Thread
Broken BaseStation
Hi!
Recently I found my graphite BaseStation to reboot randomly. Like many of its siblings it had one burned out capacitor. Unfortunately, in Europe there is no replacement program even though the parts used are exactly the same.
So I went out, got some capacitors and replaced the old once. I used capacitors I could readily get: 220 uF, 35V, 85C.
The base station seemed to work just fine. But as I moved my iBook further away, the signal lost strength much faster than it used to. Also the signal strength seemed to vary for no good reason. Bottomline: unusable.
I figured that the card might not be getting correct or steady voltage. So I got another pair of capacitors: 330 uF. The base station again seemed to work fine with a signal that might be just a tad less strong than it used to.
So I went ahead to assemble the case: I had to reposition the capacitors for them to fit the case. Everything was fine until I discovered that the signal again goes only a third of the way it used to. Opening the case does not help. So either the new position of the capacitors introdced problems (e.g interference) or I somehow damaged capacitors.
Now I am at wits end. How can the station work properly, but less well as before?
Has anybody had similar experiences?
Recently I found my graphite BaseStation to reboot randomly. Like many of its siblings it had one burned out capacitor. Unfortunately, in Europe there is no replacement program even though the parts used are exactly the same.
So I went out, got some capacitors and replaced the old once. I used capacitors I could readily get: 220 uF, 35V, 85C.
The base station seemed to work just fine. But as I moved my iBook further away, the signal lost strength much faster than it used to. Also the signal strength seemed to vary for no good reason. Bottomline: unusable.
I figured that the card might not be getting correct or steady voltage. So I got another pair of capacitors: 330 uF. The base station again seemed to work fine with a signal that might be just a tad less strong than it used to.
So I went ahead to assemble the case: I had to reposition the capacitors for them to fit the case. Everything was fine until I discovered that the signal again goes only a third of the way it used to. Opening the case does not help. So either the new position of the capacitors introdced problems (e.g interference) or I somehow damaged capacitors.
Now I am at wits end. How can the station work properly, but less well as before?
Has anybody had similar experiences?
I've repaired a couple of base stations with this problem. And I once found that even with brand new power regulating capacitors, it still over heated while it was in the UFO case, and cut out. So both the base stations I repaired, I now leave outside the case. Looks ugly, But works great.
Also, I found that you can use considerably lower rated capacitors, which are the same size as the originals, so fit in the same space, without making holes in the carrier case. And it works just as well, if not better than the stock items. I got the parts from Maplins UK. I used a 100uf 50v for the left cap, and a 220uf 16v for the right. Works fine here.. But get the high temp rated versions, if you can. They are only regulating caps anyway, so they either work, or they dont. I'm not convinced different types affect the range significantly. Cos I tried different types of caps in the 1st base station I repaired, and performance was the same. But keeping the carrier outside the case certainly seemed to help the range a bit.
Also, I found that you can use considerably lower rated capacitors, which are the same size as the originals, so fit in the same space, without making holes in the carrier case. And it works just as well, if not better than the stock items. I got the parts from Maplins UK. I used a 100uf 50v for the left cap, and a 220uf 16v for the right. Works fine here.. But get the high temp rated versions, if you can. They are only regulating caps anyway, so they either work, or they dont. I'm not convinced different types affect the range significantly. Cos I tried different types of caps in the 1st base station I repaired, and performance was the same. But keeping the carrier outside the case certainly seemed to help the range a bit.
Different types of capacitors should not affect the range if they work properly with the power supply. However, if they _don't_ really work properly, the input voltage will vary, and thus the range can vary.
If you have to replace the capacitors, make sure their DC ratings are well in excess of the factory caps. The problem these things have is that, with stock parts, the DC load is too much for the caps in the closed environment of the case (you need to derate capacitors like this in hot environments), so they break down. The characteristic snapping or popping sound for failed caps is actually little arcs within them-not a good thing at all.
Personally, I'd leave the case off and let the poor thing stay as cool as possible.
If you have to replace the capacitors, make sure their DC ratings are well in excess of the factory caps. The problem these things have is that, with stock parts, the DC load is too much for the caps in the closed environment of the case (you need to derate capacitors like this in hot environments), so they break down. The characteristic snapping or popping sound for failed caps is actually little arcs within them-not a good thing at all.
Personally, I'd leave the case off and let the poor thing stay as cool as possible.