In this picture of four electrolytic capacitors:
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Which lead is the positive one for each cap?
The black and white dots on the two capacitors on the left are actually exactly in the middle of the leads.
Capacitor polarity -- how to tell with confusing markings?
Jan 30, 2006
6 Replies
It looks like coils, not el.caps.
They look like tantalum caps to me.
Dave
Maybe.But too few colors for capacity,polarity and voltage rate.
Don't even think of using them.
They're dipped-tantalum capacitors. The positive lead is the one with the dot.
Problem is, these tend to fail hard and often. They short out all the time. Either at random or just after a mild overvoltage incident.
And the color codes are hard to interpret.
Which is good for repair guys like me-- I've bought dead oscilloscopes and calibrators for like $5. Only problem was one to seven shorted caps, just like the ones you pictured.
Look at
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Kind regards,
Gerard Bok
Wow! That's very old caps! These design of paint on them dates from
60-70's. In 80's started to use blue, orange or yellow monochrome dip with printings on it. The latest caps for disk, SMD and drop packages are now printed with laser etching.By the way, taluam caps don't take very kindly to long storage. Some may blow up or short out when power applied to them.
Cheers, Wizard
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