newprotest.org: NOTHING A LITTLE SOLDER CAN'T FIX

NOTHING A LITTLE SOLDER CAN'T FIX

September 01, 2009
by: jovial_cynic


One of the best DVD players I've owned is the Philips DVP 642 - it was one of the first inexpensive DVD players on the market to play DVDs, VCDs, SVCDs, DivX and Xvid video files, as well as MP3s. I picked it up back in 2005, and it's treated me fairly well, until recently. One day, it simply wouldn't do anything except display a blinking red light around the power button. Red ring of death, I guess.

Doing some research on it, it turns out that a common cause for this problem is a blown capacitor - a 10v 1000uf capacitor that ends up bulging out, possibly due to a voltage overload. The fix -- simply replace the cap with a 16v or greater 1000uf capacitor.

The DVD player comes apart with the removal of about 10 screws. Having cracked it open, it took me a while to find the culprit: capacitor C316 (labeled on the board). That's because the document I was reading said the capacitor would be near the power plug.


The problem was actually half-way down the board away from the power plug. I wonder if some of these DVD players have boards arranged differently.



Here's what a healthy capacitor looks like.



And here's the C316, bulging at the top.



Fortunately, a coworker of mine gave me a bunch of electrical components last year, and I've now got enough to compete with my local Radio Shack. I had a few 1000uf capacitors from which to choose.



Here's the 16v capacitor. It's a little larger than the 10v cap.



And here's the capacitor installed on the board.



Success!

COMMENTS for NOTHING A LITTLE SOLDER CAN'T FIX


Luke said:
You're awesome. What an awesome fix! I bet the success of it all was more rewarding than the cost of a new DVDE player.

I'm building a stomp pedal right now. I bought a JamMan like the Phil Keaggy kind that creates loops you can play over and overdub layers on the fly with. The pedal lets you switch through the 99 different storage points.

I've never soldered anything. Any advice???

September 05, 2009


jovial_cynic said:
Hey Luke -

Very cool, man. Advice: practice *desoldering* some things to see how long it takes for the heat to break down an existing solder connection. Also, when soldering, you need to heat the item you're trying to solder, not the solder itself. Otherwise, the solder won't stick to the component.

September 05, 2009


Chony said:
Awesome, praise the Lord for giving me an awesome smart son!
September 11, 2009


Luke Brandon said:
What was the type of welder you said I should get to get started? A torch kind or mig or tig or fig or jig? ;-)
September 11, 2009


jovial_cynic said:
Mom - thanks!

Luke - buzz box, arc welder, stick welder. All the same thing. Lots show up on craigslist for cheap ($50 and under), or you can get one at harbor freight.

September 11, 2009


Ben said:
Wow Josh.

I'm not gonna lie. That's just really stinkin cool. I definitely would have ended up with a new DVD player.

Classy.

September 12, 2009


jovial_cynic said:
Ben -

I think I have a strong aversion to spending money, which really helps out in the do-it-yourself department.

September 13, 2009


Tonya Harmati said:
I too share your love for this DVD player. Your collection is massive and quite geeky! Awesome:)
October 04, 2009


add comments. you are limited to 5,000 characters:

<< your name
<< your email (won't be displayed)
<< your website / location
<< type these numbers: 884088 (plus 0NE)

(html -enabled- / no scripts)

<< Comments temporarily disabled >>

Rules: Don't spam. Don't harrass. Don't be a jerk. Your IP address (34.237.140.238) will be logged.