Dreamcast-Talk.com

Is it possible to replace the ageing electrolytic SMDs with all-tantalum capacitors on a VA1 motherboard? I've noticed that a lot of Saturns are starting to fail due to capacitor issues - DCs are starting to reach a similar vintage at 24 years.

Man I know it's an odd place to post about capacitors for video game consoles but audio karma is your friend, I own lots of stereo equipment and they help me figure out what parts I need a lot

No problem finding the cap values, they can be found on Console5
https://console5.com/wiki/Dreamcast

I'm just curious if it would work with tantalums as opposed to the standard metal electrolytic SMDs that may eventually leak.

Short answer is yes, they should work. They are a type of electrolytic cap anyways.

https://www.differencebetween.com/what- ... capacitor/

Personally I wouldn't worry about replacing them until you have to (if ever).

Dreamcazman wrote:Short answer is yes, they should work. They are a type of electrolytic cap anyways.

https://www.differencebetween.com/what- ... capacitor/

Personally I wouldn't worry about replacing them until you have to (if ever).

Good to know, I had heard that ceramic caps can't be used in some console repairs but was unsure about tantalums. I have a few spare DCs as backup but will give it a try to recap one after I order a set.

I just hope the DC live on long enough for some sort of open-source PCB or drop in FPGA replacement to become viable before they all stop working.

DCTurbo wrote:I have a few spare DCs as backup but will give it a try to recap one after I order a set.

Worst case scenario is that the DC won't work properly if there's an issue with the caps. I doubt it would damage it beyond repair.

You'll just have to change all the caps again with the proper ones.

DCTurbo wrote:

Dreamcazman wrote:Short answer is yes, they should work. They are a type of electrolytic cap anyways.

https://www.differencebetween.com/what- ... capacitor/

Personally I wouldn't worry about replacing them until you have to (if ever).

Good to know, I had heard that ceramic caps can't be used in some console repairs but was unsure about tantalums. I have a few spare DCs as backup but will give it a try to recap one after I order a set.

I just hope the DC live on long enough for some sort of open-source PCB or drop in FPGA replacement to become viable before they all stop working.

I'd at least heed what Voultar said about putting ceramics in, in place of electrolytic ones. ( https://twitter.com/voultar/status/1348377701095243776 ) General guidance is you shouldn't need to replace any caps till you actually need to.