Should you buy tantalum caps from Aliexpress? Here's What I Found!

[@frnkbooth6871]

As a former manufacturing executive from a well known supplier, let me explain. You are paying for lot traceability documentation not the parts. All manufacturers can supply and verify, if necessary authenticity. Only buy from authorized franchise distributors. Unless you like buying garbage and wasting your time. And no, do not send your garbage parts in for verification. It won’t happen. Send in lot numbers for verification which you will not get from AliExpress. This is true for all products, not just caps. Sorry, no free lunch.

[@spvillano]

I've long had a saying, "There is such a thing as a free lunch, alas, few can afford the price that it actually costs". Some years ago, the Army had gotten in a supply of tempered bolts. A string of failures and accidents with injuries ensued and Big Army investigated. Two suppliers decided to not go through normal channels, but to fudge paperwork and get cheap Chinese bolts that, while marked tempered, were mild steel, resulting in catastrophic failure. The suppliers enjoyed being guests of the federal penal system for some time. I'll stick with authorized franchise distributors, thank you. That documentation covers my butt, as with it comes responsibility of everyone in that supply chain and without it, I'm essentially naked and alone. I prefer covered, be it for a nut, bolt, diode, transistor, chip, capacitor, resistor, etc. At least then, I know that I'm getting what I paid for.

[@hardwarerepair200]

That's very useful information! It reminds me of a news in Singapore where a bench at a bus stop was stolen. It was later revealed that each bench cost $1,000 to make. Since there are usually four benches at a bus stop, it means it costs at least $4,000 to set up a simple bus stop. People were shocked back then and suspected some corruption. However, it turned out that the certification of the benches (proof of safety and durability) cost more than the actual bench itself.

[@Zodliness]

Idiots tend to buy two kinds of components, the first, a cheap bag from Aliexpress and then a second from a reputable manufacturer. 😉😂

[@Kalvinjj]

Also some Aliexpress components are just plain fakes or recycled. Scraped labels redone to anything they see fit is easy. These caps I suspect were either a failed batch, old or badly stored batch, or just used 680 uF caps tested and rebranded.

[@Kalvinjj]

@@spvillano Same for me at work, but granted I'll admit I go the Aliexpress route for personal projects. Reason being at work you just pass along the costs, and you really do wanna make sure it actually properly works, any fault is your fault not another secondary out of your control issue. Now the issue with me getting stuff from the reputable sellers for myself is... Brazil. This just ruins anything. The taxes we pay for stuff brought over by couriers (like FedEx and UPS) are exorbitant. It's such a stupid extortion that it's absolutely unfeasible. Think of paying 3~5x the price for US delivery, and on top of THAT, you double it from taxes.

[@Mobin92]

It's not even about the components being cheap, it's about being able to get it shipped to your country. If I need 5 caps for some projects, I can't pay 30$ of shipping.

[@Kalvinjj]

And in Brazil that 30 shipping and 3 dollar component combo turns into an 80 dollar order with the taxes.

[@dogwalker666]

Buying anything from the US is impractical because the shipping time and charges are ludicrous, When you can get free shipping from China.

[@clockworkvanhellsing372]

​@@dogwalker666mouser as well as digikey drop their redicoulus shipping charges once you're over 50€. They could do it but just don't want to deal with smaller orders.

[@rkan2]

This is the main issue, even in Europe.

[@ppdan]

@@dogwalker666 Sorry but my orders from Mouser arrive within 3-5 days (from Texas US to Belgium EU) while orders from China take 10-20 days. Shipping is free for orders > 100 euros. The components cost a little more but at least I am 100% that those are quality components.

[@user-rh7io3pq7m]

Sponser block was amazing 😂❤

[@hardwarerepair200]

I hope my wallet is big enough to sponsor more videos!

[@jericoaragon9876]

It made me laugh! New subscriber here

[@paxsevenfour]

Same 😆👍🏻

[@Dan-TechAndMusic]

LCSC is part of the same company as JLCPCB. If you choose the service to have SMD components prepopulated on the ordered PCBs, the parts are sourced from LCSC.

[@spvillano]

According to their site, which I last looked at last night, there are some other well reputed suppliers as well and they're listed. It depends upon what you specify. For what little that I do these days, I'll assemble my own. It's not as if I'm wrangling entire MoBo's these days. Indeed, the latest science project literally is that, a particle mass spectrometer that CERN is distributing the plans for via their educational website.

[@supul32]

LCSC is totally legit. They have valid sourcing certificates. I often get components from them and never had any issues. The low prices are most probably due to being a Chinese company, because almost all components are made in China (even all the western brands like Texas Instruments) so they have fewer middlemen, less logistics costs in sourcing process.

