Capacitors - What are the best types?

[SlowCoder]

I'm embarking on this project to repair 2 Game Gears I own. I'm looking around on the web and prices for electrolytic capacitors is all over the place. I have some questions before I feel I can proceed further:

 

1. Is there a better/best brand to look for when purchasing capacitors? Or are they all pretty much the same quality, most seeming to come from Asia?

2. The project says I need to have at least the listed voltage. Looking at eBay I found the this listing eBay Auction -- Item Number: 230559644400 that appears to be pretty cheap, and contains most of the capacitors I need. Some of the capacitors in the listing have voltages that are way over the requirements of the project. Are they ok to use in this project? Would they be too large?

3. Is there a good vendor for such items?

 

Thanks.

[Rybags]

There has been all manner of dodgy capacitors around, especially from China. Even faked ones where a low value one is contained within the outer casing of a much larger one.

Not sure what the deal is with surface mount types but I'd imagine much the same kind of thing takes place.

 

Japan, Taiwan = typically good to excellent, China = taking a gamble.

 

Best bet would be to avoid flea market or eBay and go for a reputable brick/mortar chain store or online seller.

[FABombjoy]

If you aren't up to putting your own kits together, I'll have some Game Gear cap kits ready to go in a few days (parts order was placed last Friday). If you do buy your own, you'll need to look for miniature size, 105C temp rated caps.

[SlowCoder]

If you aren't up to putting your own kits together, I'll have some Game Gear cap kits ready to go in a few days (parts order was placed last Friday). If you do buy your own, you'll need to look for miniature size, 105C temp rated caps.

 

Not that I couldn't find components through proper research, but where would I locate yours? Pricing?

[A.J. Franzman]

I'm looking around on the web and prices for electrolytic capacitors is all over the place. [...] Is there a better/best brand to look for when purchasing capacitors? Or are they all pretty much the same quality, most seeming to come from Asia?

A couple of years ago I did some research into the "capacitor plague" issue and came up with the info below. Lots of brands to avoid, and a few good ones. Unfortunately that eBay seller doesn't seem to state or show what brand his caps are -- it looks like it was deliberate too, as odds are way against every single cap in that large bag in the photo being positioned so the brand name/logo is out of sight or unreadable.

 

==========

 

The following brands are associated with the recent (1998-200x) incorrect electrolyte formulation problem (a.k.a. capacitor plague) in electrolytic capacitors (typically Taiwanese low-ESR types used in switching power supplies):

 

Arcon

Canicon

CapXon

Chhsi

Choyo

CTC

D-paston

D.S

DST

Elite

Evercon

Fuhjyyu

Fuh Yin

Fujicon

Fujitsu (FPCAP)

Fulltec

GL

Gloria

G-Luxon

GSC

HEC (Dongguan City Dongyangguang Electronic Co Ltd.)

Hermei

I.Q.

Jackcon

JDEC

JEE (Well Jieh International Group)

JPCON

Jun Fu

Lelon

Licon (Fujicon)

MW

NCK

Nichicon (actual problem with these was overfilling, but symptoms the same)

Nkcon

Nrsy

OST

Partsnic

Pce-tur

Raycon

Robicon

Rubysun (Shenzen Eagle New Technology Electrical Industry Co. Ltd.)

Rulycon (NOT Rubycon, a top-quality brand)

Sacon

Samsung

SEC

SG

S.I.

Skywell

Stone

Supacon

Su'scon

Taicon

Tayeh

Teapo

TMS

Tocon

United

Wendell

Xunda

YEC

 

Symptoms of these incorrect electrolytes include bulging, leakage, venting, and bursting. A few are even reported to simply drop dramatically in value (to as little as 10% or even 5% of marked value), while in other cases ESR climbs to intolerable levels.

 

Note that Nichicon is otherwise regarded as a high-quality brand, and their problem is believed to have been limited to one small batch.

 

High quality brands:

Mallory

Matsushita

NIC Components

Nichicon (except for isolated incident noted above)

Nippon

Panasonic

Rubycon

Sanyo

United Chemi-Con (shield logo, UCC, a.k.a. Nippon Chemi-Con)

[Rybags]

EPox got screwed over by that... don't think they exist any more. They used to make really good motherboards.

[Kiwi]

Sorry for cross replying. I responded to your Game Gear post in the Classic Gaming Forum. I used Digi-key to get my capacitors. Fry's and Radioshack, you have to be lucky to find them on location.

[FABombjoy]

Not that I couldn't find components through proper research, but where would I locate yours? Pricing?

