On Sat, 6 Mar 2010 09:26:00 +1100, you wrote:
>I've seen it said that, for a given circuit board, SMD caps that are
>the same size and shape are probably the same value. I'm not in a
>position to test this (and may never need to) but has anyone heard
>this? True? False?
>
False. (easy to make false, one exception works).
I can buy 1206 (roughly 0.120 by 0.060) capacitors in any value from
at least 4.7 pf to 1.0 ufd. In fact, I have and they're in storage
for the parts I use.
In terms of electrolytics, also false, since there's only 3 - 4 Kemet
sizes, and many more values. 1ufd and 10 ufd at 16 volts are the same
size, IIRC. Capacitor size for electrolytics goes up with value and
working voltage.
If you're going to deal with capacitors and resistors, at the least,
you need a pair of tweezers that connect to your DMM.
Better would be a self contained meter. They range from moderately
expensive (with less features) to very expensive (with lots of
features).
Harvey