How To Read Markings On Ceramic Capacitors

Markings of ceramic capacitor.

How to read markings on ceramic capacitors.

In addition to the capacitance value and possibly the working voltage or breakdown voltage the capacitor may be marked by its tolerance. When you re building circuits with capacitors you ll need to learn to read the value markings which not only designate values but other parameters as well. There are several tolerance marking systems used. Here is how to read ceramic capacitor values.

Ceramic capacitors which are usually tiny pancakes with two pins typically list the tolerance value as one letter immediately after the three digit capacitance value. A variety of schemes may be used. The value of the capacitor is indicated in picofarads. Taking a look.

The first two numbers describe the value of the capacitor and the third number is the number of zeros in the multiplier. 7 is not. Reading values printed on electrolytic capacitors is easy digits on ceramic capacitors need to know some theory. Thus for such concise markings many different types of schemes or solutions are adopted.

L three numbers and a letter numbers 1 and 2 are value digits. If there s enough room on the capacitor most manufacturers of electronics components print the capacitance directly on the capacitor along with other information such as the working voltage and perhaps the tolerance. When the first two numbers are multiplied with the multiplier the. Number 3 is a multiplier.

Like resistors has some coding which needs to decipher printed digits on ceramic capacitors also needs deciphering. 0 1 1 10 2 100. Read the tolerance code on ceramic capacitors. To get this value you multiply the leading digits 68 in this case by 10 raised to the power of the last digit 3 and the result is the capacitance in picofarads in this case we get 68x10 3 pf.

Click here for resistor colour code and smd resistor code ceramic disc capacitors have two to three digits code printed on them. Many capacitor manufacturers use a shorthand notation to indicate capacitance on small caps. The top 683 marking indicates the capacitance value which is 68 000 picofarads pf. However small capacitors don t have enough room for all that.

Two of the most common are shown here. Typically the markings on a capacitor may give the figures like 22 and 6v. The above image shows a mylar film capacitor. Method of finding the value meaning of codes of capacitor.

This indicates a 22µf capacitor with a maximum voltage of 6v. The markings on a ceramic capacitor are more concise in nature since it is smaller in size as compared to electrolytic capacitors. The first is used with small ceramic capacitors and appears as a single letter.