[linuxworks]

at my local 'tronics store they were almost giving away these nice caps:

that's 250 of the pansonic HFQ 220uF/25v and 100 of the nichicon (no temperature rating, though).

price: can't believe, $5 for the lot of pany caps and $1 for the nichicons!

did I do ok?

I've used the pany caps before (pimetas) and they seem to work well enough. they are certainly the right size and I love the 'made in japan' and the matsush!ta logo on them.

I'm curious, are the HFQ caps considered any good?


...now just have to order about 50 pimeta boards (I'm kidding)

 

[FallenAngel]

The HFQ is almost the same as the Panasonic FC series. Not bad at all, but not "great". The FM series is somewhat better.

What series is the Nichicon?

 

[Pars]

Certainly not bad on the Pannys... datasheet

They appear to have slightly higher ESR than the Pana FC, and higher than FM, but still not bad.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HFQ is almost the same as the Panasonic FC series. Not bad at all, but not "great". The FM series is somewhat better.

I think the pany was discontinued in 2000 timeframe, give or take. is there a shelf life to decent caps like these?

Quote:

What series is the Nichicon?

can't tell - no markings on them ;( it says 'h7340' but no temperature rating or series/family markings. the 100uF isn't a useful value for me (my eyes saw 1000 which is why I grabbed that bag) but for a buck, maybe they'll be useful for something eventually.

for bay area folks, the place is 'halted' (hsc) in santa clara. I try to hit that shop a few times a month.

I really liked the fit of those small pany caps on the power rail of my pimeta. for small plastic boxes, this cap height is perfect.

I may even give a few of these away. maybe make a contest and gift a handful at a time away

 

[IEATTEFLON]

Make sure those panasonics arent dried out. I had the exact ones from an ebay store. Used some to upgrade some of my cmoys and bass was pretty much gone. Almost as if there was no caps on the amp.

 

[linuxworks]

so, that brings up a good point: do people actually -test- their caps? if so, how?

I have an LCR bridge (nice B&K unit that I bought a decade or so ago) but it doesn't do very well on high value caps.

are there easy ways to test that give good 'quality' (not just go/nogo) test result data?

the only thing that comes to mind is to charge up the cap and watch its discharge curve (quickly sample the values and computer-plot them). then vary the load and repeat (keeping the load constant during a run). I'm not sure what else a DIYer could do to test for quality of caps (?)

I know its easy to 'just buy new parts' but obviously that's not the point here

what could I do to get a 'quality' feel, for unknown caps like these?

 

[cfcubed]

Seems to me you got a nice deal...

Don't quote me but I think I read somewhere that "newer" caps (e.g. those manufactured since the 1990s) have a longer shelf life than previously thought (depending on a lot of factors)...

Found lots of info googling like capacitor "shelf life" pdf (e.g. a thesis, DOD docs, etc.) and had found some info on testing, etc.

 

[qusp]

Nice one man good score

put them in something and see what they sound like??? i'm assuming the panas are best in a power rail ?? correct??