deskthority

Since I’m stockpiling spare parts in an attempt to keep my main keyboard in working order indefinitely, it occurred to me that the one thing I *hadn’t* considered was the lifespan of the capacitors used.

I know that the IBM Model M2 can appear to ‘die’ because the capacitors used in it dry out, but I have absolutely no knowledge of the life expectancy of those used in other keyboards. (I know almost nothing about capacitors in general.)

Does anyone else have any useful information about this topic? Does use extend or shorten the life of the capacitors in a keyboard? Anything else of which I haven’t thought?

Most likely you can find a replacement capacitor for the keyboard, they are really common. Just look up the value and order the part.

Modern caps of high quality will last you your lifetime unless you abuse them.

And as the post above says, caps will always be used in electronics, so they are always available if you were ever to break one.

Quality in electrolytics varies wildly, especially these days. If you spend a bit extra on long life, low ESR parts from Panasonic or Nichicon, they will probably outlive you. CDE is good too. All that said, for low voltage stuff like keyboards, any good GP cap is fine.

Temperature is the main thing that takes the life out of 'lytics, whether it be environmental or due to high ripple currents.

Stay away from cheap, surplus stuff from unknown sources. Often these are out of spec, etc. I am usually dealing with very high voltages, so I'm a bit paranoid.

Thanks for the information, guys.