[@wizrom3046]

The voltage ratinng was probably even more important. Tantalums can break down in a bad way of the voltage is exceeded. It would be good to test the voltage where the caps break down. And noise too, caps near their break down limit can make a lot of electrical noise.

[@Orionrobots]

By break down badly, you mean go up like match heads?

[@wizrom3046]

@@Orionrobots generally they just short out or partially short out. Then after that they dont work right. Of course, if you are supplying them from a high current power supply it might get fiery.

[@fredhamilton1701]

Totally agree. Would also be good to check vs temperature.

[@theantipope4354]

Back in the day, the old blob style tantalums used to explode with a big bang like a gunshot, & lots of smoke if you overstressed them! I don't know if that's still a thing that happens with modern ones.

[@IgnatSolovey]

I wonder when reviewers will stop treating AliExpress as a supplier while it is a marketplace with individual sellers. One may sell junk, another may sell legit. Same as Amazon or eBay. It's up to your attention, common sense and gut feeling to avoid scam.

[@jaro6985]

Sure, but doesn't really change the fact that buying components from random individual sellers is usually a waste of your time. The alternative is guaranteed to be genuine and has all the parts in one store.

[@riccardoiacob4560]

​@@jaro6985Exactly, buying from a supplier like LCSC in bulk is many many times better. Just group more projects and more parts together, and make a big order, I usually aim for ~100$ each time.

[@lemontree5986]

@@jaro6985 if you want to get cheep stuff do your homework

[@thedanyesful]

That would be true if they took care of customers as well as even eBay. My experience is their seller feedback and product review systems are both shit and refunds are basically a non-starter.

[@IgnatSolovey]

@@thedanyesful it's just that you have to look at both negative and positive reviews, and refunds are very much a starter, but they are just not instant.

[@godfreypoon5148]

Another test you may wish to perform is a voltage withstand test. Just apply the rated voltage to the capacitor, and make sure it's a very low impedance source, able to deliver lots of current. If the capacitor becomes diffused around your room after applying the voltage, you will know it failed the test.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thanks for the suggestion! I will try it next time!

[@robertbruce7686]

Oooh Majike Smoke 😂😂😂

[@christiangonzalez6945]

Diffused around your room hahahahahahahahahahahah

[@RNMSC]

As someone who's bought several things through AliExpress, it's often a good idea to check on who the seller at AliExpress is. I've had purchases go wrong in the past where something akin go 80 kg of product was supposedly delivered, yet never showed up, and the seller advises to go to the carrier and have them check to see if it's just in the back room or something. that's not generally how things are handled in the US, and nothing they provided included tracking numbers for any carrier in the US. On the whole, most of what I've bought through AliExpress has worked as advertised. but yeah, there are occasional stinkers, and when you go back, you often find that there are 3 or a dozen other sellers with similar products with about the same price, sometimes better. That said, I don't often buy tantalum caps, and don't claim to have the test equipment for that. Pretty sure that Mouser and Digikey are not going to be worried about parts sourced through them being used as comparison references. 🙂

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thank you for sharing your experience!

[@heathputnam1510]

Your comments are hilarious. Thanks very much for making this video. I appreciate your rigorous testing and re-testing when you realize your methodology might be wrong.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mrtechie6810]

The issue is shipping. Who can afford $30 shipping for a 20 cent component?

[@googlefuuplayad9055]

Yes. Quite shitty

[@nedelwre]

if the china postal status succesfully changed to parity/ no more subsidy, it will cost as much as other country.

[@mrtechie6810]

​​​@@nedelwre I don't believe it actually costs $30 - $50 to mail a tiny component.

[@Turco949]

Price + Quality combination wise, LCSC is the clear winner! Thanks for the video, as a beginner electronics enthusiast on a strict budget, this was very helpful!

[@hardwarerepair200]

Couldn't agree more!

[@leonkiriliuk]

Assuming they have the component you want in stock. I only order my PCBs from JLCPCB and have tried multiple times assembly with LCSC. For all my circuit boards, 1/2 the components are always "sold out" with no ETA for replacement. Yet Digikey has always had stock for the components LCSC didn't have. Given I always order $100 or more, FedEx overnight shipping has always been free for me.

[@bigcheese781]

Depends on what you do. If you're only goofing around with your own stuff, maybe. If you aim a little higher, you should probably rethink that variable.

[@change_your_oil_regularly4287]

Nope

[@ripfelix3020]

I'm suprised that ESR meter was able to semi-accurately read those caps. Glad to see you confirm what we've been saying about trash binned caps being sold on ali. The ones that didn't meet the 10% or 20% specification to be sold by mouser or digikey. And that LCSC is legit. I've been reccomending them as the most affordable option that is still quality, being a sister company of JLCPCB who wants a good rep. What I find even more worrying is the other specs. Like lifetime or leakage current. If capacitance is that far off, can you trust the voltage rating? Or that they'll meet the 1000hr @ 105C endurance? I don't think so!

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thank you for the information! That's why I love this community, I always learn more from you guys in the comments here.

[@saintaxlxyzero]

who is the best felix?🙏🏻

[@glasslinger]

You have no experience. My company buys REELS of capacitors from Mouser, and most of the time from reels of 5000 pieces we have NO BADS! (The place machine tests each capacitor just before it puts it on the board.)

[@jankomuzykant1844]

​@@glasslinger How fast is your machine with the component testing?

[@glasslinger]

@@jankomuzykant1844 I'm not sure but it looks like it is 1 second. That is about the speed the machine places them on the board.

[@Pastamancer509]

Doing the important work for the little guys 👍 Can't thank you enough.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thanks for watching! Have fun repairing stuffs!

[@kevtris]

those caps look like they are pcb pulls. the connections are crooked, and the tops have been sanded and remarked. I didn't think they were valuable enough to remark, clean and sell but apparently they are.

[@victortitov1740]

indeed, i'm often surprised by the amount of effort some people put in just to scam others...

[@ThePlacehole]

child labor is cheap

[@m3rlin74]

Why are you talking about Ali Express? Ali Express is a platform for retailers. You compare a merchant marketplace with retail. You should actually name the relevant dealer. That would be the same as saying eBay has poor quality. To say that the quality at "Ali Express" is generally bad is simply wrong. It depends on the dealer.

[@keen2461]

For most of my DIY projects, I buy stuff from Ali. Yes, sometimes you get lemons, but on average I get good price/quality and I prefer that to pay 10x to a big reputable supplier. Ali allows nowadays access to tons of affordable modules and components that otherwise most of us wouldn't be able to afford.

[@tony359]

I ordered from LCSC for the first time a couple of weeks ago and so far everything has worked - looks like a good option indeed. But for more serious projects I always go to Mouser and Digikey. I don't think those measurements can be 100% accurate but it's pretty clear that Aliexpress sold you junk. Oh, and first time here, you've got a new sub :)

[@hardwarerepair200]

Oh Tony, didn't expect to see you here! I have been watching your videos for quite a while. I like your videos especially the PS3 repair series! It's my honor to receive your comment and your sub here!

[@tony359]

@@hardwarerepair200 Have I become so famous? :D I still have a PS3 under the desk with YLOD, factory sealed. Will likely need a new RSX and if you watched my BGA rework videos you understand why I'm reluctant to try! :) Keep up with the good work, I look forward to your next video!

[@hardwarerepair200]

I think it's the magic of YT algorithm. It brings people who worked on PS3 together. YT suggested me the videos of you working on PS3s, that's how I know you and your channel! There are also a bunch of other people here in the comment working on PS3 too (RIPFelix, Rambonz, and etc.) The moment we uploaded videos about PS3, we are all linked together :D

[@glitchwrks]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I often warn folks about the false economy of taking the time to repair something with mystery meat components from AliExpres, Amazon, eBay, etc. Note that you won't be able to make truly consistent and accurate ESR measurements that low with a two-lead meter, you'll require a four-wire Kelvin connection. Your setup in the video clearly illustrates the point though, being as how the AliExpress capacitors are off by an order of magnitude! It looks like the AliExpress capacitors have been remarked, you can see abrasion patterns on the top in the video. This is common with counterfeit components. It's also why the AliExpress capacitors are thinner.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thanks for the comment! Do you have any recommendation for a good ESR meter?

[@glitchwrks]

@@hardwarerepair200 I personally use an old Gen-Rad 1657 RLC Digibridge, we've got several in our shop. Anything with a true four-wire Kelvin connection from a reputable manufacturer.

[@SkySky-zr3bt]

Thanks for great review! Keep up the good work!

[@ericlawrence9060]

Great video. Loved how you showed the whole test process so others could do the same to check their own batches they order. :)

[@hardwarerepair200]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MaxKatzin]

I present a challenge: That mystery broken PS2: Send it to me (in the states) with a correct region game (for testing, all my games are U/C) and I’ll have it fixed in 30 days.

[@xpeng121]

5:32 That is just a domain registration information from the government. Every website that is hosted in china needs to have a registration code. It's like "whois" system. If the website contains something illegal, they can track it back down to the host.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thanks for explaining the system, I didn't know that!

