[HAM] Capacitors

[David Anderson]

Jordan,

Interesting that you should ask that because I was thinking perhaps I  
should clarify my reasons for my electrolytic capacitor recommendations.

One reason I'm choosy about brands of electrolytic capacitors has to  
do with what has sometimes been referred to as The Great Capacitor  
Scandal of this decade. To make a long story short, apparently there  
was a case of industrial espionage where the electrolyte formula of a  
major capacitor manufacturer was stolen and sold to several  
manufacturers in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. The problem was that the  
formula was incomplete, and capacitors made with it soon began to  
swell and go bad, taking out many computer motherboards and other  
consumer electronic items. The problem has been fixed as far as I  
know, but there are still many thousands of those capacitors out  
there being sold to unsuspecting customers. Thus, I prefer to buy  
brands that I know were not involved. See badcaps.net for more  
information.

Sprague Atoms are still made in the U.S. so far as I know; hence they  
are more expensive, but they have an excellent reputation for  
reliability. I've also used the Panasonic 450V TS Series sold by  
Digikey. Most electrolytics made today are radial lead because they  
create a smaller footprint on a PCB. The Atoms are axial lead.

One thing I've thought about is adapting a PCB for the AO-28's power  
supply. Triode Electronics sells a power supply board for the Dynaco  
SCA-35 integrated amp that lets you replace the original can caps  
with a single board made to fit the dimensions of capacitors like the  
Panasonics. You could mount this board under the chassis for a "neat"  
installation. http://store.triodestore.com/sdssca35boardblank.html

Contrary to what  some may say, your power supply is very much in the  
signal path.

David

On Feb 17, 2008, at 6:42 PM, Jordan Kersten wrote:

> Yea, the Orange Drops are cheap.  Would there be any reason to use  
> Sprague Atom Electrolycits?  Those are the expensive ones.  I had  
> an AO-10 preamp with the power supply caps replaced with Sprague  
> Atom caps and I loved the tone.  Would there be an advantage to  
> using these vs. cheaper electrolytics?-Jordan-