[sdiy] Newbie? AHHHHH!

[harrybissell]

Hi Brad...
among other things... check out "Capacitors... a field guide" over
at www.musicsynthesizer.com and MANY other places (its become
quite well distributed) by Harry Bissell Jr. (me)  A google search
will find it...

more inline

b 111 wrote:

> Hello List,
> I'm new, not just to this list, but to electronics in general. I've been
> into analog synths since the age of 15, about 10 years now, but never
> thought of building anything until recently. I've been learning out of Craig
> Anderton's Electronic Projects for Musicians, and Radioshack's Basic
> Electronics books. So far so good. I've learned a bunch, but the first
> project I built failed to work. Oh well, learn how to troubleshoot. I have a
> plan, build a few of the projects out of Craig's book, then move to a small,
> easy synth, and on to bigger better things. Now that you know what I'm up to
> I have a question. Christmas brought me the gift of a cool tool box with
> lots of compartments. I want to put resistors, capacitors etc, in their own
> little space but i'm afraid that once I seperate them from their packaging,
> I won't know what they are. The resistors are easy, so no problem there.
> Capacitors! Different story all together. I mostly buy Radioshack parts a)
> cuz' they're cheap b) cuz' they're close. How do I translate whats on the
> packaging to whats printed on the capacitor itself?
> Example:
> Package reads:
>
> .022uF
> Polyester-Film Capacitor
> Sub-mini PC-mount  Radial Leads  50WVDC max
>
> Capacitor Reads:
>
> 2A
> 223

22 (and 3 zeros)=  22000 pF

> K = tolerance  (yes 10% iirc)
>
> I can assume that 223k = .22uF +/- 10%.
> What is 2A?

beats me :^P

>
> Does this have something to do with the fact that this is a Polyester-Film
> Capacitor vs  Disc/Ceramic or Electrolytic?
> What is Sub-mini PC mount?
>
> I have another one that reads:
>
> 270pF 1KV
> Disc Ceramic
> +/- 10%
> Capacitor
>
> the unit reads:
>
> Y5P
> 271K
> 1KV
>
> What is Y5P?

bad.  :^P   Y5P is a temperature coefficient... and not a very good one.
The clue here is that it is a 1KV (1000V) part.  To make those small, they
use a rather poor (nonlinear) dielectric.

In a ceramic cap, in pF values... you should look for the letters COG or NPO
(negative-positive zero)... these are temperature stable.

That paper will have the full skinny on most capacitor types..

I use vectorboard and T-42 push in terminals... I wire with strands of 22ga wire

pulled apart (that would probably be equivalent to 28ga wire).  I use teflon
sleeve for insulation in 22ga and 24ga sizes.  Teflon (is expensive but it) will
NOT
melt with soldering iron heat...

Those terminals are about 4 cents each... cost more than most components you
solder
into them. OTOH it makes changing values a breeze... and a well constructed
board
could last forever.

The perforated boards come in CEM-1 epoxy glass composite... a rather soft
material that
can be cut easily with an X-acto knife... and FR-4 which is a fiberglass board.
The FR-4 is
really tough stuff... a little less nice to work with (the holes are sometimes a
little off size)...
but for anything to go on the road, get FR-4.

I always draw a layout on graph paper with the crosses representing each hole.
If you
plan carefully... you will not have to insulate many of the wires... the
location from pin to
pin will hold them in place.

USE IC sockets... I prefer AMP Diplomate which have very good retention force
and
typically make a gas-tight (no corrosion) fit.  The screw-machine sockets have
to be gold
plated, lack good retention, and are a bitch to seat the ICs in. Some folk swear
by them.

NEVER build a project on vectorboard without sockets, or you'll have to do major
rework
every time something goes wrong... and it does often even if you are an expert.

H^) harry

btw welcome newbie !!!!

> These books, as good as they are, fail to explain this.
> Also, are there any websites that explain how to construct on vectorboard or
> breadboard? I think it would be good for me to learn this way before sinking
> the cash for building my own PCBs.
>
> Thats it for now. Been lurking on the list for a couple of weeks just making
> shure it was not way out of my league.
> Thanks in advance.
> Brad
>
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