Recap guide

Recap the Atari 8-bit computers

For the 8-bit Ataris the discussed weak point is the power supply: electrolytics that short or stop filtering, and, on external-supply models such as the 130XE, a regulator that can fail and send too much voltage into the computer. The 800 and 1200XL have internal supplies, the 130XE uses an external one.

Open the interactive checklist Tick off each capacitor as you replace it. It saves in your browser.

Check first. A recap is not always the answer here, so look at the guides before you order parts.

Where to start

We did not find a clear list of what fails first on this machine, so we are not guessing. Read the guides below, check the board for leaks, and replace what you can see.

Tips, tales and maybes

Found in write-ups and forum threads. These are other people's reports, not tested by us. Check part references and values against your own board.

• Tip: Hum bars from tired electrolytics (Low confidence). In a long-running maintenance thread, a poster says supply electrolytics have a high failure rate but usually cause little damage: a short that blows a fuse, or poor filtering that shows up as hum bars in picture and sound. Source
• Watch out: Shorted regulator can cook the chips (Low confidence). The same thread warns the nasty failure is a shorted voltage regulator, which can put more than about 8V on every IC without blowing a fuse. It was discussed for external-supply machines such as the 130XE and 800XL, so check an old external brick before trusting it. Source
• Tip: Do not oversize replacements (Low confidence). When swapping electrolytics, the advice given was to raise the voltage rating but keep capacitance within roughly 50 percent of the original, since a much larger value can cause inrush problems. The example of 25,000 uF replacing 4,700 uF was called out as a bad idea. Source

Before you start

• Boards changed during production. Check your board number against the guides before you order parts.
• A mains power supply can hold a dangerous charge. If you are not trained to work on one, have a professional do it.

Guides we used

This page and the interactive bench are built from these. They have the photos and the full detail, so please read them and support their authors.

• Routine maintenance of Atari power supplies (Forum) by AtariAge forums. Discussion of internal and external supplies, capacitor failure modes and regulator risk.

Atari 400 board (power section)

Eight capacitors. The 2200 uF and 4700 uF parts are the big filter caps.

Atari 800 power supply board, Rev B

Eight capacitors on the power supply board.

Atari 800 main board

Two matching parts on the main board.

Atari 130XE board C070067

Eleven capacitors. The cap map (credited to Ivory Tower Collections) marks C19, C20 and C22 as NP (non-polar), though the list does not say so, so use non-polar parts there. IC part numbers read from the map: CPU C014806, ANTIC-E C021697, GTIA C014805, PIA C014795, POKEY C012294, OS C061598, BASIC C024947, FREDDIE C061991.

Atari XEGS board C100417 Rev. A

Ten capacitors. C28 and C32 are listed as non-polar (NP), so the replacements must be non-polar too. The cap map legend gives each part's lead style: axial on the board for C1, C2, C3, C25, C28, C30, C32 and C48, radial for C13 and C55. Console5 credits the map to Nick Wiedl.

Shopping list

39 capacitors in all, grouped by value. Buy a few spares.

• 12 x 10 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 8 x 22 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 5 x 4.7 µF, 35 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 5 x 470 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 4 x 2200 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 2 x 4700 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 100 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 1000 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 4700 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay

Console5 capacitor kits for this machine

Console5 sells ready-made capacitor kits. Kits come in different versions, so match the board number in the kit name to yours and check the listing before you buy.

• Atari 800 Computer Cap Kit

Skip the sourcing

• Ready-made kit: Amazon · eBay
• Already recapped: Amazon · eBay

While you are in there

• Need the machine itself?: Amazon · eBay
• A box of spare capacitors: Amazon · eBay

Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These links only search by name. Disclosure

