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Recap guide

Recap the NES and Famicom

The original NES has few electrolytics. The big one is the RF modulator cap, and a wavy picture or no display is the usual symptom. Board variants differ.

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.

Which board do I have?

Boards changed during production. These notes come from the linked sources, and many are only partly documented, so check the board in front of you.

  • Famicom HVC-CPU-01 to -08 and HVC-CPU-GPM-01/02 (1983-1993) (Low confidence). How to tell: Board code is printed on the PCB; CPU-07 is the most common and GPM boards are the final design. Capacitors: No cap list found; ConsoleMods only says GPM-02 added ceramic caps (C36) near the PPU and controller chips, and one forum post notes the Famicom RF modulator is a separate board with a similar big cap. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
  • NES front-loader NES-CPU-01 to NES-CPU-11 (1985-1993) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Board code NES-CPU-xx is printed on the motherboard. Capacitors: A board map for NES-CPU-07 shows 3 caps (C1 100uF 6.3V, C9 2.2uF 50V, C23 1uF 50V) and says -01 to -11 are functionally identical to the launch board, while a Retro Repairs log lists the same three plus four RF/PSU module caps (C3 10uF 25V, C25 2200uF 25V, C26 100uF 16V, C29 100uF 10V) and warns production variants differ in values and locations. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
  • NES-101 top-loader (NESN-CPU-01, NESN-CPU-JIO-01/02, NESN-CPU-AV-01, 1993-1995) (Low confidence). How to tell: Smaller top-loading console; NESN-CPU-01 is the common one. Capacitors: A NESdev poster says its caps are much smaller than the front-loader's and uses a 10 nF ceramic disc cap (not MLCC) as a bypass; a RetroSix kit seller says its kit is for front-loaders only. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: yes. Source
  • AV Famicom HVCN-CPU-01 and -02 (1993-2003) (Low confidence). How to tell: Redesigned AV Famicom; -02 is the final board. Capacitors: ConsoleMods only says -02 moved cap C14 away from the heatsink area; no list found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source

Where to start

Clues from write-ups and forum threads, not a diagnosis. Low confidence means one thread or one repair; high means several write-ups agree.

  • Wavy or missing picture (Low confidence). One forum post says a swollen 2200uF/25V cap in the RF modulator causes erratic or no picture and sound. It gives specs (2200uF, 25V, 85C) and how to spot a swollen top. Source
  • Front-loader values (Medium confidence). One restoration lists mainboard and RF/PSU module values for a single front-loader variant, and the author warns variants differ. Source
  • Top-loader bypass cap (Low confidence). For the top-loader, one thread says to use a 10nF ceramic disc part, not an MLCC, in a bypass position. Source

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.

  • Story: Wavy video: clean the connector before desoldering (Low confidence). A MIDIbox forum poster replaced the 2200uF cap in the RF section and three other electrolytics to cure wavy video, then found that thoroughly cleaning the 72-pin connector, its header and the cart helped as much or more. They also noted the shielded, multiply soldered RF section is hard to get into. Source
  • Watch out: RF modulator needs a hot iron (Medium confidence). A front-loader restoration found the RF modulator and PSU module needed a high-powered iron because of the thermal mass. The author found no ready-made pack for that board and made up a list himself, and again warns that variants differ in values and positions. Source
  • Tip: Rolling gray screen and buzz (Low confidence). The RacketBoy modulator-cap thread describes a rolling grey screen with a loud buzz even with no cart, which changed when the cap was tapped. The poster says not to pre-cut the new legs (bend them to fit), to leave a small gap under the cap, to use a pencil iron, to avoid forcing it out, and to discharge by pressing power and reset with the unit unplugged. Source
  • Watch out: Ceramic disc caps that turn out to be MLCC (Low confidence). In the NESdev thread on a broken 10nF (marked 103) bypass cap on a NES-101, the poster found that supplier search results labelled as ceramic discs were often MLCCs on the datasheet. The moderator wanted a 10%, 100V disc part because MLCCs have higher series resistance there. Source
  • Maybe: Cold-boot trouble near the reset button (NESRGB thread) (Low confidence). In a Shmups thread on a mod board in a front-loader, one poster suggested replacing the 0.47uF electrolytic near the reset button to cure cold-boot problems. Other cap suggestions there concern the mod's own reset circuit, so this applies only to modded consoles and is a poster's 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.

The capacitor list

We have not checked a capacitor list for this machine yet, so none is shown. Follow the guide above for your board, then add the capacitors in the interactive checklist and it builds a shopping list for you.

Skip the sourcing

While you are in there

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

Steps, tools and safety

The steps, the tools in top, middle and budget picks, and the safety list are the same for every machine, so they live on one page: How to recap, step by step.

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.

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