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One of the many capacitor numbering schemes

This is a tiny ceramic capacitor.  You can only read the stuff printed on it under high magnification

ceramic sapacitor01

Let's say that this is the same capacitor, but under high magnification. But what does '104' mean? Is it some kind of model number? Inventory number? Does it mean nothing to anyone but space aliens?

Ceramic capacitor

Nope. It tells you it's capacitance, in picofrads. The first two digits indicate part of it's capacitance value. The third digit indicates the number of zeros which follow the first two digits.

Thus, it's capacitance is 10, followed by four zeros, i.e., 100,000 picofarads (100,000 pF)

You can also just drop the last three zeros and call it 100 nanofarads (100 nF). Both are the same value; they're just  written differently.

You can find out a bit more here.

And even more, in a straight-to-the-point video, here.

Published on Categories Amateur Radio, Capacitors, Ham Radio

About AC9KJ

I earned my licenses because I'm not into Bingo or trips to casinos, and because it was on my bucket list. It also keeps me busy in the absence of my wife, who passed on, three years ago. I'm 78 years old and briefly held a Novice license (WN9MIU) in about 1970. I'm a former commercial radio Program Director and Music Teacher. Right now I'm operating HF on a a Kenwood TS-590SG, with an indoor loop antenna. The car radios are a Yaesu 8900R and/or a Yaesu FT-857D, supplemented by a Yaesu FT-60 HT. I'm slowly learning Morse code (my apartment is an SSB black hole), and will eventually get into PSK31 and modes of that ilk.