Buying Stuff - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: PsychoMaster
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 03:59:25 pm
content: Hi Every bodyI am going to order some stuff off Ebay and would like some advice on stocking up .I am guessing at what I may need-.A couple of thousand .25A resistors , a few bags of mixed capacitors , various LEDs and diodes ,various 78 series voltage regulators(I like them) , Various pots (I already got 20 ten turn 10k pots)100 - 555 timers (must need them),but what Op Amps? LM741,324,358s and what OP series ?Are sockets a good idea?What transistors and mosfets?I reckon on making a adjustable load first so some 60v 50A mosfets ?A decent bread board and wire.Where from and what make?Is pcb and acid worth buying or is using Gerbers and getting made better?I have most of the big stuff like tools and equipment but would like advice on whats needed in stockWhat would you buy?Thanks

author: JohnnyBerg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 04:13:55 pm
content: Have a lookhere, that should you get started.

author: brabus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 04:18:49 pm
content: IMvHO: just buy what youneedfor your project, from well known sources, e.g. Digikey.At the end you will pay a bit more, but you have the right components for your application, and they are not fake (well, 99.9% of the times) nor shoddy.I ended up buying a ton of stuff, just thinking that sooner or later I am going to need it. 555s, OpAmps, Semiconductors kits... really, a ton of stuff.Well, this happened more than 10 years ago, and that stuff is still lying somewhere, unused.In fact, the only useful thing would be a decent set of passives (PTH precision resistors and capacitors).

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 04:46:15 pm
content: Yeah i'll second Brabus' reply, just buy what you need when you need it, it doesn't hurt to get a "few extra" but don't go mental and buy the whole of China's electronic stock!For resistors and capacitors etc, just get yourself a nice little pack of 50 - 100 various values or so from somewhere like Maplin, RS, Farnell, get yourself a breadboard or several, and if you want to build a particular project just list all of the items you are going to need and buy them, if you need 1 555 timer, but it is cheaper to buy 5 or 10 from Ebay then do that, but don't go buying 100 for the sake of it, I have a LOT of crap around from "good" deals, one day I might get around to using it, or I might just end up giving it away.It is very easy to get overrun with parts.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 04:48:46 pm
content: Quote from: brabus on February 26, 2015, 04:18:49 pmIn general I second this. A few general purpose transistors and fets to breadboard those hot ideas and the passives. I also have large boxes of stuff that has aged into obsolescence without ever being touched. It just never quite fit in the project of the moment, so was always buying a few of this or that.

author: jarrodhroberson
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 05:13:23 pm
content: 22 awg solid core wire is always useful, makes great breadboard wire without having to put dupont connectors on everything.28 awg stranded wire, 2 3,4,8 port dupont connectors and ends for making dupont connectors for connections.get lots of colors, get a good ratcheting crimper and a good wire cutter.breakable header strips male and female are always handyI have found assorted capacitor ( ceramic and electrolytic ) and resistors to be the most in demand components.LEDs are cheap and always useful.for ICs it is hit or miss, 555 times sound useful, but with a microcontroller project they are redundant.I have found that the shift register ICs I got are in demand when working with ATtiny85 and other limited IO pin devices.And those < $1US each switching adjustable voltage regulators are handy when powering "bareDunio" projects.through hole pots and switches are universally handy as well.

author: Cliff Matthews
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 27, 2015, 01:31:35 am
content: Be careful on eBay. We had a chat on that recently herehttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/getting-parts-any-trustable-ebay-stores/msg608429/#msg608429At the very least, the PDF can give a launch point to well known electronics sellers.Some buyers report big orders can confuse, you may cut some losses by distributed buying (across several reputable sellers).

author: N8AUM
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2015, 02:25:45 am
content: It also pays off in the long run to get good quality tools, not the cheap stamped out Chinese garbage!

author: mazurov
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2015, 02:52:56 am
content: Quote from: brabus on February 26, 2015, 04:18:49 pmOn more than one occasion, I have received wrong parts from well known sources, including Digikey, Mouser, Arrow - just to name a few. It happens more often when your parts list is long.