On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 18:35:51 -0600 "Henry Kolesnik"
wrote:

One thing I forgot to ask is how good are old, burned-in tantalums that test
good if salvaged for reuse from older equipment. Anyone have any data?

I like the tantalums that come in the metal cylindrical cases with the
glass seals. I've never seen a bad one. Look for them at swap meets
and use them instead of small alum electrolytics as a higher
reliabilty replacement.

I've not had a lot of experience with the teardrop tantalums, but I
have seen a few bad ones.

While you will see aluminum electrolytics in all stages of ageing from
perfectly good to dead short or open, my impression of the teardrop
tantalums is that they are either perfectly good or completely bad.
There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.

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Jim Adney
Madison, WI 53711 USA
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