Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:24:03 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:

I have two of these computers.

I have three of them. However, only one works and I only have one
power supply. The other two are waiting for time to fix, or recycling
(toss a coin).


I can only find one right now, and didn't think it was worth
repairing. The hard drive & CDROm drive are now missing, and it had no
bulging or leaking caps. Since I repair the computers to give away, it
doesn't make much sense to spend money & time on it. It was in the TBPO
pile.


This model is well known for bad electrolytics. So much so that a
kit is offered for it: http://www.thecapking.com/gx620sff.html

http://www.thecapking.com/index.html for other kits, or good prices
on low ESR caps for motherboards. I've bought from them and will again,
in the future.

I replace enough caps to justify buying 25, 50, or 100 at a time.
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/repair/bad-caps.jpg


I buy most 100 at a time, too.


Also, the small power supplies fail more often than power supplies
in larger systems. Some of those are just bad electrolytics, as well.

Huh? I haven't seen any of the external 12V power supplies that have
failed. I think I've gone through about 8 of them so far, mostly used
on a previous generation of weather stations. I've been tempted to
see what range of voltage the SX260 will operate. I want to put it on
a storage battery and charger system, which means anything between
11.0 and 16.0VDC. Have you ever tried it? (I don't want to risk
blowing up my last remaining SX260 machine).


Why not use a switching converter that boosts then bucks the voltage
so you can run it anywhere you want. I'm currently working on a 12 to
90 volt converter design for run antique radios from a Lead acid, NiMh
or NiCad battery pack in the 8 to 16 volt range. I had fun finding
reasonably priced feedthrough caps, and will have to hand wind the
transformers. I need to keep the EMI down so it won't bother the radio
on weak signals.