This is an updated repost of my topic from old stereo2go on finding replacement capacitors that should fit most machines. Your walkman will likely require new capacitors when it has the following symptoms: 1. Significant amount of motor feedback or hum through the headphones 2. Screeching, especially with Dolby on 3. No sound except for buzzing and screeching 4. Abnormally low volume and/or distortion, usually with poor frequency response. Most common models affected by this plague are: Late 80s-Mid 90s Aiwas, all models Walkman DD 1,10,11,22 Walkman WM-170/190 derivatives (such as A602) This is a list of replacement electrolytic capacitors common to most Walkman models (mostly 1985 onwards). As most of the original caps in slim Walkmans are now unobtanium, these are substitutes that best closely match them. I have tested these when repairing my personal machines. They are the smallest I can find. If you can find a source for smaller and better electrolytics, I'd love to know! These are listed in order on how common they are. Before purchasing, I would double and triple check to make sure the dimensions are within range of the originals (especially height), but in some models, some creative placement/offsets may be required! To fit a SMD cap in through hole, just bend the capacitor feet downwards and discard the plastic base. This way, you can save some height! To mount them sideways, you can either find an equivalent through-hole or extend the feet with the wire from another cap. All round can capacitors are electrolytic, and at least some will be on the audio path. All small rectangular ones are tantalum or ceramic, and usually do not require replacement. The service manual will confirm what type it is. If you Walkman has values not listed or is a very large early model, you may need to find specific caps. In this case, search for capacitor value first, followed by size, and the distance between the leads/legs. 2023 Update: UMW series caps are no longer made 220uf: SMD: EMVY6R3ADA221MF55G (5.2 mm height, 6.3mm diameter) EEE-HA0J221WP (5.4mm height, 6.3mm diameter) EMVA6R3ADA221MF55G (5.2 mm height, 6.3mm diameter) EEE0JA221WP (5.4mm height, 6.3mm diameter) Through Hole: UMW0G221MDD (Audio Grade Series, 5mm height, 6.3mm diameter, very tiny!) ECE-A0GKS221 (5mm height, 6.3mm diameter, very tiny!) ECA-0JM221 (12mm height, 5mm diameter for W800, weird 90s Aiwas such as JX609, J202mk6) 100uf: SMD: EMVA6R3ADA101ME55G (5.2mm height, 5mm diameter) EMVE160ADA101MF55G (5.2mm height, 6.3mm diameter) UWR0J101MCL1GB (5.5mm height, 6.3mm diameter) EEE0JA101WAR (5.4mm height, 5mm diameter) EEE-HA0J101P (5.4mm height, 6.3mm diameter) Through Hole: UMW0G101MDD (Audio Grade Series, 5mm height, 5mm diameter, very tiny!) ECE-A0JKS101(5mm height, 6.3mm diameter) 47uf: SMD: EMVA6R3ADA470MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE-0JA470WR, EEE-HA1C470WR (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A0GKS470, UMW0G470MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) 22uf: SMD: EMVA160ADA220MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE1CA220WAR, EEE-HA1A220WR (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A0JKS220, UMW0J220MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) 10uf: SMD: EMVA250ADA100MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE1CA100SR, EEE-HA1E100AR (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A1CKS100, UMW1C100MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) 33uf: SMD: EMVA100ADA330MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE0JA470WR, EEE-HAC330WAR (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A0GKS330, UMW0G330MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) 330uf: SMD: EEE-FT0J331AP, PCK0G331MCO1GS (5.8-6.0 mm height, 6.3mm diameter) Through Hole: UMW0J331MDD 5mm height, 8mm diameter. Please check fit! Good for some Alpha-1 Aiwas 470uf: Through Hole:UMW0G471MDD (Audio Grade Series, 5mm height, 8mm diameter, smallest I can find, Check your originals or substitute with tantalums) RF80E471MDN1PX (Polymer Cap, 8mm Height, 5mm Diameter, Check your originals or substitute with tantalums) 4.7uf: SMD: EMVA350ADA4R7MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE1EA4R7SR, EEE-HA1V4R7AR (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A1VKS4R7, UMW1E4R7MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) 3.3uf: SMD: EMVA500ADA3R3MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE1HA3R3SR, EEE-HA1H3R3AR (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A1HKS3R3, UMW1V3R3MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) 2.2uf: SMD: EMVE500ADA2R2MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE1HA2R2SR, EEE-HA1H2R2R (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A1HKS2R2, UMW1H2R2MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) 1uf: SMD: EMVE500ADA1R0MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter) EEE1HA010SR, EEE-HA1H1R0R, (5.4mm height, 4mm diameter) Through Hole: ECE-A1HKS010, UMW1H010MDD (5mm height, 4mm diameter) Note: If you can't find the exact model for the United Chemicon Caps, you can substitute the series: MVY, MVA, MVE. They are all good for Walkmans. If you're planning to order a batch to fix a few machines, I'd order around the following number: 20-40 220uf 10-20 100 uf 10-20 47 uf 10-20 22uf 10-20 10uf 10-20 4.7 uf 6-10 any other value
What brand of capacitors do you recommend ? I'm looking at Farnell catalogue (it has the Italian version so I guess shipping cost should be lower) and there are several brands for each value: as an example Rubycon, Panasonic, United Chemi Con, Kemet ... I think Marian uses Rubycon, but I'm not really sure. thanks !
