MF#39 Introduction to Capacitors and the Mathematics 

+Taren McCallan-Moore thank You Taren

Thankyou very much Paul. theres more on the way :-)

+Ivor Kadragic Hello Ivor. ThankYou, I wish I had the time to write a book. I do not know everything but Im always learning new things myself. Best wishes from Markus.

Hi Matt. Yes Inductors is the next step though I'm just trying to get some spare time so i can get started. Best wishes from Markus

+Alexander Downes Thankyou Alexander I hope you manage to make a Synthesizer, if you look around the internet there are many useful pages with details on certain parts of synthesizers and their circuit diagrams for VFO LFO etc. I keep thinking one day to make one myself. I made one many years ago but it was not really very good but I should try again sometime. Best wishes and do let me know how you get along.

Keep watching these vids and thinking the same thing, want to build my own synth thou not sure how much all the basic coponents would cost. Been scanning through the maplins book and say hmmmm for far too long lol.

there is a book called Make: analog synthesizers the isbn number is 978-1-449-34522-8 I believe it should be available on amazon and shows several circuits on how to make your own synth plus you can buy a ready made circuit board to make the synth on the front cover.

+markusfuller .Oh wow really thanks ill check it out even i dnt ending building something lol. Im sure it will be a veeeery intresting read thanks again.

Bobcatt22 Thank you Bobcatt22 . I do still have a mishap of figuring out the correct way to install a new cap now and then.

Here is a video on the polarization markings of caps: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BnR_DLd1PDI.html

TheGilounet Thankyou very much. It is never too late to learn anything. I am still learning new things every day and i am almost 50 years old :-). Best wishes from Markus

markusfuller Hi Markus. You're right! Thanks for all this kind words :)

+Jandro Kirkish Hello Jandro, I have thought about it but its just getting the time to experiment and make the video's thats the problem. I still have some of my own old circuit diagrams from years ago that could be used for the basis of synthesis. I will certainly think about it. Many thanks from Markus

Hello Alain. You are correct Capacitors can be designed directly onto PCBs, also Sometimes those traces are there just to make the track longer and give a slight delay for the signal so if some components are closer than others but the the signals need to reach the destination at different times. and if you have them in strange shapes they are to filter certain frequencies, a lot of black magic goes into designing them and I wish I knew more about them. Dave Jones of the RU-vid EEVblog shows a teardown of A spectrum analyser and explains those strange etched patterns on the circuit boards. I hope that helps a little. Best wishes Markus.

Id really like to know the same thing. Which would help me understand why some synths sound far larger than other.

From the expert in this field, Walt Jung: www.reliablecapacitors.com/pickcap.htm

+Four Side Gaming. hello The LED had a resistor attached so it slowly discharged the Capacitor. without the resistor it would discharged so quickly that the LED would have been damaged.

Thank you

cosmocasper Hmm not quite sure I can truly answer that question. if you have a positive and negative charge which is alternating then I'm guessing neither one is the actual ground in a permanent way else yes you would be right to say that the positive would go to ground during that half cycle period of the alternating current. Yikes that is a good question I have never really thought about it as I normally use polarised caps in the synth projects that I do. I will go and look into it myself as you have me curious now.

Hi fkthewhat. I just looked at that pen, looks interesting, I could make up an actual working circuit with that. but i could not wipe it off afterwards and reuse the board. but you still have a good idea there . Thank you

Hello if the value is not on the Capacitor then the way I would try and find out is using a capacitance meter and measuring it. you cannot really tell the value by size or shape. and sadly if the capacitor is dead you will get no value and will have to try and find schematic diagrams of the circuit which can sometimes be many hours on the internet (sometimes they are not even available). I had one blown off the board and destroyed once but luckily that section of the circuit was cloned several times on the circuit board so I guessed by looking at the cap used there to replace the cap that was missing. but generally there is no easy answer.

It's a bass amp cap.

+John Tenezaca Thank You very much :-)

Hi Ivan, you do not need an oscilloscope to test capacitors. you can use a multimeter that has capacitance check on it or better an actual LCR or ESR meter. some modern multimeters have a reasonably good Capacitance measurement range on them. other than buying something like that I do not think there is another way to get any accurate measurement, If you are not sure about buying a device to measure the Capacitor then the cheaper option would be to just buy a replacement Capacitor and change them over. that would be the cheaper option. sorry I have no other way to help. Best Wishes from Markus.