Second only to power cords, capacitors are the most failure-prone components in old radiosand televisions.In a professional overhaul, it is common to replace all of a set's large electrolytic capacitorsand small paper capacitors. This article explains how to do that.Often, this "recapping" is all that the radio or TV needs to be. Before getting to work, let's make sure you know what to replace.Some kinds of capacitors—paper, molded paper, and electrolytics—are failure. Capacitance values are expressed in units called farads, named after the British physicistMichael Faraday.The capacitors found in radios and TVs have values in tiny fractions of a farad. A. It's essential to replace old capacitors with new ones of the same capacity and voltage rating.I stronglyrecommend that you get a copy of your radio's schematic diagram. The schematic. You can't tell anything useful about a capacitor from its external appearance unless it has exploded or is physically broken. A paper capacitor may look gooey or melted, yet test OK.