First DIY project. Probably some really silly questions to follow:

[davidnlsw]

Hello all,

I've been doing research over the last week or two on putting together a "Yellow Shark" from the Haberdasher PCB. I've built a few BYOC kits but never done anything more complex or involved than that.

I've been searching around trying to find all the pieces I will need and here comes the first stupid question:

I'm looking at the parts list here and I can't for the life of me figure out what C1 is. I'm a noob. What does a "47n" cap mean?

I'm looking to order the majority of pieces from small bear so if someone could lend a helping hand, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[GermanCdn]

Welcome.

47n is 47 nanofarads, or 47nF in most places you will be buying from.  Likewise, 100p is 100 picofarads (100pF), and 2u2 is 2.2 microfarads (2.2uF).  One microfarad = 1000 nanofarads = 1 000 000 picofarads.  Sometimes you will see a variant in the listing, as in 47 nF listed as 0.047 uF; it's the same thing, just described a different way.

While we're at it, resistors are like this

100R - 100 ohms
100k - 100 kilo-ohms
1M - 1 Megaohm

1 M = 1000 k = 1000000 R.

Any other questions, ask away, and enjoy your build.

[GermanCdn]

And while I'm at it

picofarad caps are generally ceramic disc

nanofarad caps are generally polyfilm (box) from 1nf to 1 uF

microfarad caps are generally electrolytic and are polarized.

[das234]

47n cap means 47 nano farad, sometimes abbreviated nf.  It's a standard measure, usually for film capacitors.  You'll see them when you go "shopping" at the electronics suppliers.  There is a lot of info for beginners on here and other forums so look around and don't be afraid to ask.  Guitarpcb.com has a crash course in pedal building that has some good starter info.  It's great fun learning and building so, enjoy!

[das234]

Holy crap, Curtis, you're a fast replier. Got two in before I finished one.

[davidnlsw]

Welcome.

47n is 47 nanofarads, or 47nF in most places you will be buying from.  Likewise, 100p is 100 picofarads (100pF), and 2u2 is 2.2 microfarads (2.2uF).  One microfarad = 1000 nanofarads = 1 000 000 picofarads.  Sometimes you will see a variant in the listing, as in 47 nF listed as 0.047 uF; it's the same thing, just described a different way.

While we're at it, resistors are like this

100R - 100 ohms
100k - 100 kilo-ohms
1M - 1 Megaohm

1 M = 1000 k = 1000000 R.

Any other questions, ask away, and enjoy your build.

After another couple hours of digging around I finally started to figure out the conversions you described. For whatever ever reason Small Bear seems to list all of their caps as either pF or uF. I finally found what I was looking for. Thank you so much for the quick response and the really great attitude.

47n cap means 47 nano farad, sometimes abbreviated nf.  It's a standard measure, usually for film capacitors.  You'll see them when you go "shopping" at the electronics suppliers.  There is a lot of info for beginners on here and other forums so look around and don't be afraid to ask.  Guitarpcb.com has a crash course in pedal building that has some good starter info.  It's great fun learning and building so, enjoy!

Thanks a lot for your help. I appreciate it very much.

-David

PS: Never have I had such a fantastic very first experience with an online forum. You guys are great.

[gordo]

You may as well get used to this level of help around here, it's just phenomenal.  The downside is that you'll need to keep this in mind as you gaze at pedals that only wizards could have built.  I try not to complain too much, but some nights I just cry myself to sleep knowing that my case etches look more like a shotgun blast than artwork 

Welcome aboard!

[Vallhagen]

Generally, learn the prefixes:

G= Giga = 10^9
M= Mega = 10^6
k (or sometimes capital K, though lowercase k is more correct) = Kilo = 10^3
m = milli = 10^-3
u (more properly the greek letter my, but we dont have that one on our keyboards) = micro =  10^-6
n = nano = 10^-9
p = pico = 10^-12

...from this, its obvious that 1000p=1n, 2u2 = 2200n etc.

... speaking about "2u2", note that it is the decimal point that is replaced by the "u" here. Just because it saves space; "2u2" is only three symbols while "2.2u" is four, right:).

... hope these few words added something. Welcome to the forum!

[alanp]

... speaking about "2u2", note that it is the decimal point that is replaced by the "u" here. Just because it saves space; "2u2" is only three symbols while "2.2u" is four, right:).

Slightly wrong, here -- 2u2 saves you from bad photocopiers or bad eyesight -- you can miss a tiny little full stop . but you find it harder to miss a k or u.

2.2k or 2k2, one can be mistaken as 22k.

[Gledison]

Hey mate.
Welcome to the addiction!!
the guys already answered your question. you might get also some app that converts units. ive got a couple of them and can be quite handy!sometimes things are in 6000pF, and u might lost a zero somewhere and that wont be good!
cheers

[danwelsh]

Hey mate.
Welcome to the addiction!!
the guys already answered your question. you might get also some app that converts units. ive got a couple of them and can be quite handy!sometimes things are in 6000pF, and u might lost a zero somewhere and that wont be good!
cheers

I use electrodroid....awesome app. its got voltage calculators, resistor ratio and color codes, smd codes, cap codes, pinouts...and a boatload lot more

[davidnlsw]

Thanks for all of the info guys, keep it coming if you like. I'm taking notes as well as digging through build threads here trying to learn more.

So where do you Bean masters buy your parts from? I'm familiar with Small Bear and mouser. Are there other great shops I should know about?

[danwelsh]

Thanks for all of the info guys, keep it coming if you like. I'm taking notes as well as digging through build threads here trying to learn more.

So where do you Bean masters buy your parts from? I'm familiar with Small Bear and mouser. Are there other great shops I should know about?

tayda is really good....link at top

[rullywowr]

On a related topic: I'm thinking we need a "parts sourcing sticky" thread as this question comes up almost daily. Mods? 

[pryde]

Here you go mang, for future reference a capacitor conversion chart to print out and hang on your wall 

http://www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.html