Circuitbenders Forum
Circuitbenders Forum => Parts, Components, Unbent machines & Junk => Topic started by: Circuitbenders on December 02, 2006, 12:42:40 PM
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To avoid endless repititions of the 'anyone know where to get components online' question heres a list of recommendations. Feel free to post additions and i'll edit the thread down to one post if it becomes to big.
UK
Rapid Electronics - www.rapidonline.com (http://www.rapidonline.com) (probably the most popular site in the UK)
cpc - www.cpc.co.uk (http://www.cpc.co.uk) (sometimes cheaper than Rapid for bulk orders)
Maplins - www.maplin.co.uk (http://www.maplin.co.uk) (very expensive but have local shops)
Greenweld - www.greenweld.co.uk/ (http://www.greenweld.co.uk/)
JPR - www.jprelec.co.uk/ (http://www.jprelec.co.uk/) (not much stock but they always seem to have what you want)
Nikko - www.dalbani.co.uk (http://www.dalbani.co.uk) (has lot of rare obselete stuff if you happen to building an x0xb0x or something)
Cricklewood - www.cricklewoodelectronics.com (http://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com) (hard to find components - sometimes lists alternatives)
Mark 5 - http://www.mark5.co.uk (http://www.mark5.co.uk) (brilliant for old and obselete transisters and IC's etc)
Europe
Conrad - www.conrad.de (http://www.conrad.de) ( pretty pricy but good selection of quality parts)
Reichelt - www.reichelt.de (http://www.reichelt.de) (cheap and moderate quality parts, good for standard stuff)
Pollin - www.pollin.de (http://www.pollin.de) (opportunities for getting leftover parts in big amounts for real cheap)
US
Futurlec - www.futurlec.com (http://www.futurlec.com) (also has cheap international shipping)
Small Bear - www.smallbearelec.com (http://www.smallbearelec.com)
Kelvin - www.kelvin.com/ (http://www.kelvin.com/)
Jameco - www.jameco.com (http://www.jameco.com)
Alltronics - www.Alltronics.com (http://www.Alltronics.com)
WORLDWIDE
Mouser - www.mouser.com (http://www.mouser.com) (mainly US but also have country specific sites)
Farnell - www.farnell.com (http://www.farnell.com) (also have country specific sites)
RS - www.rs-components.com/index.html (http://www.rs-components.com/index.html) (who actually buys from RS? They are ridiculously expensive)
Digikey - www.digikey.com (http://www.digikey.com) (also have country specific sites, but the catalogue is difficult to use)
Partspipe - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/PARTSPIPE (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/PARTSPIPE) (ebay shop from japan with a lot of cheap quality components)
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US - Alltronics.com - they have dual 150k pots for the cheapest I found(3.95 US0, unlike this bastard (http://www.analoguehaven.com/doepfer/spareparts/joystick/) who is a bit overpriced($55 US)
also
US - Bent-Tronics.com
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JPR electronics in the UK don't have a very wide range but they seem to be cheaper than rapid for a lot of stuff and the best thing about them is that they actually have decent quality push to break push buttons at decent prices :o
http://www.jprelec.co.uk/docs/order_code.asp?pCode=%5F0G60N8SOR&PGID=%5F0G60MX1YB&LEVEL=1&SearchType2=3&MODE=&PARTNO=&KEYWORD=&PG=Switches+%26+Sensors&RELATED=0&rtype=A&OC=NONE&TEMP=NONE
They reside at:
http://www.jprelec.co.uk/
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Please add http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/ for the UK.
I think the prices are good and the delivery is only £1.50 (unlike Rapid which had £5!)
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DON'T BUY RAPID'S PUSH TO BREAK PUSHBUTTONS!
I just tried mine and I am insanely pissed off/disappointed. It's a hit-and-miss chance that the button which actually break the circuit, the button press isn't that nice (the push-to-make pushbutton isn't nice either though at least it fucking works.), and if you can really easily melt the plastic if you heat up the contacts for more than 2 secs.
I'm sticking with toggle switches.
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and the thread strips off the shaft the second you uncrew the nut. They do say 'not recommended for industrial use' but i agree, they re shit.
Which is why i get them from JPR.
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For parts in the US, I've had good experiences with Jameco. They have a pretty wide selection of good quality pots for around 80 or 90 cents per unit.
