Quote Originally Posted by 18c troll View Post
so how do you tell the differance between a tantal capacitor and a monolithic capacitor?
I'd suggest reading and looking through lots of pictures and YouTube videos. Tantalum capacitors appearance varies greatly. I've been trying to figure everything out and have learned a lot but still have a lot to learn. Tantalum - positive side marked either by line or + sign. Some of the ceramic capacitors will have a line that's in the middle. The aluminum capacitors have vents on the top of them but if it doesn't have a vent it could still be other relative useless capacitor. If it has a R it's a resistor, some look like capacitors but they would have C. I prob didn't help but there is a lot of vague topics on it. I plan on learning everything and posting a solid video about all the shapes sizes colors etching of the different capacitors