Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
>> caps, but they are still off 50 - 100%.

Bear in mind that unlike Resistors, Capacitors are pretty much guaranteed NOT to be the value printed on them. With most Capacitors, if you're within 20% of what they're supposed to be, you've got a good one!

So, if your gizmo is telling you it's 50% off... it could actually be telling you the truth!
Many books quote it, I even recall one of my old tech teachers saying it: "Electrolytic capacitors have a huge varying degree of tolerance" But in practice, I have never measured any capacitor with a +/- 20% tol. I have however measured many of them faulty with very high ESR, which is a common fault with electrolytic capacitors used in switch mode circuitry. Sometimes, an extremely high ESR – near open circuit – will result in a somewhat lower capacitance measurement. All and all, I think modern-day components have traveled miles ahead. In reality, today, +/- 20% tol with anything would be very seldom.

Regards,
Trent Jackson