Vintage Passive Component Kits

One of the challenges in owning a piece of vintage gear is keeping it running in top condition. Parts wear out, rust out, leak out, or their values drift over time. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors can dry out or leak and cause circuit board damage. Paper capacitors, such as those found in vintage radios and Hammond Organs, can absorb oil and moisture and drift significantly. Carbon composition resistors, particularly prior to the 1980s tend to drift outside their specifications within a few decades.

Vintage Korg BX-3 and CX-3 Organ Capacitor Kits

Parastream is pleased to offer complete aluminum electrolytic capacitor kits for the Vintage Korg BX-3 and CX-3 organs. They include replacements for all aluminum electrolytic capacitors for all circuit boards. Many organs have been plagued with leaking capacitors that eat PCB traces and cause all sorts of problems. Please note that these kits only include aluminum electrolytic capacitors as the other types such as mylar and polystyrene have proven to be very stable and have caused no problems to date.

Every electrolytic capacitor in this kit has a minimum duration rating of 2,000 hours @85°C. For the non-EE, this translates to 11 years at 8 hours a day at normal temperatures under 40°C (100°F). This is what the capacitor manufacturers guarantee. In all probability you’ll do substantially better. The original specifications for the Vintage Korg BX-3 and CX-3 organs was 1,000 hours @ 85°C. Heat and humidity are the biggest killers of electrolytic capacitors, so avoid exposing your equipment (no matter who makes it) to temperature and humidity extremes. This goes extra for storage. While your equipment will stand up to occasional playing in 40°C 95% humidity, never store it under these conditions.

There is a kit for each circuit board. There are also complete kits for the BX-3 and CX-3 organs which package together the circuit board kits at a discount. Each circuit board kit comes with a color-coded circuit board layout and color-coded bags of capacitors. If you’re an average electronics DYIer, you can install these capacitor kits. Things can get a bit tricky if you have to repair circuit board trace damage if the old capacitors leaked electrolyte. If you don’t feel comfortable removing the boards and replacing components, consider having a local qualified technician perform the work. If you would like for us to replace the capacitors in your Vintage Korg BX-3 or CX-3 for you, take a look at our Vintage Korg BX-3/CX-3 Repair Service Kit.

Pricing and Ordering

These kits are currently shipping. Current stock levels are indicated in the Availability column. If an item is indicated as Can backorder, please allow an extra 5 business days for us to order the parts from our suppliers. We keep inventory low to keep part freshness as high as possible. To order, click the button. If you have problems getting the order form to display after clicking the button, try disabling your pop-up blocker. The SKU number below is for unit pricing.

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