Hi, I'm a neophyte to this type of work and need your help. I need a way to read and intrepid the values on the old paper capacitors, the ones that have numbers and not a color code. I know there are Mf; microfarads, uuf ,pico farads and a term called micr-micro farads but none of that helps me to determine the replacement value of the new capacitor. For example .015 MF the firs two significant figures the 1 and the 5 are the first two digits for the new capacitor but figuring the multiplier, or the 3rd digit, I can't figure that one. Does any one know of a good and simple method of figuring this information out. I have all the replacement capacitors for the old ones that I ordered from a supplier I just don't know which one to use to replace it with. Please, I need your help and a simple way to figure this out. Thanks for your help

Dave

By no means am I an expert but in the more modern capacitors it works like this:

For example 103 on a cap. The value would be in picofarads or "micro-micro" farads as I see on older caps. So 13 with three 0's. 13000 pF. I am not sure what they used to do.

But if you have a schematic that would help along with a meter that does capacitance measurements.

What does yours say?

Ed

:Hi, I'm a neophyte to this type of work and need your help. I need a way to read and intrepid the values on the old paper capacitors, the ones that have numbers and not a color code. I know there are Mf; microfarads, uuf ,pico farads and a term called micr-micro farads but none of that helps me to determine the replacement value of the new capacitor. For example .015 MF the firs two significant figures the 1 and the 5 are the first two digits for the new capacitor but figuring the multiplier, or the 3rd digit, I can't figure that one. Does any one know of a good and simple method of figuring this information out. I have all the replacement capacitors for the old ones that I ordered from a supplier I just don't know which one to use to replace it with. Please, I need your help and a simple way to figure this out. Thanks for your help
:
:Dave

Ed, thank you, but my problem is going from old to new, I'm taking the old ones out and replacing thgem with new. I have the new capacitors but don't kow how to convert the old numbers to the new ones. y VOM meter, I don't think it reads capacitors.

On the newer capacitors, like the Orange Drop, the last digit is the multiplier. For example if you have 224 it would be 22+four zeroes= 220,000 or .22uF
502 = 5000pf or .005uF
103 = 10000 or .01
These types usually have a k or j and the end of the number.
Other types like the xicons, mallory & tubular will just have the uF value: .01, .047, .022 etc.
Watch your voltage ratings as well !
The higher the capacitance as well as a higher voltage rating makes for a larger capacitor.

There are 1 million pf in a uF.
Some of these folks have gone on to confuse us with "nf", which is 1000pf. Fortunately you should only see this on newer schematics and not the capacitors themselves. 1 nf=1000pf=.001uF

Smaller ceramic disks with just a 3 or 4 digit number usually are just pf, for eaxmple 820 would be 820 pf or .00082 uF

This site has a great conversion chart, I keep a copy on my wall for when my brain gets lazy:

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

:On the newer capacitors, like the Orange Drop, the last digit is the multiplier. For example if you have 224 it would be 22+four zeroes= 220,000 or .22uF
:502 = 5000pf or .005uF
:103 = 10000 or .01
:These types usually have a k or j and the end of the number.
:Other types like the xicons, mallory & tubular will just have the uF value: .01, .047, .022 etc.
:Watch your voltage ratings as well !
:The higher the capacitance as well as a higher voltage rating makes for a larger capacitor.
:
:There are 1 million pf in a uF.
:Some of these folks have gone on to confuse us with "nf", which is 1000pf. Fortunately you should only see this on newer schematics and not the capacitors themselves. 1 nf=1000pf=.001uF
:
:Smaller ceramic disks with just a 3 or 4 digit number usually are just pf, for eaxmple 820 would be 820 pf or .00082 uF
:
:This site has a great conversion chart, I keep a copy on my wall for when my brain gets lazy:
:
:http://www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.html
:
:Frank thanks, downloaded the chart trying to understand it.

Dave
:

I see I made an error in my example, sorry about that 103 is a 10,000 not 13000 pF!

::On the newer capacitors, like the Orange Drop, the last digit is the multiplier. For example if you have 224 it would be 22+four zeroes= 220,000 or .22uF
::502 = 5000pf or .005uF
::103 = 10000 or .01
::These types usually have a k or j and the end of the number.
::Other types like the xicons, mallory & tubular will just have the uF value: .01, .047, .022 etc.
::Watch your voltage ratings as well !
::The higher the capacitance as well as a higher voltage rating makes for a larger capacitor.
::
::There are 1 million pf in a uF.
::Some of these folks have gone on to confuse us with "nf", which is 1000pf. Fortunately you should only see this on newer schematics and not the capacitors themselves. 1 nf=1000pf=.001uF
::
::Smaller ceramic disks with just a 3 or 4 digit number usually are just pf, for eaxmple 820 would be 820 pf or .00082 uF
::
::This site has a great conversion chart, I keep a copy on my wall for when my brain gets lazy:
::
::http://www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.html
::
::Frank thanks, downloaded the chart trying to understand it.
:
:Dave
::