Small bear film caps: mf MF uf, help!

[dano12]

I forgot the code on smallbear.

His poly film caps are listed as x mf.

but,

MF are millifarads
uf are microfarads

Is the small bear stuff really listed in millifarads? I.e. a ".001" mf cap is actually a 1uf cap?

Remind me of what's what please

[danielzink]

print this webpage out:

http://www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.html

I refer to the chart on almost every build.

Read the paragraph at the top of the page - it explains everything.

Hope this helps !!

Dan

[demonstar]

mF=x10^-3
uF=x10^-6
MF=x10⁶  <<-- unlikely but possible I guess

I can't be sure but I guess smallbear are meaning microfarads (uF) when they say mF (millifarads) as from what I am aware it would be unusual to rate the capacitance in mF (millifarads).

Theres no reason not to say 1mF instead of 1000uF but folks seem to prefer the 1000uF. You don't ever seem to see 1mF. However I do regularly see 1000mF incorrectly used instead of 1000uF or 1mF.

Hope that makes sense. It may help you or may not.

[dano12]

mF=x10^-3
uF=x10^-6
MF=x10⁶  <<-- unlikely but possible I guess

I can't be sure but I guess smallbear are meaning microfarads (uF) when they say mF (millifarads) as from what I am aware it would be unusual to rate the capacitance in mF (millifarads).

Theres no reason not to say 1mF instead of 1000uF but folks seem to prefer the 1000uF. You don't ever seem to see 1mF. However I do regularly see 1000mF incorrectly used instead of 1000uF or 1mF.

Hope that makes sense. It may help you or may not.

That's what always catches me up, I know that MF means millifarads, and smallbear uses MF but I guess they are actually uF.

Thanks for the pointers.

[demonstar]

BEWARE....

MF is megafarads...x10⁶
mF is millifarads...x10^-3

Capital M is the prefix mega-
Lowercase m is the prefix milli-

[liddokun]

IIRC, there was a thread about this a while back.

Someone emailed Steve at small bear, and here is what he said:

"Since I was a kid, the U.S. desi for caps has always been: mf or uf = "microfarad." I stick to that usage, though I am aware that the European convention differs. I hope that explains things."

The original thread is here..
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=68678.0
I know that when I order electrolytic caps on the site labeled "10mf", when they come in the mail they're 10uf.  So I can back up the belief that Steve labels all microfarads "mf".

Also, on a side note, Small bear recently changed their shipping costs? I usually order from Steve without being charged more than $10 for shipping (usually around $7), but my latest purchased fetched a shipping cost of $16.  I did get an email from USPS with some kind of tracking number. Perhaps he's trying to make international orders more secure now?

[cloudscapes]

http://www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.html

beat me to it! so useful

[dano12]

IIRC, there was a thread about this a while back.

Someone emailed Steve at small bear, and here is what he said:

"Since I was a kid, the U.S. desi for caps has always been: mf or uf = "microfarad." I stick to that usage, though I am aware that the European convention differs. I hope that explains things."

The original thread is here..
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=68678.0
I know that when I order electrolytic caps on the site labeled "10mf", when they come in the mail they're 10uf.  So I can back up the belief that Steve labels all microfarads "mf".

Also, on a side note, Small bear recently changed their shipping costs? I usually order from Steve without being charged more than $10 for shipping (usually around $7), but my latest purchased fetched a shipping cost of $16.  I did get an email from USPS with some kind of tracking number. Perhaps he's trying to make international orders more secure now?

Thanks so much for the clarification. I've been ordering from Steve for years, but I had a particularly huge order to do and wanted to be sure.

Regarding shipping costs, I can't speak for small bear, but the stuff I ship out via USPS has definitely become more expensive. Plus, parts that I ordered two months ago from various sources are now more expensive. Costs are going up on everything

[liddokun]

Yes, so it seems the costs are going up.  But Steve's prices are still quite good....it's just shipping that sucks.