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Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

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    Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

    For the last 2 years my parents have used a Maxxter Wifi repeater in their appartment in Spain, mainly to get better reception of the Wifi signal sent by the router in the main lobby. It's a Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint, which is also sold under the name Gembird WNP-RP-002-W. They only used the repeater during the wintermonths, as they live elsewhere the rest of the year. During those other months the repeater is plugged from the mains and stored in a drawer.

    It's a 300Mbps 2.4GHz WiFi repeater with 2 internal antenna's and 1 LAN-port (10/100), configurable as accespoint, repeater or client. It has a Realtek RTL8196E @400MHz, Realtek RTL8192ER 2.4GHz B/G/N Radio, 16MB SDRAM (EM639165TS-6G) and 4MB Serial Flash memory (MX25L3206E). Power consumption is max. 3W.

    During this 2nd winter last January from one day to another the repeater all of a sudden was completely dead. No LEDs or anything. Unplugging it from the mains for a few minutes or trying to do a reset didn't get it back to life.

    They just bought another repeater there and after returning from Spain brought the Maxxter to me to have a look at it. Just one look on the small PSU board showed the culprit: a bulging 680uF/10V cap in the 5V powerline, making this Voltage drop (under load) to well less than 4V.

    I replaced the bulging cap with a 1000uF/10V (didn't have a 680uF in stock), but left the other 3 caps on the PSU board for the time being. I may replace them later on. Reassembled and plugged the repeater in the mains. It immediately came back to life and worked again, with user config still intact.

    From what I've read failing after less than 2 years of use is a common issue with this repeater, and it's always caused by this single one bulging cap. Such a shame many of them will just end up being thrown in the trash, where a 50c part could get them going again.
    I'm curious how long the 3 remaining originally fitted caps will last. Chances are they will die too in only a few weeks. 2 of those are 4,7uF/400V ones, btw, so not exactly standard off the shelf. We'll see...

    re-atari
    Last edited by re-atari; 06-01-2017, 05:51 PM.

    #2
    Re: Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

    Originally posted by re-atari View Post
    2 of those are 4,7uF/400V ones, btw, so not exactly standard off the shelf. We'll see...

    re-atari
    actually those are standard.
    they will probably last longer than you think though because they are only operating at 100Hz

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

      Originally posted by stj View Post
      actually those are standard.
      they will probably last longer than you think though because they are only operating at 100Hz
      Really? I wasn't aware these are standard, as they are so small. They're about the same size as the 1000uF/10V cap. Good to know, though, that they are not likely to fail. We'll see how it goes.

      I have a suspicion the bulged cap failed because it was fitted very close to a ferrite core coil and a small transformer, which both get quite hot when the repeater is running. Even more remarkable: the manufacturer had more than enough space on the PCB to put this cap further away from both components Talk about planned obsolence.

      Here are a few photo's of the device. They are not mine, though, as the repeater is already reassembled and test running. Both shelve halves are not screwed but glued together by design, and I don't feel like breaking it open again. Another indication hinting at planned obsolence. The last photo clearly shows the bulged cap.

      re-atari
      Attached Files
      Last edited by re-atari; 06-02-2017, 04:55 AM.

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        #4
        Re: Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

        you often find such stuff in small bricks, i upgrade them sometimes with Rubycon LLE series.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

          Originally posted by stj View Post
          you often find such stuff in small bricks, i upgrade them sometimes with Rubycon LLE series.
          Thanx for your suggestion, I'll keep brand and type in mind in case the other caps need to be replaced as well.

          re-atari

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

            LLE are only small high voltage caps, no good for anything else.
            https://cdn.badcaps-static.com/pdfs/...bfcb570360.pdf

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Maxxter ACT-WNP-RP-002-W wireless repeater/accespoint fixed

              Thanx a lot man! I got two of these failed on me like this! Was wondering what could be wrong. Funny thing is I did not think that the AC/DC was hidden under the circuitry!

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