Electronic components to have for starting out? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Nilmeca
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 04, 2012, 05:50:08 pm
content: Hello Everyone,I was looking for some help to figure out what common parts and values I will need for a comprehensive starting kit. I had taken an electronics starting coarse back in college many years ago and I wanted to get back into it to do guitar effects, home automation, Arduino stuff etc.My goal is to have a good set of components so I can be working on a few different projects at the same time with out needing to order and have parts shipped to me every few days.I found what appears to be a decent resistor kit on eBayhttp://www.ebay.ca/itm/150652167799?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649#ht_2293wt_1163There are may other kits for stuff like capacitors, diodes and transistors but I am at a loss for what values / part numbers I need.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2012, 06:52:20 pm
content: Components :http://www.ebay.com/itm/320763822628?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649#ht_1408wt_1396Through hole kits . Capacitor kits and various jellybean IC's like 555 , 741 , TL072 , NJM4558 , 7805 , 7809 , LM317 and the sort ...Oh must order transistors too like Mosfets : 2N7000 , Bipolar : PN2222 , 2N3904 , 2N3906 , 2N5088 and the sort ...SMD inductor kits ,

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2012, 07:56:17 pm
content: Find bobs bits box on eBay and buy 216 piece starting out kit excellent to start out with has everything you need. I bought it a while ago, well worth it.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 04, 2012, 09:29:44 pm
content: Quote from: Mint. on March 04, 2012, 07:56:17 pmdo one better and find their website (http://bitsbox.co.uk/) and save the extra they have to load on due to excruciating eBay fees.

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2012, 10:15:52 pm
content: If you are in the US Jameco has a wide selection of component kits with drawer units included.https://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDrillDownView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&search_type=jamecoall&freeText=component+kitsYou can buy the refill kits cheaper if you already have means for storage. (no drawer unit included)

author: JuKu
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2012, 07:27:06 am
content: Buy resistor and capacitor kits. For the rest, build your supplies as you go: When your project needs one chip, buy 5 or 10. This way, you'll soon have spares for all your projects and many parts foryourtypical project.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 05, 2012, 07:58:48 am
content: you can of course just go to one of the big people like RS and buy the parts you need, I did this when I decided to start using SMD and bought most SMD resistor values and a few ceramic caps, took some time but way cheaper than buying a "kit"

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2012, 08:39:46 am
content: Correction:Not 216, but 613.http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/613-Piece-Electronic-Component-Starter-Kit-k011-/290675019959?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item43ad94d0b7#ht_1724wt_1144

author: grenert
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2012, 11:43:17 am
content: Quote from: JuKu on March 05, 2012, 07:27:06 amThis was basically what I did, and it has worked well. In addition to the resistors and capacitors, right off the bat you probably will want to get a few more fundamental components:Diodes (1n914 and something higher power like 1n4002)NPN and PNP transistors (2n2222, 2n3906, etc.)Three-terminal voltage regulators (78XX positive, 79XX negative) in the voltages you plan to use (7805 is +5V, for example).LEDsA few "jellybean" opamps like TL071, NE5532, lm358 (dual)Battery holders/clipsA small range of potentiometers (1K, 10K, 100K, 1M)Switches (SPST, DPDT)These are all commodity items and can be found cheaply. You could get all of them in just one order from a big dealer like Digikey/Newark/Farnell/Mouser/Jameco. That would probably be cheaper when considering all of the shipping fees from separate purchases on eBay.

author: lavo-1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2012, 09:32:52 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on March 04, 2012, 09:29:44 pmJust bought £30 quids worth of kit off them. They are as you say, cheap and seem to stock most stuff for the "average joe" project builder.Cheers mate!Another 30 quid I didn't need to spend

author: Nilmeca
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 06, 2012, 12:32:30 am
content: Thanks everyone for the great info, time to start ordering some of this gear!Only thing left is to plan out my work bench build.

author: Tris20
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 03, 2014, 12:05:14 pm
content: Felt like it would be good to bump this in-case anyone else is looking for a starter kit. Living in the UK at present so bought this:http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=272_276&products_id=2010the other day. It's got pretty much every thing I need (except audio jacks doh!) and arrived the next day. For £15 this beats what I was thinking of getting from Maplin hands down.Oh, and it comes in a component container with extra "walls" so you can adjust the size of each compartment.Not sure if this is all just the norm but for me it's a definite +1 for bitsbox