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I'd love to hear more about what "the capacitor plague" is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

It's why computers from the 80s can last until now without needing any recapping but computers from 2002 or so are ticking time bombs.

But not after 2007?

Well, for some years after 2007, you still have old stock bad capacitors floating around. And you're into lead-free solder problems.

Um.... All electrolytics eventually go bad as the electrolyte solution dries out eventually. Re-capping retro computers and radio gear from the 70s through the 90s is very much a thing.

That being said, electrolytics were somewhat less common than they are now. But the Capacitor Plague is not the only reason electronics are recapped, especially older/vintage/retro electronics.

Yeah, but the 70s-90s stuff may die /eventually/ but not pretty consistently after 2-3y, that was the point.

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