Replacement components?

Question

I'm building a tracker for a high altitude balloon but some of the components are out of stock and may not be in before our launch date. I'm good with an iron but have limited engineering knowledge. Here is the list of components for reference:

1. Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors MLCC - SMD/SMT TDK
2. Thick Film Resistors - SMD Panasonic
3. Schottky Diodes & Rectifiers - ON Semiconductor
4. Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors MLCC - SMD/SMT Murata Electronics

I'm wondering how people go about finding suitable replacements for out of stock parts. I realize that there may be many factors in finding replacements and that this is too broad a question for a quick answer but I just wanted to start somewhere.

Answer 1

You are correct. There are many factor that need to be considered before you can find replacement components. Lets take for example the first component on the list the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) from TDK.

Consider the parameters capacitance, tolerance and foot print as circled in the above image. You are most likely limited to 0805 foot print capacitor. Depending on the circumstances you might be or might not be able to find a replacement other than a 0805.

Depending on the function of the electrical circuit you might be or might not be limited to a 10uF capacitor. Similarly depending on the electrical circuit sensitivity you might be or might not limited to a tolerance of 10%.

In summary it is good idea to design with using generic electrical components. Another option is to secure the parts prior to fabricating the PCB (I am assuming the PCB is already fabricated.