ceramic caps

[panasonic_youth]

so for whatever reason, i decided to use ceramic caps in my thing mod, and in the process of perf boarding, ive accidentally caused a small bit of the ceramic to chip off. this isnt much at all just a bit, acctually the only part that has come off is the lead, the circle remains untouched. is this ok?  also, when perfing, i only have to solder at the joining of two components right? i seem to think ive seen photos where people have soldered at the base of a component and at the end of the lead. like this:

            ------------0rrrrrrrrrr0------------0-----------------0dddddddddd0--------------

the 0 would represent a joint, and the r's are to represent a resistor, the d for a diode (just for instance, you know) do you need that extra joint at the beginning of a lead?

[vdm]

to make any circuit the solder at the component is unnecessary as you only need the connection between components for the circuit to work.

i always solder at the component because i find that way i can put all the components in and bend their leads to touch each other and i dont have to worry about them moving.

it's really just personal preference, though it may offer a little more stability with the extra point of contact.

trent

[panasonic_youth]

i like that reasoning, i think i'll start doing just that. thanks. but what about the caps?

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

If you mean that you have bent the ceramic cap lead close to the cap bodyy & chipped off a chunk of coating, that cap should still work. But if you were at NASA, you would replace it, in case it allowed moisture to get inside somehow.
Whenever I have to bend a lead near the body of a component, I grab the lead right at the component with a small flat pliers. Then I bend the lead on the side of the pliers away from the component.  If there isn't room for my smallest flat nose pliers, the bend is 'too close' :wink: