EEVblog #33 1of2 - Capacitor Tutorial (Electrolytic, Tantalum, & Plastic Film)

[TheCbrown146]

"Crikey, look at that capacitor over there! Today, we are going into the capacitor's territory, but you better be careful they can be aggressive and HUGE!." You are the crocodile hunter version for electrical engineering. I'd watch your shows if it was on T.v. 

[lesterliston27]

Ceramics????????????



[Volta500]

@lesterliston27 watch part two

watch?v=TDDoi70cxw0&feature=re­lmfu

[a1getsome]

Thank you for making this video, I don't know much about electronics/circuits, but I love to learn about them... excellent job... CHEERS!

[GrantsPassTVRepairs]

Excellent tutorial on capacitors. Thanks!

[asus3571]

great vid as always the question we all want to know gigabyte or asus?

[MiniFun92]

Thnx for educateing us :) Sub + Thumbs up only.

[sooze69]

Love the video - but are you able to do a demonstration with a simple circuit? I have no knowledge of circuitry or basic electronics but I'm learning on You Tube! Would it work on a simple magnetic generator - the one that lights up a LED? I'm trying to keep the LED working for longer when the magnet stops moving and hoped the capacitor may store some of the generated electric. Would it work?

[dealio82]

good job mate hope more from you

[bojan368]

necessary evil

[Ibringthetruth1]

Hey Dave. Can you do a video on ESR meters?

[Dodexas]

Thank you for making these videos. I'm very grateful for your help .

[MatrixOfDynamism]

The last thing you said about Electrolytic Capacitors was that they have "10-20% Recovery something like that", what are you talking about exactly?

[Films4You]

What about Elcronic capacitors, used on some computer motherboards?

[Bracerjack]

I seriously love your educational videos.

You really knows what you are talking about, it's so rare to hear videos like this.

[EEVblog]

@Bracerjack Thanks. Hopefully more tutorial videos to come.

[rhblakeman]

Mica caps used to be commonplace in tube (valve) based televisions and radios, flat axial leaded packages with colored dots to show rating.

[rhblakeman]

Those mains caps are generally tantalums inside resin and one of the most common use (here in the US anyway) is ceiling fans for motor speed control. When you get nailed with a spike from the power co or lightning you can have them fail within a day or so and the caps inside can actually melt through to the outside but it does keep them from throwing shrapnel or catching fire since the resin inside catches the metal blob and stops it. They are a total pain in the butt

[sonicfuker]

Thanks buddie.

[180sxdrft123again]

CRIKEY!!!

[jetspray3]

great video food for though

[sh4p3shifter]

DAMN ELECTRICITY IS SO CONFUSING

[spelunkerd]

Are there labels on electrolyte capacitors to tell neg from pos polarity? Can you tell which side is which just by looking at where the wires go?

[EEVblog]

@spelunkerd Yes, all electro's should have a negative marking.

[HiRiderAce]

Hey cap man, I just want to know how I can explode a 2400MFD 450 VDC cap. All I have is a 15KV Transformer. I tried a parallel connection across secondary and lost voltage. In series, it just passed through. Do I need to rectify to DC ?

[Acline104]

This guy is Awesome.

[BourbonAndCocaCola]

I'd love to see you do reviews of PC power supplies mate (build quality/efficiency etc). There are some decent sites out there but yours would be a lot more entertaining, to say the least. Reading reviews is rather boring, it'd be a hell of a lot more interesting to actually watch them.

Just a thought!

[NawnExistent]

You'd be good on a childrens show because of your voice :p

[EEVblog]

@NawnExistent I'll take that as a complement!

[blazingangel175]

@EEVblog Sorta like Fred Penner.

[daddyoca69]

This was a great learning tool... Now I am working on audio amps and keep running into f'd up caps.. The problem I have been finding is locating non polarized caps like a 33uf 200v np etc..

I go to digikey and get lost like a school girl in a mall. what is the best way to search the inet for caps and the hard ones like NP ?

[EEVblog]

@daddyoca69 Use the parametric search tools on Digikey or Mouser or Farnell. It's often easy to start by narrowing down by something like footprint size and price as a first order.

[halonothing1]

You have a weird and informative sounding voice.

[EEVblog]

@halonothing1 That's as good a complement as I'll ever get for my voice, so I'll take it, thanks!

[engelteir]

you sound like your from melb.  adelaidian here! nice informative video!

[nevets4ever]

Wow - you really dislike electrolytic capacitors. Good news though - there are promising new drugs in the pipeline to treat this phobia. However - those self healing caps will dry up the pipeline. Ok - enough of the tongue in cheek - for electronic geeks your vids are extremely helpful!

[Harwkins39]

Well done. lots of good info on caps in just 10 minutes.

[DagGirl]

You did this blog in reverse order to how I learnt caps xD

Which reminds me of the SMT cap in my wallet.

[TerminalJack505]

An important thing to remember when designing circuits is to 'derate' the capacitors. That is, use capacitors whose voltages and perhaps capacitance (when bypassing, for example) are higher than the maximum necessary. The amount to derate is a function of (among other things) the capacitor material and maximum ambient temperature. Derating is necessary since the capacitor will, as Dave mentioned, breakdown over time. Aluminum electrolytic caps are the worst so far as this goes.

[nicadimous]

hi i have a 7500 v.d.c. 0.5 mfd capacitor  that i want to ad to my 12v battery bank what should i do to ad this capacitor into my bank thanks

[MrFcuku2]

very interesting.. thank you.

[100roberthenry]

hi..could you please explain what the different types of caps are like in audio projects..

id like to know the audible difference in film and ceramic of the same value..is there any?

rob.

[edge160]

my motherboard uses tantalum capacitor. the motherboard company says they produce better sound. why is this?

[nomanisanisland]

Very insightful. I'll definitely refer to these vids.

one Australian to another... ascent means squat, keep doing your thing, you are very inspiring.

[jtoluv]

Nice place to drop an advertisement, CallieBeachez83...I'm sold

[madamerotten]

Don't assume that low ESR aluminum electrolytics will work universally with all low-dropout voltage regulators. Many of these regulators need a _specific range_ of ESR to prevent oscillation. Regarding mica capacitors, NPO ceramics rival temperature stability, but don't generally sustain as high a voltage as the mica types.

[GalaticTG]

4:37 I was looking over a D-link DFE-530tx 10\100 NIC and there is an AAT1201 voltage regulator with 2 x(47 uF aluminum electrolyte caps) together like in that diagram except there was no resistors nearby through hole or surfacemount. can you get away with this or is this a bad product design.

[sneakerset]

Thanks for reviewing the application and construction of components. You've got an excellent working grasp of the E.E. field. And I (for one) appreciate that you keep the Simpson analog meter parked within easy reach. Mine's approaching 35 years old.....and it looks like it will survive my passing(plus it fits right in with the WW II radio collection). Thanks again....btw, I'd recommend Global Specs. update service for anyone who desires to stay on the curve(especially with RF components)

[patricknelson]

You're like the Steve Irwin of electronics tutorials. Perhaps you have learned how entertaining Americans find your accent. Just don't get stabbed by an x-ray tentacle or it'll all come crashing down.

[JamesHaskin]

I like the video a lot. Its got some great info, but you put an upward inflection at the end of every sentence. It gets a little hard to listen to after a while.

[EEVblog]

I'm Australian, I can't help it.

I've actually had more people say the like the accent than those who dis it. So based on the current poll, I'm not going to voice-over school. Sorry.

[luv2code]

I know what JamesHaskin is talking about and it's not your accent.

You have an inflection that I think comes from being enthusiastic about what you're talking about. I doubt you do it when you're not on video or explaining something exciting.

I find it mildly irritating. But the information is very good, so it's easy to overlook.

You should post a video about what you ate for breakfast or something else you consider dull. See if the irritating inflection is still there..

[EEVblog]

Sorry you find it irritating. It is actually a natural part of my voice, and is quite common in Australia. Look up "High Rising Terminal" for instance.

Yes, I do it even when talking about dull stuff.

I can't please everyone, many people actually LIKE IT and would hate it if I changed to something more drone.

I could probably control it if I tried, and did re-takes. But that's not me, and trying to change the way I talk because a few people don't like it is, well, really kinda silly I think.

[luv2code]

I might be silly to change it in your everyday life.

But it makes sense to reduce or remove anything that might narrow your audience if you are presenting something to the public.

Take it like saying "um" and "uh" a lot when speaking. In speech class, they teach you to eliminate fillers because it's a distraction for the listener. James and I are just saying that the HRT-like thing is a distraction.

[luv2code]

BTW, you have excellent dictation, and you don't noticeably use fillers.

I get the feeling from your comments that you are offended. I don't think JamesHaskin intended to "dis" you. I know I'm not trying to cause you grief.

[luv2code]

You are lucky enough to have two commenters that care enough to leave constructive criticism. We are both saying we like you and we want you to be better. IMO (and probably James'), removing the HRT-like thing you do would make your video go from pretty good - to excellent.

[luv2code]

The proper way to respond would be "Thanks for your feedback; but It's my accent, and I like it. It's common in Australia, here's more info [(insert wiki link)]" A response like that would probably curb all further discussion.

P.S.

I'm glad none of the Aussies I know have HRT ;)

[EEVblog]

I am not offended. I take any and all feedback, thanks.

Not everyone thinks the HRT is annoying or distracting. More people have commented that they LIKE the way I talk and deliver, and DON'T want me to change. How do I please everyone?

Yes, I'm happy with the way I talk, it's ME. I think it would be better to let my delivery naturally change as I get more experience.

I'm trying to eliminate the fillers because they take up valuable time, but that's been hard to do with no script.

[shiroidebukujira]

When I first saw your videos from some link on Hackaday I thought the HRT (never knew it was called that!) thing was a bit annoying maybe, more not something I was used to. But as I watched more of your videos I think it became something that I would miss if you tried to cover it up... after watching a few vids you can tell your know your stuff and have a genuine passion for it and your delivery reflects that... Americans say "sodder" instead of solder; That is annoying.

[EEVblog]

"sodder" is one of my pet hates!

[MPaulHolmes]

eevblog, you are hilarious and i learn a lot!

[19916718514]

great tip mate!

[Afrotechmods]

Neat tip on the ballast resistors thanks!