Surface mount capacitors

The few I've seen with a code have not had the value indicated - I'm not sure if the codes I've seen are dielectric, tolerance or tempco!

I have not been able to find any marked, too small most likely. I built a capacitance meter mainly for that very purpose of surface mount ID. I seem to have ended up with a drawer of misc parts and the meter is the only way to find what you need. JTT

Some SMD ceramic capacitors are marked with a letter/number code. The letter is the base value and the number is the multiplier. A Javascript decoder is available on my website:

The meter I use is a Peak-Atlas LCR40 with digital display, the price is a bit nasty at £80 and the add on lead kit with croc-clips and SMD tweezer probes is also nasty at £35, but it is a handy item of kit.

Thank you mike for that info. That is just what the doctor ordered. Now if I can find the edison glases to read the codes :)

you said ==>too small most likely.

I say ===> pull my other tit, they are about the same size as resistors and they are marked.

I have not been able to find any marked, too small most likely. I built a capacitance meter mainly for that very purpose of surface mount ID. I seem to have ended up with a drawer of misc parts and the meter is the only way to find what you need. JTT

Well maybe its my old eyes. I need glasses and a magnifier to read them. You said in your original post they were not marked, and now you say they are marked. The small one's I have are not usually marked. 0805 is about as small as I want to go.

Some are, and some are not. It usually costs more to purchase reels of marked SMD capacitors and not all are installed right side up, if they are marked. I worked in electronic manufacturing for a number of years, and saw them come in both ways. We always tried to get marked parts, but sometimes they were unavailable in time so we had to go to a second or third source. The markings are faint at best. I read them through a stereo microscope and some required a small drop of IPA to make the marking visible.

So why are capacitors less likely to be marked than resistors?

There must be a good story there.

Most 0603 resistors I see are marked. 3 digits are easy to read. I sometimes have to work a bit with letters on the 1% parts. (That's after getting out a magnifying glass. My eyes don't focus up close any more.)

I don't remember seeing any 0603 caps with markings.

yes that was my point I have never seen any 0603 capacitors marked while 99.9% of 0603 resistors I have seen have been marked.

So why are capacitors less likely to be marked than resistors?

There must be a good story there.

Most 0603 resistors I see are marked. 3 digits are easy to read. I sometimes have to work a bit with letters on the 1% parts. (That's after getting out a magnifying glass. My eyes don't focus up close any more.)

I don't remember seeing any 0603 caps with markings.

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