[time-nuts] Don't let the magic hair out...

[Burt I. Weiner]

I first heard about the electrolytic problem after having lost my 
third computer video card in a little over a year.  At first I though 
I might have a power supply problem that was blowing video cards, but 
that didn't make a lot of sense, it wasn't blowing other 
stuffs.  Besides, the voltages were correct - at least at that 
moment.  Giving the board a good visual examination I realized that 
many of the electrolytics had bulging tops and some had even blown 
the tops and the fuzzy hair like stuff was sticking straight up and 
out!  Doing a little research I found out that the formula had indeed 
been ripped-off- all but the stabilizing ingredient.  I've since run 
into this problem in several device ranging from our little Linksys 
802.11x boosters around home to our water irrigation timer.  I've had 
to replace all of the electrolytics in those contraptions.  Well, not 
in the video cards.  I discovered that many of the on-board 
regulators and other magic devices on the video cards had turned into 
jumper wires.  I assume that in time better grade capacitors will 
work their way into the manufacturing world.

So, in the past I'd learned not to let the magic smoke out.  I would 
like to add another word of caution: Don't let the magic hair out!

Burt, K6OQK


At 05:00 AM 5/24/2009, time-nuts-request at febo.com wrote
>From: Mark Sims <holrum at hotmail.com>
>Subject: [time-nuts] 5070B once more.... (actually electrolytics)
>To: <time-nuts at febo.com>
>Message-ID: <BLU125-W18F8957D60872A03AD8936CE570 at phx.gbl>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
>
>
>The capacitor espionage story is quite true and well known to just 
>about everybody in the computer industry.  Google "capacitor 
>corporate espionage" for a start.   First hit is: 
>http://www.burtonsys.com/bad_BP6/story1.html from IEEE 
>Spectrum.  More than one cap maker got the bad juice...
>----------------------------------------

Burt I. Weiner Associates
Broadcast Technical Services
Glendale, California  U.S.A.
biwa at att.net
K6OQK