Vintage Synth Repair

Thanks for your explanation and the link. So can I take it as a rule  
of thumb and change all tantalum (in PSU, logic circuits or audio  
circuits) for low ESR electrolytic? Or is there some case where to  
change just old tantalum for new one? Could for example using of  
tantalum rated for higher voltage serve as a sort of better protection  
against possible fail?

I had this fire problem with two ceramic disk caps in the PSU of one  
old Russian instrument which was not in use for few years. Fortunately  
I could see the fire, it started immediately after switching on, so I  
just switched off. It was enough to change those caps and instrument  
is OK, but I will do complete recapping.

Daniel Forro


On 8 Apr, 2013, at 11:32 PM, Alexis V. Rogers wrote:

>
>
> Tantalums were used due to size and lower ESR. You can get low ESR  
> electrolytics these days. The problem with tantalums is that they  
> close (short) when they fail. When used in a power supply situation,  
> I've seen tantalums burst into flame and end up looking like burnt  
> marshmallows.
>
> I've never added capacitors to the IC power lines unless I was  
> replacing with a different IC whose datasheet called for it.
>
> And, I get my can caps through http://www.tubesandmore.com/.