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where do you get your "stuff?"

crisagh

Oct 16, 2015
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Ok, so as I've mentioned elsewhere I'm a relative newb to electronics (I'm a woodworker mainly) so I'm trying to source parts and.... nada, nothing, zilch. other than the local radio shack I got naught.
Which is.... weird. I used to live in Toronto and there were all sorts of electronics parts stores, but around here ( just west of Raleigh) can't find squat.
So I'm asking out loud, in your opinon what's the best places online for sourcing parts? (all parts - everything from resistors to chips to cases) Why? (what makes 'your place' special? Good selection? customer service? what?)
Thanks.
 

Minder

Apr 24, 2015
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My first go to is Digikey, they ship for $8.00 p/p and brokerage included to Canada (over $200.00 free p/p).
Excellent customer service and the order is on my door step next day air.
M.
 

Martaine2005

May 12, 2015
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Ebay is my 'go to' place now. I used Maplin and RS if things were really desperate.
If you can wait approx 15 days for the first order, Ebay is the cheapest by far.
My local Maplin charge between £0.79 and £2.99 for single types of led. Ebay charges £0.99 for 100 pieces free P&P.
I can buy 20 ic's cheaper than the price of one.

Martin
 

BobK

Jan 5, 2010
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I use Mouser. They ship the same day and I get my :"stuff" in typically in 2-3 days via U.S.P.S.

And Ebay for bulk orders common things like LEDs and transistors, resistors.

Bob
 

Memory_Leak

Oct 27, 2015
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I've never understood why people would buy new electronic parts unless they're rich or need something very specific. Just go dumpster diving or go to a thrift store and you can get all the parts you could ever need for less than $5. There's a recycling place in my town that has a rule that any broken piece of electronic equipment costs $1.
 

crisagh

Oct 16, 2015
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I've never understood why people would buy new electronic parts unless they're rich or need something very specific. Just go dumpster diving or go to a thrift store and you can get all the parts you could ever need for less than $5. There's a recycling place in my town that has a rule that any broken piece of electronic equipment costs $1.
Cannot answer for others but for me I can think of several reasons:
Time - takes a lot of time to take things apart. I'd rather be building.
Knowledge - I have no clue what's in what so why would I spend money on the off chance a random bit of junk has the parts I want?

Also there's the factor of reliability - I for one have very little knowledge about electronics. I wouldn't be able to tell if parts I pulled off were still good, so I'd much rather purchase new. Much higher probability of project success that way.

I can imagine if you have been doing this for a while, or do it 'full time' it would be worth it to scavenge - I know I spend a LOT of time trying to scavenge wood and other parts for my other hobby, but I would never suggest it for a beginner or the occasional hobbyist. Way too much room for frustration.
 

Minder

Apr 24, 2015
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Also most electronics are SMT now, and even if one uses these types of components, they often destruct when removing, unless one has the proper equipment.
M.
 

Memory_Leak

Oct 27, 2015
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Cannot answer for others but for me I can think of several reasons:
Time - takes a lot of time to take things apart. I'd rather be building.
Knowledge - I have no clue what's in what so why would I spend money on the off chance a random bit of junk has the parts I want?

Also there's the factor of reliability - I for one have very little knowledge about electronics. I wouldn't be able to tell if parts I pulled off were still good, so I'd much rather purchase new. Much higher probability of project success that way.

I can imagine if you have been doing this for a while, or do it 'full time' it would be worth it to scavenge - I know I spend a LOT of time trying to scavenge wood and other parts for my other hobby, but I would never suggest it for a beginner or the occasional hobbyist. Way too much room for frustration.

Well, the way I got into electronics at age 15 knowing absolutely nothing about circuits was by taking things apart and experimenting with them. If you poke around enough and do a little googling it's easy to learn what parts are and what they do. If you take apart old stereos you can find a lot of through-hole parts that are easy to remove. And since most electronics fail because of 1 or 2 parts, almost all the components inside will work just fine. Besides ,the time you spend taking things apart is worth it in the knowledge you gain by seeing how real devices work. I buy parts like special transistors and ICs when I need to, but I always root through my junk bin first if I'm looking for a capacitor, resistors, pot, motor, bipolar transistor, etc.
 

BobK

Jan 5, 2010
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1. Most parts are so inexpensive that it does not make sense to try to salvage them.
2. For many parts, I need an inventory of many different values, and I would never fill that by salvage.
3. For the parts that are expensive, you most likely will not find them in salvage.

Take resistors for example. You can buy kits of 10 pieces of about 100 different values for about $10 Now I have 10 each of any resistor I might need. How do you get that by salvage?

Bob
 

James Louis

Jul 24, 2014
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I've never understood why people would buy new electronic parts unless they're rich or need something very specific. Just go dumpster diving or go to a thrift store and you can get all the parts you could ever need for less than $5. There's a recycling place in my town that has a rule that any broken piece of electronic equipment costs $1.
Good one! I agree with your opinion on buying electronic stuff. We people spend more than we earn. This is the problem.
 

Martaine2005

May 12, 2015
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I do buy bulk as Bob says. But I also never let my family throw any electronics away without scavenging first!!
I have to add that a love of soldering or desoldering comes to mind..Personally, I love it!!

Martin
 

Jouellet

Feb 2, 2015
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Feb 2, 2015
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Definitely Ebay for 90 % of my components

For very specific components, Digikey is my #1 choice.

I do have about 700+ (seriously) individual drawers, with components and when one item goes low, 2-3 click on Ebay, and it's ordered !
 
D

Deleted member 42405

Jan 1, 1970
0
You can get stuff really really cheap off ebay from china if your prepared to wait like a whole month. Or you could use amazon.
 

rickselectricalprojects

Feb 1, 2015
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Feb 1, 2015
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i use rs components for most things and jaycar or altronics for if i need something urgently. if i buy something from rs components it arrives in under a week to my doorstep. the prices are not that bad either.
 

Aric Beaver

Dec 19, 2015
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Dec 19, 2015
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A lot of manufacturers of ICs or commodity parts will provide free samples with free shipping via their website. Otherwise, Mouser is usually the place to look for low volume parts, then Digikey, then eBay.
 
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