[@theantipope4354]

The "sponsored by my wallet" bit got you an instant upvote from me. lol

[@paulsengupta971]

I bought some through-hole capacitors from AliExpress to fix my television. They fixed my television. But I bought spares, so if they don't last very long I can replace them again! :-)

[@SeanBZA]

Very likely that, when the ones you used fail, the unused ones will also be close to failing as well, Have seen that a lot with no name caps, the cheap ones have a very definite shelf life, used or not.

[@DigitalPhage]

That's fine if your time is worthless

[@paulsengupta971]

@@DigitalPhage My hobby time isn't paid regardless of how I spend it.

[@Rambonz2]

Awesome video mate. Keep it up.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thanks for the visit!

[@robertjung8929]

those aliexpress caps were salvaged, it's clearly visible - they have scratches and the pads are worn.. and the fact they're salvaged explains the high ESR.

[@SianaGearz]

They are likely stored long and wrong. But if they were salvaged, you would expect different surface on the legs, these pads are visibly degraded (pitting) but they have never been soldered yet. One look at the surface of the legs, any prospective manufacturer who wants to use the caps in the product would not buy them, expecting high rate of soldering defect due to thick oxide layer growing. If they accidentally bought a batch, they'd be quick to find out that it's not doing so great and sell the rest on. They have different enclosure bottom mould, they do not stem from the same manufacturing. They are sanded down, thus the enclosure top is much slimmer than the norm. The scratches are from the sanding process. Note that paint is applied ON TOP of the scratches. These are counterfeit caps. They are cheap caps that nobody wanted to buy and which spent 10 years kicking about from warehouse to warehouse, then the label surface was removed and repainted to look like expensive caps.

[@W1RMD]

Leakage current is also important along with ESR. Everyone (except for Mr. Carlson) mentions ESR and not leakage. Mr. Carlson only mentions leakage and never has mentioned ESR in any video. Am I to assume that if the ESR is good that the leakage current is also okay? I really don't know. I've built a basic leakage tester using a 2n7000 mosfet and several 10 meg resistors pulling down the gate. Use an led with a 1k or so resistor in series to protect it. Put the positive voltage in series with the DUT (capacitor) and the impedance is so high to the gate of the mosfet that even the slightest leakage will light the led. All you need is just a few components and 9 volt battery and you easily check leakage. Thanks for your video and tests. I'm still learning.

[@eDoc2020]

Different capacitor types and different use cases. Mr. Carlson is talking about leaky DC-blocking paper capacitors in high impedance analog signal circuits. In most modern circuits (especially digital ones) you're only changing power filtering capacitors. Here leakage has much less of an impact, it's probably fine unless the capacitor is leaking enough to physically heat up.

[@pavelsalac5571]

I mostly purchase from Mouser, as their customer service is top notch and shipping times are often even better compared to local companies (I am from Czech rep). Occasionally, I purchase some parts from LSCS. Even STM ICs and they always been genuine parts. Cost is... perfect, shipping times 5-10days tho. Whenever I have purchased anything from Aliexpress I have been basically ripped off. Sometimes it is fake brand, completelly faked goods or refurbished e-waste sold as new product. In result, I am hesitant to buy even a simple goods such as switches, cables or LEDs.

[@mesterak]

You’re funny dude, and I enjoyed the video. I just subscribed 👍

[@hardwarerepair200]

Welcome aboard!

[@Gradius2]

*MOST* useful review of the entire yt !

[@Indiskret1]

Best sponsor ad ever! 😂

[@hardwarerepair200]

Glad you enjoy seeing me burning my money

[@app0the]

As someone in Japan I tend to buy off RS Components instead, they have much cheaper and faster shipping. That is when I absolutely have to "import" though - otherwise I'd rather support the real offline stores so they don't all disappear, so most of the times it's Akizuki Denshi or Marutsu. Would be interesting to know to which of those the Akizuki ones are closer to, since I presume Marutsu is partnered with Digikey so they source from there :-)

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thank you for your comment! I went to the Akizuki Denshi in Akihabara a lot back in 2022. But they mostly sell through-hole components, and only have a very small collection of SMD components. So for SMD components, it is very likely that we have no choice but to buy online.

[@arvetemecha]

you are doing the right thing. Here in France we, local suppliers closed many years ago. So we have to order lots of stuffs online and cope with delays and shipping fees, and it's a pain in the ass to find some through hole components to repair vintage audio electronics...

[@app0the]

@@arvetemecha in Sapporo where I live most local suppliers also vanished too. There is only one single shop remaining which only works Mon-Fri 11am-4pm which is nuts if you ask me. They have also recently shrunk the actual exhibition area 3x in size and cut off the rest of the shop for office space. Not to mention their stock is mostly some variants of resistors and caps, and a bunch of rare connectors because the remainder of popular ones has been already sold out...

