Greetings EEVBees:
--This Optimus MD-1150 Electronic Keyboard, from the dumpster, was in perfect shape, and missing only the music stand and the power supply. It needed a 9 Volt, 1 Amp, 5.5 mm barrel plug with center negative. I took a center positive 12V supply and switched the leads to make it center negative. I then plugged it in and as expected, no joy. A DMM showed that the power input jack had broken a trace on the board. After resoldering and reinforcing the power input jack pads, the keyboard was working in all particulars.
--While recapping I measured the ESR in and out, of each cap, and what oh my daddy-o, they are nearly all either out of spec or about to be out of spec. All were replaced with good name brands. The 22, 33 and 47 at 50 Volts, and the rest at 25 Volts. The contemporaneous notes on the caps are included below. Almost none of the caps were good but the unit functioned normally, but I was afraid to leave 85C Elna's in place.
--I needed the 12V PS adapter to drive a universal CCFL to power the lamps on a small TV. So, I bought 9V center positive and switched the leads, IE cut the power cable with the red and black wires and soldered red to black and visa versa. I plugged it in and slid the power switch to on. The display lit up very brightly, there was a popping noise, and the display went off. I thought I had put an electrolytic in backwards, and had caused an explosion, but checking the PS adapter showed zero volts. Opening the adapter soon revealed the problem. These 9V 1A PSs are made from a repurposed USB PS, and the stubs from the USB circuits were left on the board. One stub is very near the Line prong when the board is put in the case. The board was also loose. So the stub touched the prong creating an arc and a tiny explosion melting the Line wire off of its prong and scorching the resistor.
--The weird part is one of leads of the 9V zener was cut as if by laser, and with no scorching or signs of heat. The resistor measured up to spec, and so did the zener, so I soldered the zener leads back together with a blob of solder and Bob's your uncle. Of course I replace the PS adapter caps as SOP. When I reassembled the adapter, I put some extra rubber insulation to guard against shorts.
--There do seem to be a lot of these Two Hung Lo adapters out there, and they do seem to be a fire risk, so I recommend, inspection and repair before use.
--Even though this is a Radios Hack product, it sounds quite good and is a very usable, and rugged student instrument. I am learning how to play "If I Only Had a Brain".
Optimus MD-1150 Electronic Keyboard
Name Brand T Value Volts ESRin ESRout Cond
C202 Elna 85 22 50 0.79 0.78 Bad
C204 Elna 85 22 50 0.84 0.82 Bad
C207 Elna 85 22 50 0.80 0.78 Bad
C213 Elna 85 22 50 0.80 0.81 Bad
C214 Elna 85 22 50 0.80 0.80 Bad
C227 Elna 85 22 50 10.0 10.0 BadBad
C233 Elna 85 22 50 10.0 10.0 BadBad
C206 Elna 85 33 50 0.68 0.62 Bad
C223 Elna 85 47 25 0.66 0.67
C224 Elna 85 47 25 0.10 0.62
C239 Elna 85 47 25 0.69 0.69
C220 Elna 85 100 16 0.68 0.68 Bad
C221 Elna 85 100 16 0.67 0.64 Bd
C222 Elna 85 100 16 0.62 0.62 Bad
C237 Elna 85 100 16 0.60 0.59 Bad
C218 Elna 85 100 16 0.60 0.68 Bad
C203 Elna 85 470 6.3 0.27 0.27 Bad
C219 Elna 85 470 16 0.03 0.14 ?
C205 Elna 85 1000 6.3 0.13 0.14 Bad
C212 Elna 85 1000 10 0.12 0.12 Bad
C215 Elna 85 1000 10 0.09 0.11 Bad
C201 Elna 85 2200 16 0.03 0.05
"In the heat of battle, my father wove a tapestry of obscenity that as far as we know, is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan."
Ralphie Parker
Best Regards
Clear Ether