Supplies - Best places to buy and what... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 12:42:05 am
content: I am looking looking to buy supplies for my "home lab". Such as, various resistors, caps, inductors, ferrite cores, magnetic wire, various ttl devices, general use BJTs, IGBJTs, FETs, pwms, various op and Instrumentation amps. I am just looking for a variety of components for doing mainly but not limited to power electronics.Assume I have nothing now. Where would you recommend purchasing these? For example everyone should have a LM741, LM324, a 555, a PWM of sorts, some 74xx series ICs, various caps (electrolytics, mylar, etc); for me I need some Power ICs and Resistors. Various heat syncs, etc ... hope this gets my point across.Your help is greatly appreciated. I am particularly interest in material for magnetic devices e.g. xfrms and L's.Any suggestions and/or ideas. Not only on what supplies one should have but also where to get them?Melvin

author: sub
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 12:49:53 am
content: In which country?

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 01:02:23 am
content: United States... I forgot about that.

author: sub
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 01:24:23 am
content: My understanding is that Digikey is the popular choice there.

author: SgtRock
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 02:09:12 pm
content: Dear Mstevens:--I agree with sub. I almost always order components from DigiKey at:http://www.digikey.com/--I have also found JustRadios.com is a good source for some things you cannot find on DigiKey, like 2 Watt resistors, and high voltage capacitors. Below is a link to the order form for resistors, capacitors, and a few other things. The order form serves as their catalog page.http://www.justradios.com/orderform.xls--Lastly eBay is a very good source for some of the components you are interested in. Some risk is involved as to quality, but for small amounts of money, it is a pretty good bet. Be prepared to measure eBay components (or any components for that matter) to confirm specifications."I have had my results for a long time: but I do not yet now how I am to arrive at them." Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777 1855Best RegardsClear Ether

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 02:25:27 pm
content: JAMECO has a lot of assortments. just 2 examples, they are more geared to the hobbyist experimenter than industrial.passiveshttps://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDrillDownView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&categoryName=cat_20&subCategoryName=Passive%20Components%20%2F%20Assortments&category=2010&refine=1&position=1&history=a9rj33wp%7Ccategory~20%5EcategoryName~category_root%5EsubCategoryName~Passive%2BComponentssemiconductorshttps://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDrillDownView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&categoryName=cat_10&subCategoryName=ICs%20%26%20Semiconductors%20%2F%20Assortments&category=1010&refine=1&position=1&history=r6zrzr7v%7Ccategory~10%5EcategoryName~category_root%5EsubCategoryName~ICs%2B%2526%2BSemiconductors

author: Tony R
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 02:26:43 pm
content: Quote from: sub on November 10, 2011, 01:24:23 amDigikey is great for their wide selection, I mean if it exist in electronics they probably will have it. However, they are far more expensive for low quantity than other venders online.May I recommend Jameco. I was able to pick up 100 100uf caps for only 99 cents total along with other things, not the greatest, and not the highest voltage but still a great deal. I also got 100 NPN and PNP transistors for 3.5 cents each.I would choose Digikey for when I only need a couple parts. They have no minimum order and for me shipping is cheap (I live in Minnesota, and its about a 4 hour drive from me, so I can get a bunch of parts shipped for only a couple bucks, and it arrives quickly)On the other hand Jameco charges a $5 fee for orders under $10, It is based in the SanFransisco area so shipping cost about 7.49+. They don't have everything and sometimes they ship generic parts (for example, you can say you need some 74ls04 chips, but may not know what brand, they give you whatever is cheapest)Conclusion Digikey for small orders, and for knowing what you are getting; Jameco is good for large orders, and are lower cost.As far as the site goes, I find the Jameco site better, they don't have as many products, so the products you are looking for are easier to find. Where Digikey may have 100s of the same thing but different brands and minor differences a hobbyist would not be concerned with. Jameco has only a few.