[@originalmianos]

LCSC are pretty good. Also their semiconductors are pretty good. I got some DACs from Ali and my firmware didn't work with any. The output gain didn't seem to change no matter what I did. I got the same from LCSC and they all worked 100%. Imagine cloning a Ti chip and being so shit they don't bother with half the functionality of the real thing, probably based on their fakeass clients don't use that bit.

[@hardwarerepair200]

It's my first time buying from LCSC, and I am surprised to know that they are selling legit stuffs at a reasonable price.

[@gendragongfly]

According to your measurements DigiKey is the only manufacturer delivering all capacitors within spec, since the capacitance of all LCSC capacitors and some of the capacitors from Mouser appear out of spec (20%, so max allowed capacitance is 564 µF). It's hard to say if your measurement method is not causing some shift in the data. A standard multimeter (even a fluke) is not the best instrument to accurately measure capacitance. Assuming that the capacity measurement of your multimeter is higher than the actual value (which it likely is), DigiKey and Mouser are probably in spec while both LCSC and AliExpress delivered all capacitors out of spec. In order to accurately determine if the ESR is in spec for the capacitors that are measuring close to the manufacturers maximum value, you'd need an ESR meter capable of measuring at least 0.1 mΩ. Preferably an ESR meter that can measure down into the range of 0.01 mΩ at an accuracy of ±0.1mΩ on that range should be used.

[@johnsonlam]

LCSC is associated with JLCPCB, one of the famous PCB manufacturer that have huge amount of PCB making (and recently developed other business as well), they have assemling service, that means they got huge volume purchasing benefit, so they can sell you with cheaper price than "wholesale/retail only" digikey and mouser. AliExpress goods maybe authentic but "recycled", who knows!

[@AMMCElectronics]

Farnell and RS are also a great component suppliers.

[@user-ej4yu5ce4o]

Hey bro, next time, put it in a tabulated chart with all the info like price, capacitance, esr, shipping time for better viewing. Anyway, nice content 👍

[@markhaskins840]

I always consider lcsc as a seller of legit end of reel parts and CN manufactured parts. If you need to price down your BOM it's a good way to source whilst in the design phase. I like your video, consider me subscribed!

[@lildzhank]

I am using LCSC for years, even before they came known widely as an parts seller and wasnt directly yet linked to the JLCPCB site. If they sell STM, Murata or whatever big brand components - they are original and not fake ones.

[@johnnz4375]

Good review, but to give a total picture you should have included the cost of the parts and the shipping.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thank you for the suggestion! I forgot to put the total cost towards the end of the video. Will put it in the video description instead!

[@falconmick]

Aliexpress issue is that it’s basically Amazon and the quality/authenticity varies between providers. I’ve found that if you buy enough junk eventually you’ll find the good sellers

[@MSM5500]

Tried to source power transistors from Aliexpress. 10 of 10 times I received BS. If the particular components are in demand then you'll get fake 100%. But I was lucky to get genuine components when searching some obsolete IC such as DACs etc. That would cost me a fortune if to get them from the US obsolete parts supplier.

[@k0lo86]

Good job! LCSC is good for me, but shipment to Poland is quite a long. But the price is winning here.

[@hardwarerepair200]

How long does it take to ship to Poland?

[@k0lo86]

@@hardwarerepair200 14 days

[@adamaglionby7438]

In Poland have TME ,big distributor

[@havocking9224]

Thanks for detailed video 👌🏻

[@hardwarerepair200]

Glad that you enjoy it!

[@SINHRO-FAZA]

Довольно наивно судить о всей площадке Aliexpress, всего лишь по покупке у одного продавца из тысячи, которые там представлены...

[@blaser80]

I buy from RS Electronics mostly in the UK when I need to be certain of the quality of the products, but I'll also buy basic components like resistors for LCSC because they are so cheap - but don't expect their 1% stuff be within tolerance (still fine if 5% is enough for your requirements)

[@mrtechie6810]

AliExpress is not a brand, it is a middleman.

[@TheKoodus]

To me it is surprising that the caps from digikey were so very close to rated values, but the ones from mouser were much more similar to the ones from LCSC. I would have expected at least mouser and digikey to be the same, but the difference is quite significant.

[@demef758]

Different lots measure differently. You need to buy a few hundred lots, make the measurements, then draw your conclusions from that. Too expensive to do for small peanuts like us.

[@MCPicoli]

Never had any problems with LCSC components in many years. Of course no problems with Mouser or Digikey either, but they're much more expensive.

