XRGB2 - Capacitor Value Needed

[philexile]

Hello,

I recently purchased an XRGB2 on eBay and it is having intermittent issues. When powered off for a while – as little as 30 minutes, it needs time to "warm up" before it can send a proper sync signal. During this 1 to 5 minutes or so, it will output H sync as high as 63 Hz, then drop to 53 Hz, then eventually normalize to about 60.1 Hz. (These readings come from my Extron 203rxi.)

During gameplay, the XRGB2 will lose sync and the screen will turn black for a moment – or freeze entirely for a second, then the action will start up again.

Because of this erratic behavior, I suspect the caps are an issue. I found this image online of the XRGB2, please see below:



When I opened my unit to compare, I noticed immediately that capacitor C158 was completely missing. Its the big one on the upper left hand side of the board:



There is some flux residue on the underside of the board where the cap was, so I suspect this unit was recapped and whoever did the work skipped this larger cap. Its my hope it is what is causing the issue.

Could anyone who has an XRGB2 please open it and send me the value of this missing capacitor? I would appreciate it.

Aside from caps, it could also be the power plug – which is from a XRGB2 Plus model. I'm looking into replacing that as well.

If anyone has suggestions, please post here.

Thank you

[matrigs]

Don't know if you want to risk it but to me it looks like one of these:



You can actually see 220 in our picture, and the physical size is about right as well.

[Xyga]

I'd gladly help but I'm away from home and my gear for a couple of weeks...

I never had that kind of issue although my unit often requires a few tries on the on/off button before it works.
That power button is crap by the way, IIRC: power, RGB, sync, and ground all go through it and contact can easily go bad.

[philexile]

Don't know if you want to risk it....

Thanks, but I can't risk it. I'm in touch with the seller and he is looking to get a replacement, but I thought I'd try to figure out the cause of the issue on my end in the meantime. I wouldn't risk putting a cap in there unless I can confirm the value.

I'm sure someone on this board has an XRGB-2 that can look!

I never had that kind of issue although my unit often requires a few tries on the on/off button before it works.
That power button is crap by the way, IIRC: power, RGB, sync, and ground all go through it and contact can easily go bad.

That is interesting to know. The power button seems to function fine – it powers up without any issues.

Out of curiosity: what is the power supply that you are using? The one the seller sent me is from and XRGB-2 Plus, so its 12v, 1a. On Fudoh's site, he states that the XRGB-2s original power supply was 13.8v, but Micomsoft said 12v is OK. I'm wondering if this is part of the issue.

Alternatively, it could be (and I'm speculating a lot here) that Micomsoft serviced this particular unit at some point in the past and removed the capacitor to better work with the 12v power plug.

Thanks again

[Xyga]

I'm using the original 13.8v PSU after a 220v>210v transformer.

[philexile]

I'm using the original 13.8v PSU after a 220v>210v transformer.

Oh? What transformer are you using? I think I've read of people using those with the Mini, but I didn't think it was necessary. However, I'd like to play it safe.

Thanks

[Xyga]

Well I don't even remember the brand, it's a rather compact one with a slot for standard replaceable fuse.
Can't tell before I get home, sorry.

[philexile]

I suppose this would work?

http://www.amazon.com/PowerBright-Vc500 ... ransformer

[RGB32E]

Here's the PCB of a XRGB-2 I opened up earlier this year. I ended up using it with a reasonable +12VDC 3A power supply and it works fine. It has no cap on the DC power input.



Hence, you don't need to use a transformer with the original power supply to power the XRGB-2. A +12VDC >=3A power adapter with the correct DC power connector/wiring works great.

I've powered the XRGB-2 with one of these as well - http://www.amazon.com/Velleman-PSIN0601 ... B003XE32CS. Just add a AC line filter and you have really clean power to feed the XRGB-2!

[philexile]

Here's the PCB of a XRGB-2 I opened up earlier this year.

Thanks, RGB! See that red mark through the cap? My unit has a similar strike, but to the right of the cap. Perhaps this was removed from later models?

I ended up using it with a reasonable +12VDC 3A power supply and it works fine. It has no cap on the DC power input.

Good to know. Maybe the XRGB-2 Plus PSU is starting to fail. I should be able to pickup a new one on my way home from work, so I'll give that a try.

Hence, you don't need to use a transformer with the original power supply to power the XRGB-2. A +12VDC >=3A power adapter with the correct DC power connector/wiring works great.

Great, thanks again

[Ed Oscuro]

I had a look inside mine (which has no problems that I know of) - the capacitor is a super-shitty 85 degree rated 200uF 25V part from "Y.J"

I've got exactly the same kind as seen in the pic - the curved line along the top of the cap in the pic is the right edge of the Y.J logo.

Possibly an old one from these folks.

Noticed some buld quality issues on mine...there's a solder spike sticking straight up off the top leg of the R16 passive on mine (that's top and right of the Xilinx chip), while soldering on the linear regulator just above that has caused a bit of the silkscreen to migrate, pointing down 90 degrees at that passive...oof. All the other small soldering jobs look good though.

[philexile]

I had a look inside mine (which has no problems that I know of) - the capacitor is a super-shitty 85 degree rated 200uF 25V part from "Y.J"

Excellent, thank you for the info! Its good to know, but I'm going to try a new power adapter first. I'm hoping the one I have is just starting to fail.

What power supply are using with yours?

[Ed Oscuro]

Knew I should've mentioned - Go Forward Enterprise-made NP12-something model, 12V, 1 Amp. The original PSU, I believe (quite similar to the XRGB2+ one).

[philexile]

Great, thank you all for the information.

My best bet is to try another 12v power supply, so I'll give that a try this evening. Hopefully that will solve the problem. If it doesn't, I'll check with the seller to see what he wants to do next.

Best Regards

[philexile]

I picked up a new power adapter at Radio Shack this evening and this seems to have corrected the issue. (Knock on wood!) I do want to test a few days to see if its truly OK, but thanks again to everyone.