I'll be (hopefully) launching a store within the new few weeks, but I'll have Game Gear kits ready tonight or tomorrow. The kits will cover all versions of Game Gear PCBs, but if you know your exact model / parts list, I can make specific kits for a little cheaper. Just send me a PM and let me know what you need, along with your ZIP.

 

Per the brands above, all the caps I have are from the good list. I've bought a lot of cap kits over the years and not been happy to find them full of cheapies, so I decided it was time to just make my own.

Edited December 6, 2010 by FABombjoy

[+poobah]

I'm looking around on the web and prices for electrolytic capacitors is all over the place. [...] Is there a better/best brand to look for when purchasing capacitors? Or are they all pretty much the same quality, most seeming to come from Asia?

A couple of years ago I did some research into the "capacitor plague" issue and came up with the info below. Lots of brands to avoid, and a few good ones. Unfortunately that eBay seller doesn't seem to state or show what brand his caps are -- it looks like it was deliberate too, as odds are way against every single cap in that large bag in the photo being positioned so the brand name/logo is out of sight or unreadable.

 

==========

 

The following brands are associated with the recent (1998-200x) incorrect electrolyte formulation problem (a.k.a. capacitor plague) in electrolytic capacitors (typically Taiwanese low-ESR types used in switching power supplies):

 

Arcon

Canicon

CapXon

Chhsi

Choyo

CTC

D-paston

D.S

DST

Elite

Evercon

Fuhjyyu

Fuh Yin

Fujicon

Fujitsu (FPCAP)

Fulltec

GL

Gloria

G-Luxon

GSC

HEC (Dongguan City Dongyangguang Electronic Co Ltd.)

Hermei

I.Q.

Jackcon

JDEC

JEE (Well Jieh International Group)

JPCON

Jun Fu

Lelon

Licon (Fujicon)

MW

NCK

Nichicon (actual problem with these was overfilling, but symptoms the same)

Nkcon

Nrsy

OST

Partsnic

Pce-tur

Raycon

Robicon

Rubysun (Shenzen Eagle New Technology Electrical Industry Co. Ltd.)

Rulycon (NOT Rubycon, a top-quality brand)

Sacon

Samsung

SEC

SG

S.I.

Skywell

Stone

Supacon

Su'scon

Taicon

Tayeh

Teapo

TMS

Tocon

United

Wendell

Xunda

YEC

 

Symptoms of these incorrect electrolytes include bulging, leakage, venting, and bursting. A few are even reported to simply drop dramatically in value (to as little as 10% or even 5% of marked value), while in other cases ESR climbs to intolerable levels.

 

Note that Nichicon is otherwise regarded as a high-quality brand, and their problem is believed to have been limited to one small batch.

 

High quality brands:

Mallory

Matsushita

NIC Components

Nichicon (except for isolated incident noted above)

Nippon

Panasonic

Rubycon

Sanyo

United Chemi-Con (shield logo, UCC, a.k.a. Nippon Chemi-Con)

 

I've replaced hundreds of caps from the "high quality" brands you list. The problems around 2003 or so seem to cross pretty much every brand of caps in existence.

 

Brand is not a good discriminator for problems in that time frame. I do agree that they should be replaced with ones from "High Quality" list. (I typically use Rubycon, often replacing bad Rubycons!)

 

I would definitely avoid ebay, and go with a known reliable supplier. Caps are cheap enough that it is not worth the risk.

[Keatah]

I personally like the green chiclet-gum mylar capacitors. Those are cool. We used to suck on them when we were kids.

[hex65000]

While it will bump cost up quite a bit, you can try using Tantalum (more expensive) or ceramic caps if you can meet the capacitance/voltage specs.

 

I like using ceramics where I can get away with it if only because you don't get the drying out issue, and you aren't going to have to worry if it's installed backwards. I'm not sure how hard it is to get tantalum caps in larger values, but I think you do overcome the electrolyte issue because I don't believe that they dry out.

 

Also, I must agree, don't use EBay for buying these kinds of parts. you can get the same thing from DigiKey / Newark / Mouser for a better price and you won't have to worry about getting screwed by the seller. The downside is that they tend to have a minimum purchase amount (typically $25) so if you want some spares or have a side project that you can justify buying parts for, this is the way to go.

 

Probably more than you wanted there...

 

Hex.

[ Just facepalms when students ask about the polarity on electrolytic cans when they ask "Is it the long leg that's plus?" Look at the can dammit! It's marked! ]