Step by step

1. Photograph both sides of the board before you touch anything. Zoom in on every capacitor. The photo is your map when you are three hours in.
2. Unplug it, take out the batteries and let it sit. Old power supplies and CRT parts can hold a charge. If your machine has a tube, leave the tube and its board to a professional.
3. Open it up and keep the screws sorted. A muffin tin or an egg carton works. Different screws go in different holes, and the holes never forgive you.
4. Look for leaks. Clean any sticky residue off with isopropyl alcohol and a soft brush. A leaked capacitor leaves brown crust and can eat copper traces. Look at the traces under it, not only the part itself.
5. Mark the polarity of every capacitor on the photo before it comes off. On an electrolytic, the stripe marks the negative leg. The board usually shows a half-shaded circle or a bar for the same spot.
6. Remove the old capacitors one at a time. Surface mount: add fresh solder to both ends and rock the part off, or use flux and a low-melt alloy. Through-hole: heat one leg at a time and clear the hole with wick or a pump.
7. Clean the pads and check for lifted pads or damaged traces. Clean flux off with isopropyl. A bad pad needs a jumper wire, not hope.
8. Fit and solder the new capacitor, matching polarity. Same capacity, same or higher voltage, and it has to physically fit. Work from the smallest parts up.
9. Clean the flux off and look at every joint. A good joint is shiny and shaped like a tiny volcano. A dull blob or a ball is a cold joint: reflow it.
10. With a multimeter, check for shorts across the power rails before you power it on. Use the continuity or resistance setting. A reading near zero means stop and look for a solder bridge.
11. Power it up and test everything: video, sound, controls, the lot. If something is wrong, check polarity first. It is the most common mistake and the easiest fix.

Tools

• Temperature-controlled soldering station. Steady heat so you do not cook pads. Most recaps are done between 320 and 350 C. Top: Hakko FX-951 · Mid: Hakko FX-888D · Budget: Pinecil
• Good solder. Rosin-core 63/37 flows and looks right. It is cheap and it matters. Kester 44 63/37
• Flux. Flux is what makes old joints let go and new joints flow. MG Chemicals flux pen · Chip Quik flux syringe
• Low-melt alloy (for surface mount). Melts old solder on both ends of a surface mount part at once, so it lifts off cleanly. Chip Quik SMD1
• Desoldering tool. Clears the old solder out of through-hole pads. Top: Hakko FR-301 · Mid: Engineer SS-02 pump · Budget: Solder wick
• Fine tweezers. For holding small surface mount parts exactly where you want them. ESD-safe tweezers
• Board holder. A third hand for the board, so both of yours are free. PanaVise circuit board holder
• Magnification. You cannot fix what you cannot see. Surface mount parts are tiny. Top: Stereo microscope · Mid: Head visor · Budget: Lighted magnifier
• Multimeter. Continuity, shorts and rail voltages. The one test that saves boards. Top: Fluke 117 · Mid: Fluke 101 · Budget: AstroAI
• ESR and capacitor tester. Checks old capacitors and your new ones before they go in. Top: Peak Atlas ESR70 · Budget: LCR-T7
• Isopropyl alcohol (99%) and a brush. For cleaning leaked goo and flux. Use the high-percentage kind. MG Chemicals 99.9% isopropyl
• Brass tip cleaner. A clean tip transfers heat. A dirty one does not. Hakko 599B
• Fume extractor. Pulls the smoke away from your face. Hakko FA-400 · Budget: Small bench fan
• Precision screwdrivers. Most old gear uses a mix of Phillips, Torx and security bits. iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit
• Kapton tape. Heat-proof tape to protect parts that sit close to the one you are changing. Kapton tape

Safety

• Good airflow, or a fume fan. Solder smoke is not for breathing.
• Safety glasses on. Solder spits and clipped legs fly.
• Iron in its stand when you are not holding it. Know where the cord is.
• Touch bare metal first, or use a wrist strap. Static kills old chips.
• No tube, no mains power supply. Leave those to a professional.
• Wash your hands after, especially if you used leaded solder.

Values are shown as published in the guides above, and boards changed during production. Check the board in front of you. A recap involves hot tools and, on some machines, dangerous voltages. You do it at your own risk.

More

• All recap guides
• The interactive Recap Bench
• Fix a dead vintage computer
• Atari 800 on the timeline
• Atari 1200XL on the timeline
• Atari 130XE on the timeline
• Atari XEGS on the timeline