Replacing Capacitors in Sega (and other) Consoles

[omp]

Hello

I have been on a bit of a re-capp'ing adventure of late.

I have replaced the capacitors in

Sega Mega Drive model 1 VA6
Sega Mega CD model 1 (x2)
Sega 32X (x2)
Sega Genesis 2 VA2.3

I now have the case of the guilts as I have used cheap capacitors (JackCon etc).

While they work fine (the SMD caps in the Sega/Mega CD model 1's had leaked) I would like to re-visit these and replace with decent capacitors, I am thinking Rubycon or Panasonic. Also thinking of getting from Element14 vs eBay as

1/They SHOULD be genuine and

2/The price difference is about the same

3/No waiting 3-4 weeks for the capacitors.

Now my question extends to which series of capacitor should I use?

For example we have for Panasonic series AM (13cents each) up to GA (82cents each).

I am thinking of getting the middle cost option say AD, FC or M series.

Is this the right train of thought? Anything has got to be better than what I foolishly put in there. I should have known better as I worked as an Electrical Fitter for nigh on 10 years building circuit boards. Not in designing and spec'ing hence the questions.

Thank you Pete

[PeteS in CA]

Re: Replacing Capacitors in Sega (and other) Consoles

Of the 5 Panasonic series you listed, the only one that seems to be a low impedance, long life series is FC. FC is a very good, low impedance, durable, series. If Element14 is a reputable distributor, use them and avoid eBay, which folks here regard as a "reliable" source of fake and counterfeit parts. Also, look into Badcaps owner Topcat's terms for shipping to Oz. He has genuine parts.

[lti]

Re: Replacing Capacitors in Sega (and other) Consoles

I don't think those need low impedance caps. Panasonic M series or Nichicon VR series will work. If they use a switching power supply, using Panasonic FC series for filtering might be good.

[PeteS in CA]

Re: Replacing Capacitors in Sega (and other) Consoles

Pretty much concur. FC (like Nichicon PW or UCC/NCC LXZ) is low impedance, but not extremely so. OTOH, it's also a long life series (ala PW and LXZ; some of the others omp cited are 1000 and 2000 hour series), which may be a very useful characteristic.

[omp]

Re: Replacing Capacitors in Sega (and other) Consoles

Thank you for the information.

I have to redo one of my capacitor lists as I misplaced the original! D'oh!

[omp]

Re: Replacing Capacitors in Sega (and other) Consoles

Sorry for double posting....

The further I look into this, the more options I have, for Panasonic I have

KS
KA
NHG
FC
M
AM
GA


etc....

I think I will as advised stick with either M or FC.