Anyone know of anyone I could give a circuit board to and ask them to desolder and replace all the capacitors?
To get the components, try the west side of Zhonghua Road in Taibei, south of the tax office.
I guess he also needs someone to wield the solder iron for him…
Toe Tag, my suggestion is to walk around places where they sell electronic components or tube amplifiers or radio (like in amateur radio) equipment and look if there is a small workbench in a corner with a solder iron on it. Then just ask.
People who know which end of the solder iron becomes unpleasantly warm seem to be an endangered species these days…
[quote=“dl7und”]I guess he also needs someone to wield the solder iron for him…
Toe Tag, my suggestion is to walk around places where they sell electronic components or tube amplifiers or radio (like in amateur radio) equipment and look if there is a small workbench in a corner with a solder iron on it. Then just ask.
People who know which end of the solder iron becomes unpleasantly warm seem to be an endangered species these days…[/quote]
I presume that you are looking for some place in/close to Taibei? There’s a bunch of places in Kaohsiung that do that kind of stuff, but that’s probably too inconvenient. What kind of circuit board is it anyway? What is it for? Why do the caps need replacement? Are they power supply caps from an old amplifier, or is it from some sort of micro-electronic device? is it one of those green circuit boards with the copper traces on the backside? Those are a pain in the butt to work with, otherwise it’s a cinch.
dl7und: Tube amplifier and amateur radio places in Taibei? Where? I’ve scoured Kaohsiung and come up with nothing. It’s all solid state down here. It might be worth a trip up there.
There’s a store in Nova that seems to do that kind of stuff (I didn’t pay much attention.) If you come in Nova from the back enterance (there’s a Mac store and PDA store) go down those stairs close by. In the back of that store there’s an area of geekery like what you described.
Maybe have a look and report back if you’re in the area (that’s the Taipei Mainstation location.)
If in Taibei check the streets around Yanping South Road, south of Nanmen City Gate and near the Central Post Office. This is the Mecca for high-end audio enthusiasts. Also, for components, the other side of Zhonghua Road and the streets behind it, as mentioned in my previous post.
Amateur radio is probably hardly known in Taiwan. Short wave radios were banned under martial law to stop people hearing Communist broadcasts. Even now most Taiwanese don’t know what your are talking about when you mention short wave or long wave. They only know of FM and AM (the AM reception on ordinary radios being medium wave only).
I have seen people repairing electronic equipment (ampifiers etc.) at the shops in the South-East corner of Zhongxiao and Zhonghua Rd. They often sit in front of the shop on the sidewalk. You can source the components at one of the shops directly across the road (South-West corner).
Or go to the dodgy complex at Xining / Zhongxiao Rd., many shops there where you should be able to find someone to help you.
I think you mean Beimen (North Gate).
Hmm, I’m not that sure about Taibei, haven’t been to the great, great capital to get that kind of things for a while. Amateur radio is rare these days, I still know (few) places in Taizhong and Gaoxiong, but that’s about it.
For tubes in Taibei… Near Ximending a few places could have survived, also around Guanghua, but I wouldn’t bet on it. In Taizhong you can find them in the “electronic street” near the station, one is beside the canal. Do you live in Gaoxiong? Then you should know Jianguo Rd., where all the computer shops are. There is a lane in parallel, between the railways and Jianguo Rd. There you can find all kinds of small electronics shops, including audio, and (iirc) also tube amps.
You still can get tube amps, though mostly at specialized shops that are scattered around the city.
See if you can find what you are looking from here: taiwanaudio.org.tw/index.asp?use=eindex
Else just go to one of the shows where you can pick up all the info and contacts.
(I think there isn’t anymore show this year though)
I have indeed been there on many separate occasions. There are some tube hi-fi amps for sale there as complete units, but the tubes, sockets, and transformers and that I need are not available separately. There are tons of 110vac-12vdc type transformers available, the type used in everything from tv sets to toasters and computers, but none of the special 110vac-300+vdc type needed to power a tube amp.
[quote=“Rascal”]Else just go to one of the shows where you can pick up all the info and contacts.
(I think there isn’t anymore show this year though)[/quote]
[url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/international-audio-video-taipei-taipei-audio-fair-2007/32979/1 there still is a show this year![/url]