Help! can anybody identify this part?

[rev.pupusa]

Hi! yesterday i noticed that there was a noise of an loose part inside my microkorg. i did not think it was anything serious since the synth actually works fine. or at least it seems to work fine ...

when i opened it up to have a look this is what i found!!!






i have no idea what it is or what it does. Please if anyone can help me identify and explain the situation i will be deeply grateful! im scared..!


Thank you very much

/pupusa

[rev.pupusa]

i just bought this used through the internet 2 days ago.
this part is obviously blown out. i have no idea why the synth still works.
i need to know soon what to do about this.. in this shape without any knowledge im handling it very carefully.
Should i return in and demand my money back?
i will not accept to have lost money to a machine that is about to brake.
the worst thing i know is to get ripped off. if that is the case i will do everything in my power to get it back if it so means that i need to drive
all the way to this guys house and take it myself.

if anybody know anyone with electronic knowledge that might know what to make of this please send me a msg!

[ClintRubber]

Looks like a blown electrolytic capacitor, just like the other caps near it (black plastic tubing, white legending - probably same value, but hard to tell after the explosion).

Can you tell what kind of info is mentioned on the PCB near the blown part ? Does it start with a 'C' ?

If this is the only thing wrong then it's little $$, caps are cheap. It might be caused by another problem though.

Does your synth hums a bit more than expected perhaps ?

[rev.pupusa]

ok i dont know what an electrolytic capacitor is.
yes it seems to be the same kind as the two caps near it
but none of them have the same size so i would guess they do Not have the same values. the broken one is def the biggest one of the three.

Yes beside the broken one "C107" is printed on the pcb

(besides the other two there is different numbers .. i think c104 and c102 im not sure but not the same value.)

as i said i have only had it for 1 day so im not sure exactly what it supposed to sound like. i use headphones and if i turn the volume all the way up i Do not hear any hum or noise at all.
If you are asking me about extra "hum" inside the sound i would not know what to compare to.



I Have done some very basic soldering of normal size resistors and such.
however when i look how this pcb is attached is seems very complicated just to turn it around.. have anyone repaired their microkorg like this?

[rev.pupusa]

here is some more closeups

[xmlguy]

If you don't even know what an electrolytic capacitor is, then you shouldn't mess with it yourself. You need an electronics tech to help fix it, or you need to return it. The prior owner probably "tried" to use DC adapter that had the wrong polarity, which blew up the capacitor. Electrolytic capacitors have a positive and negative, and when reversed, they blow up. Even though the MK may "run", you are taking a big risk of burning up other components if the cap is not replaced. Do not run it anymore until it is fixed. That capacitor is probably part of the voltage regulator circuit, and the capacitor smooths out any bad ripples in the main voltage power rail that is supplied to _every_ other device on the board.

Pretend I'm a mechanic that just told you that your engine oil pump went out, but you were lucky enough to get it to me before blowing up the engine, but if you don't replace that $100 pump, then you are going to blow up a $3,500 engine.

So, do you want to spend a dollar or two in parts, and maybe 15-30 minutes of a techs time to fix it for you? That's your call. If you continue to run it, you'll end up with a microBRICK.

[rev.pupusa]

thank you xmlguy, that confirms the feeling i have.
Im in the process of arranging the return of the microkorg to the seller.

Be well