Ben, my daughter's baby monitor blew a capacitor. And I don't have the tools to desolder and solder a new one. Would it be cheaper to buy a new monitor or buy the tools I need?
It is rare for a capacitor to explode like this unless there is an underlying problem like a shorted diode. The pictures are not explicit enough for me to see more. As far as buying tools for just this job perhaps you can find a local electronics hobbyist that can check out the circuit for you. If there is an electronics parts store in your area they might be able to give you a name.
Thank you for the prompt reply. I've learned a bit from the Ben Heck show, and when I was taking care of my son, I heard the pop and smelled it burning so I'm not entirely sure what happened, only that a casing to a 35v capacitor fell out when I opened it up.
It is possible that the cap just went bad but this is very rare. The capacitors are polarized and must have the voltage applied positive to positive and negative to negative. If a diode in the circuit were to short out then electricity would be applied to the capacitor with the negative to the positive. This in turn causes the capacitor to heat up. Since the capacitor is a sealed unit the pressure inside also begins to build up. When the pressure is high enough the case ruptures as you experienced. This can produce the noise of a pop or as loud as a firecracker. The prudent thing to do is to check the diodes on the circuit board to make sure none are shorted before replacing the capacitor.
If you mean the baby monitor by "it" and not the capacitor I agree. This is a serious application and failure, poor operation, or fire is not an option.
