Bought a PCE Duo Should I send it in for a cap replacement?

[brockmoreno]

As stated I bought a working PCE Duo but I have heard about all the issues with the caps. Should I send it in to have them replaced right away or just wait to see if I develop issues? Also how hard would it be to do a RGB mod myself if I have beginner soldering skills?

[Necromancer]

If it hasn't been done already, recap NOW!  If you wait for troubles to appear, odds are that the leaked cap juice will have eaten traces, damaged other components, etc.

[turboswimbz]

Yup if the caps are original do it ASAP.  I'd Check the section here on the RBG mod that'll give you an idea.  I personally have not tried it so I can't say, but there are several members here who have a great deal of knowledge doing them who will chime in.

[brockmoreno]

Alright I talked to the seller and the unit was recapped but he is not sure if they did the whole unit.

[turboswimbz]

It should be somewhat easy to open and see if there are old caps.  they should mostly be obvious. if it's already done then you are good.

[MobiusStripTech]

Honestly even if it was recapped, open it. I have had to repair previous recap jobs because the person who did the recap either used garbage caps or didn't clean everything.

[Keith Courage]

Honestly even if it was recapped, open it. I have had to repair previous recap jobs because the person who did the recap either used garbage caps or didn't clean everything.

I 2nd that. I've had to redo many cap changes done by previous people. Usually things not cleaned up well at all and typically I find a few caps with leads that are bridging over other traces on the board. Sometimes I find some cap leads are not even soldered into place. 

[ds1724]

I can't find anyone to send my Duo into to replace the caps.  everything I find is from years ago and seems to be no longer valid; can anyone advise? 

[Necromancer]

I can't find anyone to send my Duo into to replace the caps.  everything I find is from years ago and seems to be no longer valid; can anyone advise? 

I can't say which ones specifically are open to work immediately, but thesteve, chops, mnkydeth, keith, mobius, and turbokon all do repair work at times.

[turboswimbz]

I can't find anyone to send my Duo into to replace the caps.  everything I find is from years ago and seems to be no longer valid; can anyone advise? 

I can't say which ones specifically are open to work immediately, but thesteve, chops, mnkydeth, keith, mobius, and turbokon all do repair work at times.

Mnky was backed up/ taking a break last time I checked, but Chop, Keith, Steve, and Turbokon were all open last time I checked a few months ago.  I've had all of them do work for me in the past with no issues.   Try Pming them directly.  Only Kieth actively monitors the forum regularly.
 

[SiberianSpForces]

A guy that's on Atari Age does recaps. Get a hold of him via his site for a quote;
http://www.acill.com/

[MobiusStripTech]

I'm still actively taking on work. I keep caps for duo's in stock.

[Nodoka75]

I 2nd that. I've had to redo many cap changes done by previous people. Usually things not cleaned up well at all and typically I find a few caps with leads that are bridging over other traces on the board. Sometimes I find some cap leads are not even soldered into place.

I agree. DUO's, Mega CD1 and GameGear are prone to similar problems due to SMT caps, sometimes I must spend a lot of time to remove the previous job and properly clean the PCB 

I can do Recap/RGB mod on DUO :


I'm from France, though.