[@pault6533]

Don’t forget the third important room temperature parameter: DC leakage. Then also check performance under varying temperatures and frequencies.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Nice suggestion! I think I need to learn how to measure DC leakage, as I am just a hobbyist. Do you have any suggested material/instruction on how to measure it?

[@pault6533]

​@@hardwarerepair200 I'm a hobbyist too! The procedure for testing leakage current is to find a power supply capable of reaching the rated voltage of the cap to be tested. Set the supply at 0V and connect a properly polarized circuit including the supply, the cap, and a 1K ohm resistor. Additionally, place a voltmeter across the resistor and set it for mV. *Slowly* increase the voltage of the supply, and the capacitor charges accordingly, creating a voltage across the resistor that decreases slowly when you stop. You can find tables online that give you the allowable microamps for a Capacitance C and Voltage V. I personally adopted the equation (0.3*C*V)^0.7+.000004 uA for electrolytic caps, tantalum is much less. So testing a 220 uF 10V electrolytic, I expect the leakage to be no more than 98.1 uA. Multiply this by 1,000 ohms, and you should not find the voltage drop across the resistor does not exceed 98.1 mV at steady state after sitting there after 5 minutes at the rated voltage. The lower the mV, the better the leakage is. This doesn't hurt the cap, in fact it helps reform a cap that has been unused for a while.

[@pault6533]

@@hardwarerepair200 I put a 1K ohm resistor in series with a power supply capable of the max voltage and SLOWLY increase the volts to the rating, noting the mV at the end of 5 minutes dwelling. This mV corresponds to the leakage uA. Tables showing allowable values are in datasheets. If you don't have a datasheet find a typical table for your chemistry type (electrolytic, tantalum, etc)

[@patrickallison4876]

Actually for tantalums, *voltage rating* is probably the most important, because tantalums go boom in failure.

[@patrickallison4876]

(ok ok they *ignite* but it's more fun to say boom)

[@SynapticTransmission]

Holy shit! $2.60 for a Kilo of PURE GOLD! Thank you thank you thank you!

[@hardwarerepair200]

100% legit!

[@GadgetReviewVideos]

It’s funny I was recommended this video since I just ordered two low noise RF amplifiers from digikey last night. But also for 1/4 the price noticed aliexpress would give me 10 of them. I have my doubts since Ali never listed that they are made from infinion. But since I wanted to know and prove to others cost might matter on parts for performance I ordered the one from ali also. Now I wait to compare like you did. I never have ordered components from ali before but know a lot of people that do. Thanks for the video.

[@hardwarerepair200]

How's your order? Keep us updated!

[@GadgetReviewVideos]

@@hardwarerepair200 Sure thing. I received the digikey order today. Just waiting on the order from AliExpress now.

[@frankgrudge8823]

Good video. I didnt think EE could be this amusing. 🎉

[@lucasmertens1]

I get a lot of great stuff from AliExpress, but there are just some things I would never buy from there; brand-name items, solder, batteries of any kind and most electronic components.

[@gregjohnson247]

EXCELLENT VIDEO! GREAT WORK!

[@rudycandu1633]

Some of the parts sold on Aliexpress are out of specification parts. For example OEM reject parts. At one time I ordered INA219 parts off of Aliexpress to be used for a production board. Some were good enough. But with the cost of rework we changed to legitimate factory distributors.

[@neuro_davinci]

I think it comes down to the usage of the part. I have a sample book of 0608 caps and resistors from Aliexpress, I use them for testing and prototyping. When it comes to making the final version of something, I will order the parts I need from Farnell. As long as you know what you're getting, and test them before use, the cheap Aliexpress parts have their uses for hobbyists such as myself. I would never bother with critical parts such as micro controllers or FPGA chips though, as they are usually recovered, rebranded and totally unfit for even testing purposes.

[@kjaxky]

What i got from this is that people don't understand that aliexpress is like Amazon. they're not the seller . Also that lcsc is a good source if digikey is too much . Thank you , youve saved us allot of time. Also that the top electronic conponent cokoanies panasonic , ti, etc are all still the standard

[@pete3897]

It would be interesting to compare delivery times in the number of _business_ days rather than just days. Long weekends can skew delivery results by up to 3 days...

[@AlpineTheHusky]

Digikey and Mouser have done a lot of sketchy "Yeah lemmy hold your payment for a week and then ship your components" kinda things. The company I work at have stopped ordering there since often they take a week longer to deliver than advertised and the support is as arrogant as you expect from an American supplier.

[@fpgamachine]

Excellent work! Thanks!

[@theantipope4354]

LCSC is a Chinese supplier with a pretty good industry reputation for both quality & good prices. Digikey & Mouser are both very good quality, but boy, you sure pay for the fast delivery!

