DIYstompboxes.com

DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: Gristlepig on December 08, 2012, 06:41:26 AM

Title: Ampeg Scrambler build... Tantalums?
Post by: Gristlepig on December 08, 2012, 06:41:26 AM
Hey folks,

I've got here a BYOC scrambled octave pcb.
My stock of aluminum electrlytic capacitors is a bit diminished, and I'm out of 1uf. Will this circuit at all suffer if I substitute tantalums in place of aluminum electros?

Thanks
Title: Re: Ampeg Scramble build... Tantalums?
Post by: Andr3as on December 08, 2012, 07:18:28 AM
Nope, some people say that different type of caps sound different, But it sure will work :)
Watch the polarity!

Title: Re: Ampeg Scrambler build... Tantalums?
Post by: amptramp on December 08, 2012, 01:05:22 PM
Dry slug tantalums have a failure mode that shorts them out if used across a power supply with less than a certain number of ohms per volt.  They are great for timing circuitry because the tantalum pentoxide dielectric is almost pinhole-free and therefore has very little leakage.  But if there is a defect site on the oxide that can carry current, enough current will turn the pentoxide into conductive tantalum dioxide and you can get a firestorm that burns up the device as the conversion sweeps across the dielectric.  Anything above 10 ohms per volt applied (such as timing or coupling applications) should be OK.