author: Joshua
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 03:20:25 pm
content: I have found that I generally prefer mouser in the US. They are consistently cheaper on most items. Also their shipping is usually a hair cheaper. I like digikeys search better however.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2011, 06:28:11 pm
content: I really don't like Jameco too much except for some niche items that Mouser/Digikey might not stock. Jameco marks up their stuff a little to high and the quality isn't always that great.You get a much better selection and cheaper prices at Mouser/Digikey in my opinion.

author: Joshua
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 12:47:07 am
content: When I 'officially' got into electronics over a year ago, I made the mistake of spending a lot of money on parts I've never used. A couple of things I don't regret:I purchased a full e-12 set of resistors from Futurlec. It has been wonderful to never have to worry about having the right resistor(for what i do).I bought a hakko 936, now replaced by fx-888. It is an awesome device and well worth the money.I would recommend buying these things. About 50 npn transistors and about 20 pnp transistors. About 50 n channel mostest, and about 10 lm324 op amps.More to come...

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 01:07:46 am
content: Quote from: robrenz on November 10, 2011, 02:25:27 pmI have one of their capacitor grab bags and it's full of huge (in size, not capacity) axial capacitors, not quite useful.And yes, they are definitely targeting hobbyists, people doing prototypes, small business and people looking for general use parts in low quantities. They use to sell generic stuff under the Generic branding and the Value-Pro line (I don't know the difference but I guess the later is better).Here's a list of their component kits. If you order them all, you will have a HUGE collection of things. Just don't order the ones you don't need.https://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDrillDownView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&freeText=component%20kit&search_type=jamecoall

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 03:41:54 am
content: Jameco have really cheap 5x7 matrix leds. Most places have them for $3 to $7 but Jameco is only 99chttp://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_2005497_-1Electronic goldmine has all sorts of useful items, like 2ndhand resharpened carbide drill/router bitshttp://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G15717http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G961Sparkfun have lots of stuff that is hard to get in hobby form like QFN/BGA transmitter chips pre-soldered onto breakout boardshttp://www.sparkfun.com/products/10269

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 05:16:52 am
content: Exactly the type of info for which I am searching for example I have never heard of Futurlec. Anyone out there using MCM electronics; I have used them in the past.Good call on the JAMECO; I will probably pick up a few kits from them. Grab bags from Futurlec and Jameco also can help.Hmmm now where is that thread on the LCR meters

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 05:19:29 am
content: Meant to ask in my last response. Is there noone out there doing their on magnetic devices? For Power Electronics it is almost a must. Anyone... anyone... where is the best place to purchase a general assortment of magnet wire and cores?Melvin

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 07:12:00 am
content: Quote from: mstevens on November 11, 2011, 05:19:29 amhttp://www.surplussales.com/inductors/FerPotC/FerPotC-2.htmlhttp://www.surplussales.com/Wire-Cable/Wire6.html

author: Joshua
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 01:13:08 pm
content: Note: futurlec is I'm Taiwan(I think). It took about a month for my package to arrive. I did get stuff basically half price than others. Also, it took a few days to pay them as the credit card company wouldn't let them thought without talking with me on the phone. I ended up just paying with PayPal. Also they only communicate via email as far as I can tell, and since they are on opposite time zones, you only get one correspondence a day. It took about a week and a half just to get everything straightened out.

author: slburris
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 02:22:16 pm
content: Always shop around with findparts.com or octopart.com. Shockingly, I've found *certain*parts to be much cheaper at Newark (http://www.newark.com/part of Farnell, Element 14, or whatevertheir name is these days).For surplus, a couple I haven't seen mentioned:http://allelectronics.com/-- love these guys, and I can walk into their storefront since I work about 5 miles away from themhttp://www.mpja.com/-- random surplus electronics, you have to know your prices, but you can get some really good buysLet me second the recommendation for Jameco! I've also ordered from Furturlec, they are inexpensive,but only if you are willing to wait weeks and weeks for delivery (at least to the US).Scott

