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Old tantalum capacitors (solid type) Would you use them?
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cdev:
What would be a super conservative approach. What would you do?

 They are small to medium sized jelly bean shaped tantalums, similar to the ones that used to be used in telephones back in the day, and the higher values weigh a lot.

The polarity on them is clearly marked. I got them from the estate sale of an electronics engineer and they are top quality, but likely date back to the 1980s or 90s - more likely 80s.

When I have used them they have worked great. I always have derated them a lot.

None of them have ever had any issues at all. When I have used them, I have used them at a quarter of their rated voltage or less.
helius:
They aren't going to be any worse than when they were manufactured, until you solder them—that's what produces the defects. Use a Sn62 solder at ~600°F for as brief as you possibly can.
Conrad Hoffman:
If they were from the '60s I might worry, but those should be fine. I have a bunch from the same era and have had no trouble with them. Remember to derate them properly and never use them in low impedance power circuits where current isn't limited. That's true for brand new ones too.
coppercone2:
I have fairly giant military grade hermatically sealed tantalums. They are quite nice.

Good idea to put a RC on the enable pin on modern LDO.
woodchips:
If they have a red epoxy positive end, possibly called Stantalum or similar, then they are silver tantalums worth a significant amount of money from a precious metal re-cycler.
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