madbeanpedals::forum

Projects => General Questions => Topic started by: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:31:27 PM

Title: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:31:27 PM
Hi guys,

Ordered some 1.0 uf's from mouser and got these. Looks way to small. Are they usable?
Mouser 810-FK28X5R1E105K

(http://imageshack.us/a/img805/713/10ufmulticeramic.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/805/10ufmulticeramic.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: midwayfair on April 15, 2013, 07:36:57 PM
Why wouldn't they be usable?

They're great for mini builds.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: pickdropper on April 15, 2013, 07:39:31 PM
I just ordered some of those intentionally.  Totally useful and 5mm lead spacing .  Cool things in a pinch.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:43:09 PM
Awesome. I'm use to seeing those big box caps and these looked way to small. :)
Will there be any degradation in sound?
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:45:17 PM
Quote from: midwayfair on April 15, 2013, 07:36:57 PMWhy wouldn't they be usable?

They're great for mini builds.

Totally off the subject. Just saw your demo during hurricane Sandy. Great stuff, not going to let a super storm stop you. :)
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: pickdropper on April 15, 2013, 07:46:29 PM
Quote from: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:43:09 PM
Awesome. I'm use to seeing those big box caps and these looked way to small. :)
Will there be any degradation in sound?

Well, if you got the ones I ordered, they are NP0 ceramics, which are rock solid (some ceramics are sensitive to temperature and voltage variations).  There is slightly more distortion inherent in multilayer ceramics as compared to film, but I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference in a pedal.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:51:24 PM
Quote from: pickdropper on April 15, 2013, 07:46:29 PM
Quote from: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:43:09 PM
Awesome. I'm use to seeing those big box caps and these looked way to small. :)
Will there be any degradation in sound?

Well, if you got the ones I ordered, they are NP0 ceramics, which are rock solid (some ceramics are sensitive to temperature and voltage variations).  There is slightly more distortion inherent in multilayer ceramics as compared to film, but I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference in a pedal.

With my ears ruined from years of standing in front of amps and going to concerts, I'm sure it would take a drastic change in sound for me to hear it anyway.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: pickdropper on April 15, 2013, 08:06:12 PM
Quote from: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:51:24 PM
Quote from: pickdropper on April 15, 2013, 07:46:29 PM
Quote from: billstein on April 15, 2013, 07:43:09 PM
Awesome. I'm use to seeing those big box caps and these looked way to small. :)
Will there be any degradation in sound?

Well, if you got the ones I ordered, they are NP0 ceramics, which are rock solid (some ceramics are sensitive to temperature and voltage variations).  There is slightly more distortion inherent in multilayer ceramics as compared to film, but I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference in a pedal.

With my ears ruined from years of standing in front of amps and going to concerts, I'm sure it would take a drastic change in sound for me to hear it anyway.

I suspect even trained Golden Ears would have a difficult time telling the difference.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: juansolo on April 16, 2013, 08:40:13 AM
They pop up in a lot of our builds. Very useful little things.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: aballen on April 16, 2013, 02:08:11 PM
very useful, and a necessity on the 1590A builds.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: Peteyboy on April 17, 2013, 02:14:23 PM
Quote from: pickdropper on April 15, 2013, 07:46:29 PM

Well, if you got the ones I ordered, they are NP0 ceramics

I usually get NP0's, but i can't seem to find any that are 1uF (usually its hard/expensive to find anything over ~100nF)
Where do you source yours ??
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: pickdropper on April 17, 2013, 02:19:02 PM
Quote from: Peteyboy on April 17, 2013, 02:14:23 PM
Quote from: pickdropper on April 15, 2013, 07:46:29 PM

Well, if you got the ones I ordered, they are NP0 ceramics

I usually get NP0's, but i can't seem to find any that are 1uF (usually its hard/expensive to find anything over ~100nF)
Where do you source yours ??

Peter, you are correct, the ones I got were X7R.  I ordered a bunch of caps and the smaller ones were NP0.  For 1uF caps, it is indeed difficult to source NP0 caps.  Sorry about the confusion.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: billstein on April 17, 2013, 04:33:25 PM
What does NPO mean?
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: H.E.L.Shane on April 18, 2013, 02:39:26 PM
I used them in c3 c9 and C14 in my Chunk Chunk build...

Switched them out for Kemet MMK's and I did notice a reduction in noise.



Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: jubal81 on April 18, 2013, 05:18:34 PM
I like to keep them around for PCBs set up for electrolytic 1uF caps. X7R isn't as nice as film, but they're a great sub for 'lytics.
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: pickdropper on April 18, 2013, 05:39:14 PM
Quote from: billstein on April 17, 2013, 04:33:25 PM
What does NPO mean?

It's the material used in the ceramic caps.  NP0 are are the least sensitive to temperature and voltage fluctuations.  They also don't lose capacitance over time, like other ceramic caps.

Usually X7R or X5R are sufficient, but even those can lose quite a lot of their rated capacitance as you approach their maximum voltage level.

I find this to be a well-written article on the subject:

http://www.johansondielectrics.com/technical-notes/product-training/basics-of-ceramic-chip-capacitors.html
Title: Re: Tiny 1.0 uF's
Post by: billstein on April 20, 2013, 06:31:49 PM
Thanks everyone