author: slateraptor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2011, 03:20:15 pm
content: Haters gonna hate on Digikey all day, but keep in mind that they're aprofessional distributortargetingprofessional industry. If you want to browse components and have no idea what you're looking for, admittedly Digikey isn't the place to do that. They probably save on their bandwidth bill every month by detracting "window shoppers" if you will. But keep in mind that a lot of professionals use DK, which means every once in a while you'll find stuff like this:http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/690-009-521-013/151-1128-1-ND/2217523USB-A 3.0 receptacle for $0.60 a pop, non-stock item with 133 available...in other words, some engineering firm was probably developing a prototype, ordered this item, and DK put the remaining parts up for cheap, because the closest suitable sup is almost 3x more expensive. You pretty much have to know what's available, what you're looking for, and be familiar what the device is actually called in industry if you want DK to be your friend.A bit of advice that a mechanical engineering professor (who once upon a time was in industry) that I found particularly useful is to keep a hardcopy catalog on hand. If anything, they're useful for familiarizing yourself with what industry has to offer when simply want to kill some time (and trees). So when you're working on a project, you just might say to yourself, "We need to do this and that, and oh by the way I recall seeing something in a catalog that just might make this better."Needless to say, a single end-all-say-all distributor won't cut it if you're doing anything remotely leaning towards serious. For example, there was a time when DK stocked crap for lower-end Xilinx FPGAs that Avnet seemed to have a ton of. I recommend creating a list of major distributors and odd hobby websites to source future parts. Don't forget that purchasing directly from a vendor is usually an option, especially if you're buying in bulk or looking for something on the custom end, e.g. I recently placed an order for semi-custom interconnect through Samtec that wasn't available from any of their distributor websites.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 12, 2011, 12:12:29 am
content: This is the idea of having of the Wiki:http://eevblog.com/wikiSo there will always be a handy list of stuff like this.If you find useful info then please add it to the WikiDave.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2011, 12:33:19 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on November 12, 2011, 12:12:29 amWell, let's move threads like this into the Wiki, then!

author: slateraptor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2011, 12:55:51 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on November 12, 2011, 12:12:29 amThere's a wiki??

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2011, 01:16:29 am
content: Quote from: slateraptor on November 12, 2011, 12:55:51 amDave, that probably means the Wiki needs more publicity.

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2011, 01:55:16 am
content: I don't know I think it is good to get "opinions" and not just a "list" on the requested info. I don't know that the wiki would be a place to give "opinions" but rather a place for fact. JMHO.Melvin Stevens

author: sonicj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2011, 08:31:42 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on November 12, 2011, 12:12:29 amjust added some US surplus distributors-sj

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2011, 02:35:59 am
content: I don't know what the situation is in the USA,as far as physical "storefront" suppliers is,but in Australia,the following companiesdohave real shops,as well as online ones:Jaycar,Altronics,RS Components,(& a few others).They have hard copy catalogues,so you can see what is available,plus you can walk into the shop & browse.This is particularly good for the "grab bags" of components,as you can see if you are getting useful values or crap!Sometimes just walking past a display will remind you of something you forgot to put on your list,whereas if you forget on a"mail order" you have to reorder & wait again.Of course,the downside of Physical shops is that they cost money to run,so you may pay a bit more.Buying bits for an employer usually ends up being a combination of both methods,depending on the priority.If "the thing has to be fixed today",& you can get the component locally,the Boss doesn't usually care if it costs a bit more,but stock stuff is ordered on the phone ,Fax,or email.Buying my own stuff in person has always seemed easier to me, but if you haven't that option,the suppliers mentioned all seem to have fair reputations.VK6ZGO

author: AlphZeta
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2011, 04:43:28 pm
content: I have used dipmicro (http://www.dipmicro.com) quite a number of times and am very satisfied with their service.It is a good place if you need to buy headers/resistors/caps.