I prefer in the following order: United Chemicon MVY series: higher quality caps, shorter than most other non Chemicon competitors (eg. Panasonic SMD type) Panasonic KS series Type A: super short through hole caps, good selection. But some SMD Chemicons are narrower United Chemicon MVA,MVE series: good height and selection All these are good brands (including rubycon, elna, nichicon) but the most important feature for Walkman caps is size: Many of them have very limited height and space for substituting larger caps. Brand doesn't matter as much. However, the leaky caps in some models of older Aiwas are Nichicons. If you need conformation on your list of caps you can post the part numbers here.
Does anyone have any recommendations of videos/projects to learn how to properly solder. I don't know much about how to solder.
@Command8 if only one video then this is it: How To Solder You may laugh all you want that it takes 10 min to solder one piece, but this is how it should be done "properly" To see how NOT to solder, buy any power supply for desktop PC (must be made in China) and for $30 you will have an example of such artistry As for the soldering iron itself, once my son "temporarily borrowed" my Hakko ( a year+ ago ) I bought XPower: once fitted with genuine Hakko tip it works fine for me... "temporarily"... Just use metal mesh, not wet sponge, to wipe the tip. Good Luck!!
List has been updated with new smaller and higher quality Through Hole caps for 220uf and 100uf, the most common sizes. Also added an option for the rare 470uf. Nichicon Audio Grade UMW series, designed for audio use. Also added complete Panasonic KS range, available in all sizes but 1uf.
For soldering practice, I've bought some SMD training kits from fleabay. Just search for "SMD training solder" and see what's there. It'll take a while for those kits to arrive, but I'd rather train with those, than muck up a piece. Once I've done some of them, I've got some "led spectrum analyzer" units here, some of which can be had for a tenner - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Musi...497297?hash=item3d397cfbd1:g:ZWcAAOSwt0FZA06Y I also invested some time and money into a new temperature controlled solder station and got a few different bits of various sizes and types to mess around with, before I found the bits that I'm most comfortable using. Also, some ancillary things like tweezers, rubber roller restorer and things. Then, I'll be moving on to the walkmans. However, it looks like I'm going to have to invest in some plastic sandwich boxes, as it seems like I'm going to have to take some of the walkmans apart in order to identify the caps that I need to buy, and the dimensions of some of the belts also... and leave them apart until I'm ready to get in and fix them. Also, I've been watching a number of tutorials on soldering. So far, EEVBlog has got the most comprehensive, but some of the things he swears by, like reservoir tips, are not available for my simple station -
One tip for soldering new SMD caps back on: If you are lacking space on the tiny board for your iron or just want to make it easier, carefully snap off the plastic base of the SMD cap, tin the legs and traces on the board, and then solder it on. The cap is strong enough without the plastic base.
I will try to recap my first walkmans in the near future and this topic is going to be a must for me. I'm not an expert in soldering but I guess that with the right tools and a steady hand it can be easily accomplished. Command8 I found a couple of months ago these videos from PACE industry (I'll link the first one). It's a goldmine about all the basics about repairing and it has a very cool vintage touch to it
What about using tantal capacitors instead of electrolytic ones? Possible, technically wrong or blasphemy?
If it is in the signal path it will affect the sound in a bad way (usually). However, sometimes, if space is too tight, it might be the only option. Poly caps are better but they are more or less the same size as electrolytics. I'll be posting a Walkman capacitor replacement tutorial guide in the next 2 weeks or so, stay tuned.
I order the replacement caps from mouser (quick delivery). I noticed that the uF-number matches but the V-number doesn't (in all cases). Can I still use them (sorry if this too trivial a question)?
You can always use higher voltage caps. The uf value should stay the same. For Walkmans, size of the caps matters most.
a suggestion to moderators/ administrators : @T-ster @walkman archive Can you please pin this topic that way we can find it easily when needed? Thanks
Thanks! And maybe I'm helping someone by adding that the Voltage on the 22uF caps probably reads 6.3V (and not 63V) - the print on mine is really bad so I was mistaken at first.
If you check the component rating in the service manual versus what is actually installed you will easily find the actual component has a higher voltage rating. If there are no strict space constraint, inventory minimisation is a priority and you can easily find a 35V rated capacitor on a battery powered walkman. Beside, modern capacitors, while not necessarily better, are smaller than an equivalent from 80's and 90's .
I have a Aiwa HS-P202 MkIII and i removed the caps from it but i lost one cap... That one from the picture: (where the red arrow is pointing to near the volume knob) I dont know what was its capacitance value... Does anyone know? And, i never did this before and if someone could help me on advising where to get these caps and the right ones to this model I would be appreciated. Im from Portugal by the way.
