Source for hard to find 16V caps?

[Bluesgeetar]

Where can I buy 50uf, 30uf, 25uf 16V caps and other hard to find cap values?  Mouser only has 50uf 16v but it has a tolerance of +75% -10%

I hear you guys when you say I can use 10V caps but my buddy here ob the forum has said don't use them so now I am scared I'm gonna screw up one of my expensive rare old OC trannies if I use 10V so I would rather just use 16v as he said to do.  The fact that the rare trannies are expensive is not an issue, the fact that they are getting real hard to find is.  As it is Pete was only able to get me one real mullard OC44.  So if I screw that one up I'm pretty much dead for my Rangemaster.

[Jered]

How about 47uF, 33uF, and 22uF? Those are pretty widely available.
  Jered

[Bluesgeetar]

Nah.  I'd rather do it right the first time.  A couple of digits in values makes worlds of difference to my ears.  I'm a perfectionist.  I'm trying to track down all the as close to original as possible everything for my builds.  Not trying to remove noise or mod it or quiet the circuit.  Just good old time sounding rocknroll.

[zachary vex]

most of these high values don't affect the audio portion of the circuit, just the timing of the power supply portions, which is much less critical.  use the next highest value and be done with it.  it's not going to change the sound one iota.

[Ge_Whiz]

+75% -10% tolerance is pretty much par for the course for electrolytics. The old-time components would have varied just as much (hence different Rangemasters may have sounded different).

[Thomas P.]

Ordinary electrolytics have a tolerance of 20%. For you that means if you buy a 50uF cap the range goes from 40uF to 60uF. In other words it means +/-10uF.
You see buying a 47uF cap instead isn't that bad. :wink:

[Jered]

Bluesgeetar, not taking anything away from the previous posts, they're all correct, but if you must have those exact values here is what you can do. Buy 50 of each value, test them, if its your lucky day you'll get a few of each value you specified. If not, buy another 50 of each and keep testing. Which schematic exactly are you looking at?
 Happy hunting,  Jered

[Bluesgeetar]

I'm actaully using all the schematics and info from posts and the archives on TB MK2 pro and rangemaster.  Since no one seems to know exactly how the pedals are wired or there are many variations that came out of the factory both in Italy and England I'm gonna try them all until I find the ones that jive with my Twin Reverb and Supro Super 1606 and Supro Thunderbolt.  I like the idea of trying many out until I find one that hits the value perfectly.  I'll give that one a go first.  If I can find a 47uf that measures 50 or a 33uf that measures 30 or a 22uf that measures 25 then hell that is the ticket right there.  HOw come no one uses those trimpot caps?  I mean it seems it would be easier to dial in teh value you wanted and measure it to make sure then throw it into your breadbaord to see how you like it at that value.  Then dial in the next value and sock her in.

[R&D]

Don't forget you can add values in parallel or series configurations. Parallel adds capacitance values, while series divides or subtracts capacitance values.

ie: 2-25mfd in parallel would equal 50mfd
    2-25mfd in series would equal 12.5mfd

that also might help you in the voltage rating (WVDC) as well.

Another possibility... :roll:

[sfr]

well, looking at the Mouser catalog, I don't see variable caps that go up anywhere above 180 pF.  And those are the size of small potentiometers.  Do the variable caps in radios (either the big comb-like ones, or the ones in little cases [that are still quite large) go higher up?  not feasible for adding to a pedal, but might make tweaking that one value a little easier.  Maybe.

[R&D]

like these?



these are about 1500pf most of the variable caps are low in value that I have seen.. :cry:

[puretube]

Where can I buy 50uf, 30uf, 25uf 16V caps and other hard to find cap values.

In France as well as in Germany...

[petemoore]

And car radio,VCR, etc. I've gotten at least 15x 1   10uf   16v e;ectrolytics that way.
 when I got Ge's for the FF, I make sure the ckt worked right with NPN using some of the 15ct.   for $2.49 3906's from RS

[Bluesgeetar]

Thanks puretube but I think I'll shoot for a supplier in Italy or UK or Japan first.  But again thanks a million for the info.  :wink:

[Bluesgeetar]

Nope Aron.  Looks like I'm gonna have to go and buy a dedicated cap tester.  I have tried 9 ways to Sunday to figure out the cap tester on this Radio shack DMM and no luck.  I've tried to adjust the range.  Everytime I put a cap in it the readings all come back the same no matter what range and with all different value caps. Same reading everytime.  The RS manual is really really pisspoor.  Looks like I gota 40 dollar tranny pinout and PNP/NPN and resistor tester.  Maybe some of the other functions I don't use work?  I'm a guitar player not engineer, I need something I can just sock a cap in or put leads to and there is the reading plain as day.

[Peter Snowberg]

I have the same 22-174B meter and it works great. I guess we all shop at the same place.

Do you have the little "Auto" indicator on at the top of the display?
Question 2: Do you have the test leads unplugged?

It sounds like you meter may just be bad. You could always try opening it up and looking for contamination or loose connections. My guess is that it's one of those two.

Good luck,
-Peter

[Jered]

A lot of meters are also fuse protected, maybe the fuse inside is blown. My meter has two fuses inside that I've had to replace on occasion.
  Jered

[Bluesgeetar]

Hey Peter.  No I don't have the test leads plugged in.  Does that make a difference?  I'm just using that little socket on the meter itself.

[Peter Snowberg]

Hey Peter.  No I don't have the test leads plugged in.  Does that make a difference?  I'm just using that little socket on the meter itself.

It makes a difference with mine at least. I'm guessing that the leads are picking up some stray AC which is messing with the reading. Just a guess.... all I know for sure is that the readings are rock stable without them.

-Peter