From: peterwieck33@gmail.com   
      
   > It's really not my thing. When people say, "Just recap anything    
   > suspect" and there might be fewer than half a dozen to do, the    
   > prospect still fills me with horror. If they only knew how ironic the    
   > "Just" bit strikes me in suggestions like that.   
      
   The problem with vintage equipment, however well designed and well built, is   
   that parts within it age. Typically, items that are approaching, or exceeding   
   30 years old will have some marginal parts within. Further, if those parts are   
   'common' as in "many    
   of them", if one fails the others will not be far behind. Some truisms:   
      
   a) As in the Holland America commercials - Time is a precious commodity.   
   b) Most (not all) hobbyists are not limited by cost constraints for a few   
   parts. So, a US$20-or-equivalent investment to save a valuable item is not   
   outrageous.    
   c) Most of the effort in repairs is 'getting to it' - the taking-apart, the   
   testing, documenting, and then reassembly.   
   d) The actual repairs take very little time.    
      
   So, when whatever the device might be, when it is taken apart, *THEN* is the   
   time to refurbish the entirety to the greatest extent possible - to avoid   
   having to repeat the process if nothing else. Analogy: the engine in your   
   vehicle spins one (1) bearing.   
    You would replace _ALL_ of the bearings, as the incremental cost of the   
   additional bearings against the cost of the tear-down is tiny, and the rewards   
   significant.  There is a school of thought that suggests that repairs are made   
   only to the minimum    
   necessary. Subscribers to this theory are the ones that one sees stranded on   
   the side of the road in a blinding snowstorm.    
      
   Your power-supply went through a traumatic event - and it is supplying a   
   complex and expensive piece of equipment. Consider it in that light.    
      
   As to soldering and technique - time and repetition will give you more   
   confidence.    
      
   Peter Wieck   
   Melrose Park, PA    
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)