List of Common Walkman Capacitors

Originally postede by:
BUB

For those of you planning to re-cap Walkmans with sound issues (all too common due to age), here 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.





220uf:

SMD:

EMVY6R3ADA221MF55G, EEE-HA0J221WP (MVY is the shortest, 5.2 vs 5.4mm)

Through Hole:

ECE-A0GKS221 (5mm height, very tiny!),

ECA-0JM221 (12mm height, 5mm diameter for W800, weird 90s Aiwas)



100uf:

SMD: EMVE160ADA101MF55G (5.2mm)

Through Hole: ECE-A0JKS101(5mm)



47uf: SMD: EMVA6R3ADA470MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



22uf: SMD: EMVA160ADA220MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



10uf: SMD: EMVA250ADA100MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



33uf: SMD: EMVA100ADA330MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



330uf: SMD: EEE-FT0J331AP, PCK0G331MCO1GS (5.8-6.0 mm height, 6.3mm diameter)



4.7uf: SMD: EMVA350ADA4R7MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



3.3uf SMD: EMVA500ADA3R3MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



2.2uf SMD: EMVE500ADA2R2MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



1uf SMD: EMVE500ADA1R0MD55G (5.2mm height, 4mm diameter)



Not listed: 470uf. Quite rare. There are caps available, but due to space restrictions, you may need to substitute with a tantalum.

 

All round 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.

Electrolytics degrade or even leak over time, and as all Walkmans are now reaching 20-30 years old, they may require replacement, especially those with lower quality capacitors that leak (most late 80s-90s Aiwas for example).

Common symptoms are: low output volume, high distortion and lack of high/low end frequency response, motor hum and feedback. Sometimes, in some really bad cases, no sound or just noise.

There are a few members on this forum that do repairs. While I do repair Walkmans, I only repair my own personal units. Capacitor replacement isn't extremely difficult as long as you have the right tools and the right caps- removing SMD caps can be somewhat tricky but it isn't too difficult. Locating corroded traces caused by capacitor leaks on the other hand...

 

Reply by:
LONGMAN

Unfortunately, unlike some other components, capacitor reliability did not improve over time, especially as equipment was miniaturised, so you are more likely to find problems in a 1990s unit than a 1970s one.

A major problem is with the early surface mount electrolytics which were made by just changing the base configuration of through hole capacitors.

On a through hole board the components are shielded from the heat by the board when it is soldered. If hand soldered heat is only applied to each component for a second or two putting little strain on it.

With surface mount the whole board, including all the components, has to be heated up beyond the melting point of the solder for quite some time. This puts more strain on the capacitor seals. The introduction of lead free solder (which still isn't used for high reliability applications like spaceflight) increased the temperature required making the situation even worse.

Two items from the 1990s which have had lots written about failing capacitors, probably because when working they are sought after are the Sega Game Gear and the Sony ICF-SW77 shortwave radio.

Just Google "Sega Game Gear capacitors" and you will find numerous guides on how to replace these, with techniques applicable to any similar equipment.

p.s The above doesn't cover the notorious capacitor plague

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

as that is more applicable to large capacitors in things like computer motherboards. It can definitely affect TVs though so it wouldn't surprise me if it occurred in things like mid range hi-fis from that era.