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You can buy these parts at your local Radio Shack. Depends upon where you live.
Online, my most common sources are:
www.digikey.com
www.mouser.com
www.circuitspecialists.com
www.allelectronics.com

I would also like to insert a little warning here, though. If you are not familiar enough with electronics to know what the symbols mean in the above schematic, should you really be taking on a circuit with mains power as a beginner project? Mains power can kill you.

MP

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Glad to hear it. I always have a concern when working on high powered circuits.
In regards to the capacitors, and any of these parts for that matter, you can use higher rated parts. For example, a 220 Volt rated capacitor will work just as well at the lower voltage. This rating is a maximum voltage rating.

MP

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Thanks for the help, I just found a 160v cap. I have had an electronics class before, but it has been a while ago. I found it didn't stick with me after a few years of non use.

Thanks again.

I hope this little invention pays off for all the work going into it. Now I have to figure out how to mold plastic.

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I went back to check if the caps. i ordered are nonpolarized. I couldn't find where it said. Here is the link http://www.web-tronics.com/19fs001.html

If anyone can find it please post that i did or did not order the right ones. They have already shipped so I will need to reorder.

Thanks

john

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John, the ones you have purchased are polarized. The black band on the side with the dashes indicates that this lead is the negative side. For the application you are using them on, I really do not see where this is going to be a problem. Perhaps someone would like to comment why these have to be non polarized to light an LED?

MP

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  • 1 year later...
Guest 2old4digital

The Radio Shack inthe town I live in ( over 80;000 peps ) has taken out  just about all the comonents like that all they have left is switchs and that kind of stuff so Radio Shack in in the sack for that.

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Perhaps someone would like to comment why these have to be non polarized to light an LED?

The circuit uses the reactance of the capacitor to efficiently reduce the current, thefore it has a high AC voltage across it.
Each half-cycle of the mains, the voltage across the capacitor reverses its polarity. Polarized electrolytic capacitors conduct a high leakage current with reversed polarity and they might explode!
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