[Joe Kramer]

Hi Friends,

I guess many of you know that Panasonic has discontinued its excellent
P-Series line of polypropylene capacitors (previously available through
DIGIKEY). I'm researching a few manufacturers that can make a
replacement in terms of material, size, voltage rating, and price. The
thing is, all these manufacturers require medium-to-large quantity
orders to arrive at a decent price point. My hope is that there are
enough users of the P-Series parts (here and on other electronics
forums) to help convince a distributor to place an order and make these
parts available to us again (as well as profiting the distributor
sufficiently).

If you would be interested in seeing a replacement for the P-Series made
available, give a shout out here.

Regards,
Joe

PS: This manufacturer is my top pick for now:
http://www.stkelectronics.com/pdfs/KP35D.pdf

[Scott Dorsey]

Joe Kramer wrote:
I guess many of you know that Panasonic has discontinued its excellent
P-Series line of polypropylene capacitors (previously available through
DIGIKEY). I'm researching a few manufacturers that can make a
replacement in terms of material, size, voltage rating, and price. The
thing is, all these manufacturers require medium-to-large quantity
orders to arrive at a decent price point. My hope is that there are
enough users of the P-Series parts (here and on other electronics
forums) to help convince a distributor to place an order and make these
parts available to us again (as well as profiting the distributor
sufficiently).

There are plenty of replacements if you're looking for something like that,
but honestly I would suggest trying the newer PPS film capacitors that
Panasonic is currently making. What in particular are you trying to get
that you can't get from Xicon or Electronic Concepts?
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Joe Kramer]

Scott Dorsey wrote:
Joe Kramer wrote:
I guess many of you know that Panasonic has discontinued its excellent
P-Series line of polypropylene capacitors . . . .

There are plenty of replacements if you're looking for something like that,
but honestly I would suggest trying the newer PPS film capacitors that
Panasonic is currently making. What in particular are you trying to get
that you can't get from Xicon or Electronic Concepts?
--scott

Hi Scott,

Thanks for the suggestion. Alas, the PPS (ECH-S series) is also
obsolete, like many other leaded parts from Panasonic. Everything about
the P-Series was great IMHO: a huge range of values from .00012 to .47,
small footprint, 2% tolerance, and very affordable. Size is a big
factor for me, since many of the things I build have limited inner real
estate. The Xicon parts are okay, but bigger and much more limited in
range of values. Have not heard of Electronic Concepts, will check.

Joe

[Scott Dorsey]

Joe Kramer wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion. Alas, the PPS (ECH-S series) is also
obsolete, like many other leaded parts from Panasonic. Everything about
the P-Series was great IMHO: a huge range of values from .00012 to .47,
small footprint, 2% tolerance, and very affordable. Size is a big
factor for me, since many of the things I build have limited inner real
estate. The Xicon parts are okay, but bigger and much more limited in
range of values. Have not heard of Electronic Concepts, will check.

For PPS films, try ITW Paktron. They make some really nice ones. Like
most cut-foil capacitors, the leakage is higher than with a rolled film,
but that's seldom a problem if you aren't doing microphones or electrometers.

I was using Elcon polycarbonates for almost everything until Beyer discontinued
the polycarbonate film and the prices went through the roof. I'm still using
some of their film and foils for super low leakage mike stuff.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Joe Kramer]

Scott Dorsey wrote:
For PPS films, try ITW Paktron. They make some really nice ones.

Thanks again for the suggestion, but I don't see any polypropylenes from
them. . . .

Again, this line from STK looks very promising:

http://www.stkelectronics.com/site/p...ylene-kp35.php

Unfortunately, they don't appear to have a regular distributor who keeps
them in stock. I got a quote for 100 each of ten differnt values from
their salesman today, and the price was decent, but I'd much rather pay
a bit more per piece than lay out such a chunk of cash all at once. I
keep hoping someone knows a distributor who'd like to carry that KP35
line. . . .

Joe

[Scott Dorsey]

Joe Kramer wrote:
Scott Dorsey wrote:
For PPS films, try ITW Paktron. They make some really nice ones.

Thanks again for the suggestion, but I don't see any polypropylenes from
them. . . .

Right, they pretty much only do PPS. They do some cheaper mylar stuff,
but the PPS performance is pretty amazing even if they audiophile crowd
has not caught on yet. Physically smaller than polypropylene too.

Again, this line from STK looks very promising:

http://www.stkelectronics.com/site/p...ylene-kp35.php

Unfortunately, they don't appear to have a regular distributor who keeps
them in stock. I got a quote for 100 each of ten differnt values from
their salesman today, and the price was decent, but I'd much rather pay
a bit more per piece than lay out such a chunk of cash all at once. I
keep hoping someone knows a distributor who'd like to carry that KP35
line. . . .

Never dealt with STK. Tried Illinois Capacitors?
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."