Sony HB-10 Capacitor Replacement Guide
The Sony HB-10 has 22 electrolytic capacitors on its PU-37 main board and one in its AC adaptor. Sony's service manual for the HB-10P and HB-10B lists every one with its value, voltage rating and part number, and its location list places each on a lettered and numbered grid printed around the board drawings.[1][2] The tables below are taken from that list.
The values apply to the HB-10P and HB-10B. Niga reports that the Japanese HB-10 uses the same board design with the 64 KB parts left off, but no parts list for the Japanese model has been published, so read the parts on a Japanese board before ordering.[3]
Signs of trouble
[edit | edit source]- Leaked electrolyte or corrosion around the power section, which holds the large reservoir C1, C3 and C4 (220 µF 35 V) and the regulators.[4]
- A +5 V rail that sags or carries ripple, which points first to C1, C35 and C28.
- Distorted PSG sound is not a capacitor fault on this machine. sd_snatcher traced it to R22, which is 10 kΩ where 1 kΩ is needed, and noted that it can sound like a failed capacitor.[5] See the Troubleshooting Guide.
General signs of failed capacitors are covered in Capacitor Failure Symptoms.
Capacitor list
[edit | edit source]Power supply (PU-37)
[edit | edit source]| Ref | Capacitance | Voltage | Sony part no. | Grid square | Position in the circuit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | 10,000 µF | 25 V | 1-124-772-11 | B-13 | DC input reservoir before IC1 |
| C3 | 220 µF | 35 V | 1-123-346-00 | D-12 | Input of IC20 (−12 V) |
| C4 | 220 µF | 35 V | 1-123-346-00 | C-12 | Input of IC19 (+12 V) |
| C28 | 47 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-306-00 | D-13 | +5 V output |
| C29 | 47 µF | 16 V | 1-123-332-00 | C-11 | +12 V output |
| C30 | 47 µF | 16 V | 1-123-332-00 | D-12 | −12 V output |
| C35 | 470 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-298-00 | E-11 | +5 V output |
[1][2][4] All are 20 % tolerance. C2 next to C1 is a 0.33 µF 50 V film capacitor, not an electrolytic.[1]
Rest of the board (PU-37)
[edit | edit source]| Ref | Capacitance | Voltage | Sony part no. | Grid square |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C6 | 33 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-318-00 | B-11 |
| C7 | 470 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-298-00 | C-11 |
| C8 | 4.7 µF | 25 V | 1-123-369-00 | C-11 |
| C9 | 47 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-306-00 | C-11 |
| C10 | 4.7 µF | 25 V | 1-123-369-00 | C-10 |
| C12 | 4.7 µF | 25 V | 1-123-369-00 | C-10 |
| C13 | 100 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-661-00 | A-10 |
| C15 | 4.7 µF | 25 V | 1-123-369-00 | A-9 |
| C16 | 4.7 µF | 25 V | 1-123-369-00 | A-6 |
| C17 | 1 µF | 25 V | 1-119-501-00 | B-5 |
| C18 | 1 µF | 25 V | 1-119-501-00 | B-5 |
| C19 | 47 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-306-00 | A-5 |
| C27 | 47 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-306-00 | A-2 |
| C52 | 1 µF | 50 V | 1-123-380-00 | F-5 |
| C60 | 100 µF | 6.3 V | 1-123-661-00 | B-6 |
AC adaptor (AC-HB1P and AC-HB1B)
[edit | edit source]The adaptor has one electrolytic, C1, 330 µF 25 V (Sony part 1-123-335-00), across the DC output after rectifiers D1 and D2. C2 (0.33 µF film) and C3 and C4 (0.022 µF ceramic) are the other capacitors in it.[6] The adaptor's transformer and fuses carry mains voltage; unplug it before opening it.[6]
Replacement procedure
[edit | edit source]- Unplug the adaptor and remove the PU-37 board as described in General Maintenance. The board has to come out, because the capacitors are soldered from below.
- Photograph the board and note the polarity mark beside each capacitor before removing anything.
- Work on the power section first: C1, C3, C4, C28, C29, C30 and C35.
- Cut each old capacitor's leads close to the body, then heat each pad and pull the lead out with pliers. sd_snatcher warns that this board's tracks lift very easily if a part is pulled out whole.[5]
- Clear the holes with a desoldering pump or braid and fit the new part with the correct polarity.
- Fit replacements of the same capacitance and the same or a higher voltage rating. C1 is large; check the diameter and lead spacing of a replacement before ordering, so that it fits under the case.
- Refit the board and the IC1 screw, then check the rails as below.
After the recap
[edit | edit source]Measure the three rails across their output capacitors with the computer running:[4]
- +5 V across C35 or C28
- +12 V across C29
- −12 V across C30
Then load BASIC and run a cartridge. The Sony HB-10 Troubleshooting Guide covers what to do if a rail is missing.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Sony HB-10
- Sony HB-10 General Maintenance
- Sony HB-10 Troubleshooting Guide
- Sony HB-10P and HB-10B Service Manual
- Capacitor Failure Symptoms
- Recommended Tools
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sony, HB-10P/10B, AC-HB1P/HB1B Service Manual, part no. 9-975-599-01, 1985 (File:Sony HB-10P HB-10B Service Manual 9-975-599-01.pdf), electrical parts list for the PU-37 board, page 7-6, and for the AC-HB1P/HB1B adaptor, page 7-9. Hosted with a description at Sony HB-10P and HB-10B Service Manual.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sony, HB-10P/10B service manual (File:Sony HB-10P HB-10B Service Manual 9-975-599-01.pdf), PU-37 board drawings on pages 5-8 and 5-9 and component location list on page 5-10.
- ↑ SONY HB-10の補修と改造– Niga, にがMSX—link(accessed 2026-10-21) The Japanese and PAL boards are the same design; C43, C53, R62 and Q4 are not fitted on the 16 KB Japanese board.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sony, HB-10P/10B service manual (File:Sony HB-10P HB-10B Service Manual 9-975-599-01.pdf), PU-37 schematic, page 5-12: C1 on the DC input to IC1 (µPC7805); C28 and C35 on +5 V; C4 and C29 on the input and output of IC19 (+12 V); C3 and C30 on the input and output of IC20 (−12 V).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sony HB10 / HB20 Hardware issue + fix, MSX Resource Center forum, 11 March 2017 to 30 May 2020—link(accessed 2026-10-21) sd_snatcher, 9 April 2017: R22 at 10 kΩ saturates the PSG and can sound like a bad capacitor; fix R22 to 1 kΩ and R15 to 4.7 kΩ; the board has very fragile tracks, so cut component leads and remove them pad by pad.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sony, HB-10P/10B service manual (File:Sony HB-10P HB-10B Service Manual 9-975-599-01.pdf), AC adaptor schematic on page 5-17 and parts list on page 7-9.