For the 5 pF and 15 pF capacitors, use only NPO (C0G) ceramic capacitors
-- otherwise the frequency will drift. For just receiving FM broadcast,
you *might* get by with "stable" ceramic caps, like X7R, since the
signals are broad. But try to get NPO if you can.

For the other capacitors, use ones which are physically small.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors are smaller than disks.

Get some solder wick, which is a wire braid soaked with flux. To remove
components, first remove the solder with the wick, then you can pull the
components out without damaging the board. Any beginner's board that
won't tolerate removal of parts is crap and shouldn't be on the market.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

SparkySKO wrote:
Hello All!

Bare with me, I'm a newbie.

I'm looking into building the Radio Shack Special

http://www.electronics-lab.com/projects/rf/007/

And looking through the parts list, I see that he references using Hi-Q
Ceramic Capacitors. This radio is for FM, so 90-110mhz.

I have a bunch of normal ceramic capacitors, but no hi-q capacitors. Is
there really much of a difference between the two, or am I likely to
fail if I don't use them? I'd hate to solder all this onto a board, and
risk messing up the board when removing them.

Any advice on the difference between them would be helpful. I'm
guessing they oscillate better, or at higher frequencies.