different caps mojo or reason

[23]

I have a question regarding caps and there uses....maybe be mojo but right now im stumped. I've noticed in some layouts and kits that ceramic, film, electrolytic and tantalum are all mixed in the same circuit. when and where is the proper way to use each .                                                                                                                                                                                       

I can see why the electrolyic is different I dont understand there real application but ceramic, film, tantalum?

thanks scott

[frank_p]

Use the SEARCH function.

Tantalum, electrolytics: high capacitances, big tolerances ranges
Tantalum = small vs electrolytics
Other: small capacitances
Ceramic: low $$$, good price-value in most applications.  Hysteresis.
Film: Hi-Fi and other applications such as fast switching.

USE SEARCH

[Mark Hammer]

In part, they get used simply because certain values come in the one form but not the other.  So, you won't find 33uf ceramic, and you won't find 1000pf electrolytic.  In some instances, you may be able to find a value in more than one form, but the sheer size of the cap, at that value, in one form vs the other suggests use of a particular form.  E.g., you will usually find a 470nf (.47uf) cap in a smaller electrolytic package than a ceramic or mylar package.

In still other instances, the use of something like a tantalum will be for "authenticity" reasons when it comes to cloning a vintage circuit, but the original choice was almost exclusively for size/shape reasons.  MXR pedals from the 70's used large pots in a Hammond 1590-B-sized box, leaving little room for the circuit board.  As a result, they tended to use tantalum caps for the exact same function that Boss and E-H would use electrolytics, simply because you could easily bend a tantalum over on its side to lay relatively flat, and because at the time tantalums were much smaller than electrolytics for the same capacitance value (though certainly not cheaper).  These days, you can easily and inexpensively buy electrolytics that are much smaller than an equivalent-value tantalum from the 70's.

[frank_p]

Mark, you are surely an unhurried guy.