Very quiet sound on SE/30

[artlogic]

I'm getting an SE/30 back in working order and I've noticed the sound is audible, but very low. I don't see any obvious capacitor leakage, but I'm wondering if that could be the problem? If not, any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[maceffects]

If then capacitors haven’t been changed yet, that’s the first place to start as well as cleaning the board. 

 

[Jinnai]

On my SE/30, it's startup sound is quiet, otherwise everything is normal, it's mildly annoying.

 

[Dog Cow]

I'm getting an SE/30 back in working order and I've noticed the sound is audible, but very low. I don't see any obvious capacitor leakage, but I'm wondering if that could be the problem? If not, any other suggestions? Thanks!

Leave the SE/30 on for several hours, say from morning until evening. Then check if the sound is louder. If so, then it's probably due to capacitor failure.

 

[artlogic]

Leave the SE/30 on for several hours, say from morning until evening. Then check if the sound is louder. If so, then it's probably due to capacitor failure.

Great suggestion - thanks! I'll let you know what I find.

I noticed there doesn't seem to be anyone selling capacitor sets or offering recap services that I've found. I'm slightly concerned about doing the job myself as I'm just an average solderer. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[EvilCapitalist]

There used to be someone on here who offered recapping that was highly rated before unrelated issues impacted the quality of their work.

Several folks, myself included, have used "allmacs" on eBay and I haven't heard any complaints about them yet.  The IIci board I had them recap only had a 3 week turn time which I felt was very reasonable.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/332173377243

 

[Builder1]

I JUST bought some SE/30 recap kits from Console5.

I wanted two tantalum kits but he only had one. I emailed him Saturday morning, he responded immediately and had them restocked the next day !

Fabulous service!

You can find the SE/30 kits here:

https://console5.com/store/cap-kits/computer-cap-kits/mac-68k-cap-kits/se-30.html

Tantalum and Electrolytic available.

J

 

[Joris W]

Thanks @Builder1

As a novice but with a solder iron, which of those kits should I get to restore full sound? I have the same problem as OP - very faint but working sound.

 

[Phipli]

From that list, either this :

Macintosh SE/30 SMD Tantalum / Polymer / Axial Capacitor Main PCB Cap Kit SE30

<p>High temp, surface mount tantalum caps, polymer caps, and axial electrolytic capacitors for the Macintosh SE/30 main PCB.</p> <p><strong>2023-2-23 Update</strong>: For improved service life, kits now include 4x 47uF/25v polymer capacitors for C3, C4,

console5.com

or this :

Macintosh SE/30 SMD Electrolytic & Axial Capacitor Main PCB Cap Kit SE30

<p>High temp, surface mount SMD electrolytic caps and axial electrolytic capacitors for the Macintosh SE/30 main PCB.</p>

console5.com

the first, tantalum, is a more long term fix, but the second might be easier to solder because they usually fit the pads better, and the markings match.

I'd recommend not bothering to replace the bigger, through hole "axial" caps. They can be hard to remove and are less likely to have failed.

Make sure you clean the board as well, or the left over nasty stuff will still be doing damage.

 

[Joris W]

Thanks!