capacitor codes

Large capacitors have their values printed on them in plain terms, such as 100 uF. (We use the letter u as a substitute for the Greek letter micron, so "100 uF" represents 100 micro-farads.)

Small capacitors often use a 3-digit code to indicate their value. This code is similar to the resistor color code scheme, except that it uses digits instead of colored stripes. The first two characters are the 1st and 2nd significant digits, and the third digit is a multiplier. Values are expressed in pico-farads.

third digit	meaning
0	multiply by 1
1	multiply by 10
2	multiply by 100
3	multiply by 1000
4	multiply by 10,000
5	multiply by 100,000
8	divide by 100
9	divide by 10