The three-digit rule produces picofarads. One nanofarad equals 1000 pF, and one microfarad equals 1000 nF or 1000000 pF. Keeping that chain visible prevents the common mistake of shifting the decimal by three places in the wrong direction.
Calculate the code in pF first
Code 224 is 22 × 10⁴ pF = 220000 pF. Starting from that exact integer keeps the marking rule separate from display preferences. Converting too early can hide which digit supplied the multiplier.
Divide by 1000 one unit step at a time
220000 pF ÷ 1000 = 220 nF, then 220 nF ÷ 1000 = 0.22 µF. Reversing direction multiplies by 1000 at each step. Unit symbols and letter case matter: pF, nF, and µF are not interchangeable labels.
Use exact terminating decimals
The released multipliers and unit factors are powers of ten, so every displayed conversion terminates exactly. CapCode stores the calculation as integers and decimal rationals rather than binary floating point, and it rejects encoding when the requested value has no exact supported code.