputation for failing short and the Roe caps get leaky crack and dry out. At this age they have also generally drifted out of spec so are worth replacing with good modern alternatives. For this I chose the Nichicon Muse KZ, Fine Gold and Bi polar ES series and Panasonic FC.
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/nichicon.html
Here are a couple of shots of the boards before recapping generally these boards use all metal film resistors and good quality solid tantalum, Wima and Phillips Film capacitors that have a good reliability reputation.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/519/18987138945_332f861af2_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uVQ3Uz)20150620_150633 (https://flic.kr/p/uVQ3Uz) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/720/20767994414_f58282c78d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDcpcd)IMG_2389 (https://flic.kr/p/xDcpcd) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/719/21202815268_b823e01e07_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yiBYhu)IMG_2388 (https://flic.kr/p/yiBYhu) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
After recapping here are a couple of shots of the same boards. Re capping isn’t easy but the board have quite robust tracks but tight holes. The Roe and blue Phillips caps in particular measured quite different to their intended values and showed signs of cracking in the case.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5703/21380097542_f057c406a0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yzhA8q)IMG_2488 (https://flic.kr/p/yzhA8q) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/592/20769842603_28f9ef49e0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDmSAx)IMG_2487 (https://flic.kr/p/xDmSAx) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr
This is just the start of recapping the full recorder will need to be done and I will post my progress as I remove other boards
After a replacement I listened to the deck and TBH I thought it didn’t sound as good as before :eek::scratch: but after a few days and now weeks it is sounding noticeably better :eyebrows:;).
I would like to leave it switched on for a long period but the capstan motor turns all the time on this deck and I don’t want to damage that so I switch off when not in use. There is supposed to be a way of switching off the capstan so I will check the manual.
Anyway happy days so far and a worthwhile exercise
Alan