ceramic caps...

[eyevancsu]

i have quite a few ceramic caps and am unaware of their values. on them are values such as 10, 103,203, these are green. i also have some tan ones that have numbers such as .001,.05,.002 and underneath these are the initials of AEC(manufacturer i suppose). how can i determine their values with tihs information?<p>ivan

[Chris Foley]

Hi, Eye. You've got a couple of different types of caps there. The green ones are probably mylar (metallized polyester film) caps. The numbers on those refer to the number of picofarads. Remember 1000pF = 1nF (nanofarad), and 1000nF = 1uF(microfarad). The first two numbers are followed by the multiplier. So, your 103 cap will be 10*10^3, or 10,000pF, or 10nF, or .01uF. A 221 will be 22*10^1, or 220pF, or .22nF. If you don't like exponential notation, just visualize the last example as 22 followed by one zero, or 220pF.<p>The circular tan ones are ceramic disc capacitors. Most of them have the same numbering system as above, but some just list the microfarads right on the label. So, your .001 will be .001uF, or 1nF, or 1000pF. There will sometimes be a number on the second line, and that indicates withstand voltage.

[eyevancsu]

thx alot for responding so fast, your help was very useful.<p>thx, ivan.