Comments on: EEVblog #33 1of2 – Capacitor Tutorial (Electrolytic, Tantalum, and Plastic Film)

By: fjw

fjw — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:33:37 +0000

Ahh such memories…
Welcome to the real world of electronic design.
10-15 years ago there was only one version of smt tantalum capacitors that had built in fuses, the Kemet T496 series.
We were restricted by our Japanesse customers from using any other type of smt tatatlum for the very reasons so delightfully shown in your video.
Ironically, at that time, the National semi Simple Switcher design software would spit out a list of components for the switching regulator design and always specify these little mini IEDs.
My favorite cap detonation was a 100,000uf 400V electrolytic (min milk bottle) used in a magnetizing circuit. THese beauties have a relief valve the size of a 6-32 screw head. They spew like old faithful and smell like death.
Remember, capacitors are NOT passive components….O:)

By: Ross Vumbaca

Ross Vumbaca — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:35:19 +0000

Sean: That’s a well known story, involving industrial espionage and stolen formulas! See this as an example:

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

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:15:06 +0000

Bad electrolytics, can’t say enough about being quality conscious. We had problems with Taiwan produced motherboards that would start getting flaky. These were boards from reputable companies that would fail after warranty. You could avoid having to buy a new one by getting out your solder sucker and replacing all the electrolytic caps. The rumor mill said that somehow the electrolyte composition had been messed up in production causing widespread problems in all electronics.

By: Lionel

Lionel — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:49:37 +0000

Good point!
Dave, how about a mention of supercaps?
The salient points are mega-high capacitance, very high ESR, low voltage.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:40:09 +0000

Great video! I learned a lot of practical stuff about capacitors in that.

By: wiin

wiin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:48:54 +0000

@bnm….
you are free to write every word down and publish that here!

By: bnmvbmvbmn

bnmvbmvbmn — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:01:56 +0000

This would be much more accessible if it was an article (eg, written words), rather than a video.

By: Steve G.

Steve G. — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:21:34 +0000

Wonderful post, and I wish I had been able to see it 10 years ago.

By: Kathy Quinlan

Kathy Quinlan — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:35:57 +0000

Hi Alan,

A google search will give you heaps of hits for ESR info, a good website for a meter is http://www.ludens.cl/Electron/esr/esr.html
It was mentioned in an article in Circuit Cellar by Ed, which is what he based his digital version on.

I would recommend everyone to go sign up for Circuit Cellar (the digital version only costs US$30 for two years IIRC)

Regards,

Kat.

By: James

James — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:45:56 +0000

Not sure what the general opinion about a tutorial type blog is but I loved it, really wouldn’t mind seeing it more often, Thanks David.

By: Alan Holt

Alan Holt — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:00:22 +0000

Great blog! I know what you mean; I have years of experience with tantalum and electrolytic capacitors – both good and bad. How about a blog about ESR and ESR meters?

By: Phil Hobbs

Phil Hobbs — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:05:32 +0000

Don’t be too hard on Y5V caps, Dave! We analogue guys use them commonly as high-value varactors. I’m using four of them as high frequency tweaks in a reasonably advanced noise cancelling photoreceiver I’m designing.

They require some supervision, of course, but there aren’t any high value varactors left.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

By: Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:05:30 +0000

I’d like to repeat what Anthony DeChiaro said above.

Not only am I surprised that some of my creations have survived, but NOW I can go in forewarned and forearmed to make my NEXT project that much more robust and…survivable!

AWESOME!

By: David Ciampini

David Ciampini — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:31:51 +0000

Thanks for this tutorial and for the eevblog in general! I am teaching myself electronics and I found this tutorial very helpful. It provided a good mix of theory and practice. Keep up the good work!

By: Anthony DeChiaro

Anthony DeChiaro — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:26:53 +0000

I just learned in 15 minutes more about electronics industry practices then I’ve known in the years tinkering with it as a hobbyist. All the different types and their strengths were always something of a mystery to me. I would love it if you followed with similar ideas like resistors or semiconductors for future postings. Please keep up the great work!

By: RyanE

RyanE — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:30:58 +0000

Any podcast that ends with the words “you could kill someone” is doing something right by me.

Good Stuff.

By: Shawn J. Goff

Shawn J. Goff — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:15:29 +0000

I loved this one! I think it’s my favorite yet. It had lots of practical information that I haven’t learned in my classes. You didn’t mention supercapacitors in your lineup – I think they’re worth looking at.