Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

I found and fixed a Pioneer VSX-522k. I sold it for $60, and found another Pioneer VSX-523k in the same alley in the original box. I fixed it, cleaned it up, and sold it on ebay for over $100 plus the buyer paid shipping.

My personal best was a stach of aluminum airplane parts (over 200lbs sold at 40 cents a pound) or almost 80 pounds of copper printing plates (at the time I got $2.50 a pound).

Re: Capacitor cooling - Heatsinks for caps

In the enthusiast/gamer computer world, heatsinks are often as much about aesthetics as they are about function. To many professionals the idea of aesthetically pleasing PCBs is stupid, but we really get into it. Check out the pictures on any liquid cooling forum to get an idea of how far this assumption can go.

I think cap heatsinks would only work if they looked especially cool. I am thinking EK-style nickel-plated copper, or even chrome plating. Koolance has done some cool stuff with their Lang D5 pump heatsinks. I have...

Re: Fake shit, or real thing from ebay.



I have sold caps on ebay before. They were all pulled off salvaged motherboards or other PCBs. I have had trouble keeping a job since 2009 (three layoffs, including one last month before Christmas), and scapping is an easy way to get some cash.

I would not buy anything from Asia, but I never sold any fakes. That said, if the seller does resolve, you should either give a trash rating or give a positive rating with a warning message....

Re: Black screen in Windows after recap of motherboard.

I have had the same issue. In my experience you sometimes need to have every hole filled. I always thought this was superstition, but now i have come to accept it. If you know the PCB well, then you will know what needs to be there and what does not, but often some areas are referenced by various processes, and there is no way of knowing.

Also, sometimes you can have problems channging PSUs or RAM together with other changes. If you simply make all other changes, then boot with old PSU, shut down, then re-boot...

Re: Any more info on counterfeit Nichicons?

Is it safe to assume that caps bought at Radioshack are real? I have been using them for years. I am halfway through a project with 5 nichicons already soldered into place.

Re: The GOOD Capacitors Thread!!

I always loved Panasonic. I have fixed a lot of receivers/amps over the years (I used to be really into music, and as a teenager I would always take in broken gear and try to fix it myself, later I would buy busted high-end stuff an fix it).

For music caps, I strongly prefer Panasonic. All of the expensive after-market audio caps are a scam. I love Panasonics. I ahve ree-capped old maranz amps/receivers from the 1970s, and they sound fantastic.

For motherboards, I am cool with all of the Japanese standards (nichicon, Nippon...