[@CathySiegert]

I would byu the caps from digikey because the value is near the printed one and the esr are quiet exakt and constant. The caps from LCSC have a good ESR but the capacitance is extremly higher than it should be which causes problems in many circuits with coils and diodes (such as old monitors). The last crt power supply goes boom with higher capacitance caps then the printed value says.... Caps have usually a tolerance of 20% which means the maximum value can be 570uF and the minimum value is around 370uF so the LCSC caps are a bad choice.

[@rpk5568]

Although I do buy stuff from Aliexpress the first thing I do is replace all the caps, if it's electronics. AQnd as you were opening the parts i knew the first bag was Aliexpress just buy the inferior look they had. I prefer Mouser just because the interface is better.

[@dktr2]

Inside the housing, probably ordinary ceramics with an unknown voltage.

[@PSUQDPICHQIEIWC]

I'd almost be more worried about whether the cheap caps would wind up failing short-circuit. That's a bit harder to test, but I think that questionable reliability is worse than poor tolerance.

[@hhf39p]

When I was in high school in the 1970s, a long time ago, I worked at a repair shop. If I would open a unit and see tantalum capacitors, I would not not do any trouble shooting, but would just replace them. Worked 90% of the time. Have they gotten better?

[@hardwarerepair200]

I am not sure, since I only started using tantalum capacitor since 2 years ago. But so far, they are working well.

[@hillppari]

that kind of packing style is for pick and place machine reels

[@SSTC.]

When buying from Ali, always check the price. If it is substantially lower than market, there's a 80% chance of receiving a fake part. The other 20% is receiving a factory reject or, if you're lucky, a genuine but refurbished/desoldered part. Even when the price is right, there always is a possibility of being scammed, but that's what you get for not paying a premium...

[@muctop17]

Packing looks more expensive than the parts, on first glance

[@hardwarerepair200]

I think this is to protect the caps from moisture. Which I think is necessary. Unlike ali which wraps it like a watermelon.

[@galfawker339]

The link you refer to in 5:40 is a govt agency in GangZhou, probably any company in China need to registered what they put up in their web site to the povincial govt body as a reference. The number in the link is that reference number.

[@Bianchi77]

Nice video, thanks :)

[@ncc1701deee]

That was entertaining (and funny) to watch, keep it up. I've only recently started buying capacitors & am starting to do repairs. I bought a bunch from Aliexpress. Electrolytic capacitors. But I get reeeally bad readings from the ones with "ChongX" written on them :( Very disappointed.

[@hardwarerepair200]

Glad that my video helps

[@anthonyboccardo2726]

Interesting have been using the ali express caps for a while now and they didnt have the same bad readings as urs, in fact they had the same readings( 0.06-0.08ohms) same as the Panasonics, maybe u just got unlucky with a bad batch since there's so many sellers selling them which is common from ali and other products. If they read fine they will be fine to use still but this just says to make sure u test them before use.

[@roboman2444]

Aliexpress is always a mixed bag. Sometimes you get fantastic deals on parts that are "good enough". Sometimes you get scammed or receive absolutely trash quality stuff. Its generally worthwhile to do a small sample sized order of components from multiple different sellers to check their quality before making a large quantity purchase. And do some basics tests, like the ones shown in this video, to verify. Don't just assume that since some of the components you bought from a seller were good, that means all the components sold from the seller are good. Aliexpress HAS gotten a lot better in recent years about disputes. Often they will just give you a refund. Worst case, if you pay with Paypal, you can also dispute it through there as well. Half the stuff sold on Amazon is just dropshipped/resold aliexpress stuff at 5* the price anyways. So Amazon is somehow worse in that regard.

[@Khrisx92]

Excellent information

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thank you for watching. I got even more useful information in the comment section here. The viewers of my videos are all smart and intellectual.

[@Khrisx92]

@@hardwarerepair200 Yesterday my capacitors arrived from LCSC, unfortunately my ps3 CECHA00 show the black screen with PS2 discs and ISO.

[@ncdave4life]

Which AliExpress vendor did you buy from?

[@WinrichNaujoks]

Mouser cost (for me): 10% product, 90% shipping. Aliexpress: 90% product, 10% shipping

[@Mobin92]

This is the big issue! I don't mind paying 2$ for that capacitor. But I mind paying like 30$ for shipping. Like for gods sake, just give me the option to ship it in a normal cheap padded envolope.

[@AAaa-wu3el]

​@@Mobin92 Mouser and some other "american" brands should be investigated about "shipping" price fixing by USA federals. It's clearly against even US law not to give consumer a choice and to prevent competitive shipping/postage companies participate in Mouser's business. But it seems they got some paid "lobbies" who prevent such an investigation.

