Electronics Issue ATX PSU Cap Eruption
LOL no I meant whatever is actually applied to the cap
I've seen "all kinds." In amateur radio, the old school linear amplifiers (legal in amateur work, we get to run up to 1500W out the chute) some amps had VERY marginal capacitor strings.
I had the remains of an old Swan I think it was a "Mark II" This had electrolytics wired in series for the tube anode, about 2700V there were 8 caps at 400V each, so you only had a working rating there of 4x8= 3200V. Not much headroom
Photo like it I stole off the www
I rebuilt the power supply with a larger transformer I had (old one was bad) and replaced all the caps with one big "medical cap" 35 ufd at 5000V.
Sometimes, you can (stupidly) push ratings "over the top." Years ago I traded for a Heathkit SB-220 amp, and the power supply caps were gone. I was in a hurry to get it on the air so late one Sat nite I found a couple of oil-filled WWII surplus caps I had. They needed to be matched, but I either could not read the ratings or MIS read them. I ran them for several months. Later I tore it apart to install new ones, and discovered that the some odd 2500--3000V B+ was across TWO 600VOLT CAPS for total of only 1200 VOLTS!!!! Bear in mind these were "conservatively rated, built like a battleship" WWII military stuff, and were oil caps, not electrolytics
www photo of a Heath SB-220: The caps mount in the "Danger High Voltage" box
LOL no I meant whatever is actually applied to the cap
I've seen "all kinds." In amateur radio, the old school linear amplifiers (legal in amateur work, we get to run up to 1500W out the chute) some amps had VERY marginal capacitor strings.
I had the remains of an old Swan I think it was a "Mark II" This had electrolytics wired in series for the tube anode, about 2700V there were 8 caps at 400V each, so you only had a working rating there of 4x8= 3200V. Not much headroom
Photo like it I stole off the www
I rebuilt the power supply with a larger transformer I had (old one was bad) and replaced all the caps with one big "medical cap" 35 ufd at 5000V.
Sometimes, you can (stupidly) push ratings "over the top." Years ago I traded for a Heathkit SB-220 amp, and the power supply caps were gone. I was in a hurry to get it on the air so late one Sat nite I found a couple of oil-filled WWII surplus caps I had. They needed to be matched, but I either could not read the ratings or MIS read them. I ran them for several months. Later I tore it apart to install new ones, and discovered that the some odd 2500--3000V B+ was across TWO 600VOLT CAPS for total of only 1200 VOLTS!!!! Bear in mind these were "conservatively rated, built like a battleship" WWII military stuff, and were oil caps, not electrolytics
www photo of a Heath SB-220: The caps mount in the "Danger High Voltage" box
