> Perhaps one economic factor is that, as the cost of other components has
>> fallen, people expect the electrolytic capacitors to be very cheap also.
>> The capacitors now stand out as the expensive components. And that's an
>> incentive to lower standards.
>
> Some of them are approaching zero value. Older equipment was expected to last
> 10 years or more. A lot of today's junk is lucky to last a year or two. In that
> respect, the costs are going up, not down. Lower grade caps are a very high
> failure item. I had one C-band receiver on the bench a few years ago. It had
> about 85 electrolytics, and every one was bad Most had no brand name, and some
> weren't marked for temperature. It belonged to a bar, and they needed it right
> away, so they paid a large bill to have it working the next day. I generally use
> Panasonic and Rubicon for repairs and my projects, these days.
Near the turn of the century a Missouri man named Chris started badcaps.net Chris' "master list" enumerates the capacitors that he trusts:
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Chris also hosts a lively forum at
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Although its more apropos to repair.
Thank you, 73,