Does "magic pack" Amiga 1200 need recap?

[sm3]

I picked up one of those new old stock "magic pack" Amiga's from Amiga Technologies. It seems to work fine, but I was wondering if these also need to be recapped? Or is it just the older "Commodore" Amiga 1200's?

Thanks.

[sm3]

Sure, those machines are also 20 years old.

Well, I thought the reason was because of the type/brand of capacitors they used. The Amiga 500 is older but it doesn't need a recap.

Anyway, it seems to be working fine currently. If I start having any strange issues, I can always send it off to AmigaKit for recap. I've done through hole stuff, but have no clue about the surface mount. I think it's best to let someone with experience perform the work.

[sm3]

I have not recapped my AT "Magic Pack" unit but this mod was required on my AT unit when using an Indivision AGA scandoubler. My video would constantly blank in and out until the unit warmed up after about 2 hours. This did the trick....

http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?8386-Indivision-Resistor-Hack

Cool, OK. I was thinking about getting one of those scan doublers for my 1200 as well.

I suppose I will just install it and see how it looks before making that modification though as it seems it's just a fix for picture quality.

[sm3]

Well, inspection is the key, of course, with electrolytic caps... If you see bulges or leaks... Capacitor Man says:
"Replace as necessary!"

Yep, no leaks or bulges that I can see, and no strange behavior with it so hopefully I will be good for some time.

[sm3]

...  A replacement board from AmigaKit is only $64USD.  If you can find someone who will recap an entire board for less, then be my guest, but you better also ask them to guarantee their work hope they don't fudge up anything else on your existing board.

AmigaKit sells replacement A1200 boards? I don't recall seeing those for sale on the site. I know they used to have "made-to-order" A1200's but that hasn't been for a long time. Seems they may be out.

[sm3]

..
BTW, Mike is right about the old caps not bulging on the top and WILL leak from the bottom.

I suppose I will pop out the board then and have a look just to be safe. I'm not noticing any strange behavior, but my 1200 is used less than my 500 so it will not hurt to do a visual inspection.

Thanks for the information folks.

[sm3]

I read a while back on another forum that the SMD electrolytic caps in those NOS A1200's should be fine and do not need replacing. The reason given was that because they were stored and had never been used the caps will not have deteriorated or leaked. Obviously they'll be some real science behind this, but because they had not been electrically active it preserved them. This was my understanding of it.

What you can do for sure is to inspect the motherboard. Look at the solder joints on all of the capacitors. Any dull joints (even slightly dull) are a sign of electrolyte leakage. All joints should be nice and shiny. First sign of any dull joints I would recommend getting the whole board re-capped. But until then.... 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

Thanks Paul, this I guess answers my original question when I started the thread.

[sm3]

If you find any dodgy caps, Charles the maccaps.com guy will recap the board for a max of $55 with a 1 week turn around -- he is in the Midwest.

Thanks, if I needed it done, I was originally thinking about sending it to AmigaKit, but since I live in the USA, I might feel more comfortable shipping closer to home. I know how shipping companies treat packages and it's my only A1200 board

I appreciate all the comments.

[sm3]

$55 for peace of mind and knowing that your Amiga is good for some decades sounds like money well spent to me! Certainly compared to the frustration dodgy caps will give (they can cause all sorts of problems you may not be aware are because of caps).

Yes, I don't mind spending money if I have to, but I'm not going to waste it if it's not really needed.