Vintage Synth Repair

issues w/tantalum caps in the omni are more relevant to the upper and lower voicing boards 
than the power supply...i would check the big electrolytic caps on the power supply 
(w/appropriate precautions taken), the voltage regulator, and other components on the 
power supply first...it's also a good idea to disconnect (if you haven't already) the 
power supply from the rest of the synth until it is putting out the correct voltages

see my pages at http://people.umass.edu/brownp/arp for schematics & other info...

fwiw, i replaced the tantalum caps on the voicing boards in my Omni w/aluminum 
electrolytics, mostly because they are cheaper than tantalums

thanks, PB>>

Scott Nordlund wrote:
>> hi, i have a omni 2 with nothing powering exept the power on light.
>> was wondering if i replace the tantulum 10uf caps on the power board
>> can i use electrolytic caps of same value. does it matter if they are
>> non-polarized. Would ceramic disk caps work or do i just need to keep
>> looking for tantulum. i searched all previous posts but didn't find
>> anything too specific. I am new to electronics and would appreciate
>> any help. thanks
>> Ps should i go ahead and replace all the 10uf caps on all boards or
>> start with the power supply board and hope that gets me somewhere.
> 
> If the board has tantalum caps now it's probably a good idea to replace them 
> with electrolytic (of equal or greater working voltage).  You can replace a 
> polarized cap with a non-polarized one (but you should be  careful if you 
> want to replace a non-polarized capacitor with a polarized one).
> 
> Other capacitors may need replacement but the ones on the power supply are 
> generally the best candidates (though if you haven't yet diagnosed the 
> problem with the power board, replacing the caps might not do much).
> 
> 
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> Yahoo! Groups Links
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-- 
Peter Brown, Ph.D.         Dept. of Microbiology
IT Coordinator/Lovley Lab  422F Morrill Science Center IVN
(413) 577-2747             University of Massachusetts
http://geobacter.org       Amherst, MA 01003-9298