[@Dr4wfox]

Excellent video

[@matchc0635]

I think LCSC is just mostly composed of leftover legit parts. Got some sunon fans from it and it's the real thing, but they had very little of it in stock(like 10 when Digikey/Mouser had hundreds of them), plus they ship from china without shipping discount so it will be more expensive depending on where you live(Live in Asia? Hell yeah for cheap ass part, everywhere else? Suboptimal shipping fee), and the part selection is not very good, just the essential or those used more in China/Asia.

[@tiagomnm]

Aliexpress does not care about scams. You can see people selling stuff like TB SSDs for 10eur and they don't act on reports. Even after those are reviewed by buyers as coming with 32GB microSD cards inside. At least they seem to handle refunds for these scams. You should try to refund the capacitors. I have purchased stuff there but you cannot buy from everyone.

[@PaulSteMarie]

The LCSC cap in the first picture appears to have a damaged case.

[@rh9909]

My take is that if it's 10-15% cheaper on aliexpress than other suppliers, I'll treat it as 95% legit. if it's less than half the price, I'll give it 0% legitimacy.

[@rh9909]

5:43 btw "beian" is pinyin for 备案, which means record (for websites). Is shows that LCSC is a legit website registered in China instead of some rogue site.

[@max_imus]

Loved your sponsor 😂

[@bunni3140]

lol 'to recharge it press the two buttons below' that's how my wallet looks after digikey shopping too...

[@watutalkinboutwillis4870]

If you are in the USA buy from digikey or mouser?

[@campbellmorrison8540]

I buy some components from Aliexpress but its not so much the cost of the component its the cost of freight from Mouser etc. I dont mind paying $5 for a part from Mouser that I can get from Aliexpress for 50c what I do main is the $29 to ship it from mouser compared to the $2 shipping from Aliexpress. If its a really important repair then I go with reputable parts anyway

[@jantepas7511]

Thanks for your research. A brain changer!

[@hardwarerepair200]

Glad that it helps!

[@Sysshad]

I don't think crocodile clips are good to measure ESR because you can get a varying amount of "teeth" in every test. And another thing, you cant judge the entirety of all possible sellers on aliexpress from one single purchase. You could have bought from a bad seller, I'm speaking of own experience 😊 There are also alot of different brands.. you are not comparimg brands, you are comparing distributors which is VERY misleading.

[@ovalwingnut]

I'm a immediate fan Definitely a Sub-Worthy video. GR8T infotainment. Cheers from So.Ca.USA 3rd House On the Left (please call before stopping by)

[@hardwarerepair200]

Thank you! Glad that you enjoy it.

[@zsnowball]

Nice video, thank You;)

[@Johny666EU]

i know aliexpress, the only thinks what get from them are basic thinks but not caps, transistors, resistors or any semiconductors. i do as hobby vintage audio restoration and modern repairs. Mouser is my main supplier. i want to trust my work and i want my time not to be wasted id rather pay more but is worth it.

[@PatrickBaptist]

The other day I just made my first aliexpress purchase, I fried a transistor on my inverter and it was the cheapest place I could find, so Im hoping for good things lol.

[@hardwarerepair200]

How's your order? Keep us updated!

[@PatrickBaptist]

@@hardwarerepair200 Thanks, still waiting for it to show up. I get a bunch of emails about it's status, looks like it is on it's way atleast.

[@Omnis2]

The Ali caps are thinner because they were clearly sanded and re-marked lol.

[@KavorkaDesigns]

Thirteenth is with a TH (13th), only a single three alone uses RD the (3rd)

[@MsNIKITA]

In the past I have purchased fans, micro chips, mosfets and other misc components from Aliexpress, the fans they send me looked new but failed to work, there ohter stuff had very suspecious markings on them which make me feel they're fake or copies. Since then I have avoided them completely for anything electrical. I'd sooner spend a little more money and get fist class genuine products from a local supplier.

[@hafiz468]

1:14 Where’s my capacitors ?! 🤷🏻🤷🏻‍♂️

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

I mean if you need this exsact original cap yeah but if you do home projects the stuff from aliexpress is passable. If you need confirmed stats but want to pay 10x the price plus like 30€ in shipping go for one of the big ones but 97% of stuff I purchased from ali express worked as advertised just dont look for expansive caps for cheap know what you are buying is some homegrown stuff

[@CookiePepper]

I live in DFW and Mouser is in the area so usually delivers on the next day. It seems that one from Ali is not even Tantalum capacitor.

[@Tekjive]

LCSC is my 99% goto, Digi/Mous my backups only if LCSC doesn’t have them.