TAM recap: how urgent?

[codingitwrong]

It just clicked with me that I need to recap my TAM, and I’d love input on how urgent it is.

A post in this thread suggested the idea of checking the caps for evidence of leaking.

I’m no hardware expert and I don’t really know what I’m looking for, but I don’t see anything that looks like leakage. Here are photos of the boards I can see, including the comm slot and PCI card I use.

I know a recap needs to happen at some point, but from these photos, how urgent is the need? Is there evidence of a leak beginning already? If not, could a major leak begin any day, or do I likely have time to take a few weeks to do my research on recapping?

 

[Phipli]

Not that urgent yet.

 

[Byrd]

My TAM is my pride and joy of often check, not needed yet. Unless it was poorly stored/showing signs of weirdness/power issues. Yours looks fine and it’s a slow process over years of use, not weeks.

 

[Quadraman]

Considering the damage that leaking caps can do, It's probably best to do it as soon as possible, even though the caps that are on there may not look damaged, or bulging. A TAM is an extremely rare beast, and not easily replaceable, so better safe than sorry. It doesn't take much leakage, in the right places, to render a motherboard unrepairable. Use solid state caps, if possible. I have them in my SE/30, so leaking caps shouldn't be a problem again.

 

[eldofever]

Reviving this thread as I've also got a TAM I should get after and had a couple questions for the experts...

1. Does a Cap list exist for the TAM?
2. Can a person get access to all the SMD caps with just the rear cover off, or am I looking at separating the case for full access?

 

[François]

The logic board in a TAM is from a PM 6500 (with a few ports missing or replaced), it is not that rare. Better check regularly for signs of leakage, as access to the board for visual inspection is really easy. But I would not attempt any repairs with a hot iron near the very precious TAM case! iFixit has a teardown, showing the quite involved way of removing the logic board. So, don’t recap unless absolutely necessary…

The TAM logic board:

(the SCSI port is missing and there is a small daughter board for the audio jacks, but it’s basically a 6500 board)

 

[eldofever]

The logic board in a TAM is from a PM 6500 (with a few ports missing or replaced), it is not that rare. Better check regularly for signs of leakage, as access to the board for visual inspection is really easy. But I would not attempt any repairs with a hot iron near the very precious TAM case! iFixit has a teardown, showing the quite involved way of removing the logic board. So, don’t recap unless absolutely necessary…

The TAM logic board:
View attachment 66947
(the SCSI port is missing and there is a small daughter board for the audio jacks, but it’s basically a 6500 board)

Thanks, much appreciated! It does look like I'll have enough clearance without removing the board, HOWEVER, I see there are another dozen caps inside the unit on the video board which will require cracking the case (and running the gauntlet with those plastic clips). Good times.

 

[Byrd]

Please remove the board, I can just see plastic and ribbon wires being melted if you don’t. Taking apart the TAM isn’t that bad and yes the large clips on the speaker sides can break, but repaired with something like JB Weld.

Also check if you actually need to recap at this stage by running a cotton top around the caps to see if any greasy cap residue is found. Still not there by any means with mine.

 

[eldofever]

Please remove the board, I can just see plastic and ribbon wires being melted if you don’t. Taking apart the TAM isn’t that bad and yes the large clips on the speaker sides can break, but repaired with something like JB Weld.

Also check if you actually need to recap at this stage by running a cotton top around the caps to see if any greasy cap residue is found. Still not there by any means with mine.

I appreciate the concern, trust me, I wouldn't dive in soldering iron blazing ; ) This is strictly preventative, no leaks observed yet. But In the last 10 days I've had to repair a II, a IICX, a Classic, a Classic II and an SE/30, all with board damage from caps, so I guess I'm a little gun shy at the moment.