> capacitor will go bad after a certain period of time, and cannot think 
> of a good way to test one, to see if it has gone bad or changed value

Many multimeters have a capacitance range

If the caps have been unused for a while (you said many years) I'm
sure some will need reforming. Don't put one in-ciruit with rated
voltage across it (aim away from face if you do ) without checking
first

http://www.vcomp.co.uk/tech_tips/reform_caps/reform_caps.htm

and also read the pdf from the previous reply

http://electrochem.cwru.edu/ed/encycl/misc/c04-appguide.pdf



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