Steer clear of their rotary switches, as they smell poisonous. I've only bought rotary switches from a few places, but nowhere esle have I run across such a toxic smell.
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Please add http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/ for the UK.
I think the prices are good and the delivery is only £1.50 (unlike Rapid which had £5!)
I am reliably informed that bitsbox just buy in bulk from Rapid and then add a third or double the price on a lot of items. What you are saving in postage you are losing in price. They certainly have the same appalling push buttons mentioned previously at 25p each where as they are 14p at rapid. :-\
But i suppose if you only want a few things the £1.50 shipping makes it a good deal.
Anyone ever buy anythiing from RS?
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Please add http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/ for the UK.
I think the prices are good and the delivery is only £1.50 (unlike Rapid which had £5!)
I am reliably informed that bitsbox just buy in bulk from Rapid and then add a third or double the price on a lot of items. What you are saving in postage you are losing in price. They certainly have the same appalling push buttons mentioned previously at 25p each where as they are 14p at rapid. :-\
But i suppose if you only want a few things the £1.50 shipping makes it a good deal.
Anyone ever buy anythiing from RS?
Hmmm. That sucks.
They do have a few things which Rapid doesn't have though, for example stranded wire 8p/metre.
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JPR electronics in the UK don't have a very wide range but they seem to be cheaper than rapid for a lot of stuff and the best thing about them is that they actually have decent quality push to break push buttons at decent prices :o
http://www.jprelec.co.uk/docs/order_code.asp?pCode=%5F0G60N8SOR&PGID=%5F0G60MX1YB&LEVEL=1&SearchType2=3&MODE=&PARTNO=&KEYWORD=&PG=Switches+%26+Sensors&RELATED=0&rtype=A&OC=NONE&TEMP=NONE
They reside at:
http://www.jprelec.co.uk/
Have you tested those buttons?
Because they look exactly like the shit ones.
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Note the way the shaft of the button coming up the the black tip is actually metal all the way up to the tip on those ones and the black tip presses down around the metal shaft, where as on the cheap ones there is no metal shaft and the button tip is flapping around loose.
I bought 100 of those JPR ones as i was scared i might never find them again ;) and they are far better quality that the cheap rapid shit. Not as good as the maplins ones but then the maplins ones have mysteriously shot up to £1.62 each in my local store!
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What are the standard shipping rates for JPR?
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I'm not sure, you'd have to check out the site. I do know that the minimum order if you are paying with a credit card is £30 and you get free shipping on that much.
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I ordered a bunch of start-up supplies with varying values and the such through Parts Express (www.parts-express.com). Has anyone else bought from them, and how does the quality tend to be? It was a little more than some places, but we've rented a US mailbox and only drive an hour to the border to access it. My first order was $50, so I got free shipping. Now I just hope that what I bought doesn't totally suck.
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Anyone know were i can get a Dual pp3 battery holder from?
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Bit off topic there............. surely you get 2 single ones and glue or bolt them together somehow. Then wire the terminal connectors in series if you want 18V for some reason.
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Hi everyone - I have recently joined the forum and it makes sense I make a short post here. I run a small online component shop and deal mainly in potentiometers, knobs, switches and audio connectors as well as more general electronic items. If you have ever seen my shop you will no doubt notice that you can get many of the parts I sell from leading distributers cheaper - so I will price match these parts for any members on the forum if you pm me but please don't post on the forum as it is annoying for other people!
The main components that may be of interest to you (not all are in stock at the momemnt) are:
Alpha Pots (some extra values available and more to come)
Various Knobs
Switchcraft and Neutrik Jack sockets
Miniature and Sub-Miniature Taiway toggle switches (available in all common versions including C/O and biased)
I am not trying to flog my items here just really want to start a discussion around parts, their availability and their demand. I am hoping my that by doing this I can improve my product range to include some interesting items which will benifit us all. I will be posting a couple questions in the relevent sections of this forum soon but you can also contact me directly with any thoughts until then.
Alex
sales@bendables.co.uk
www.bendables.co.uk
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I would put Futurlec in the International ones, it has the cheapest shipping rates worldwide.
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I've been buying all sorts of parts lately so I figured I'd post my findings.
- www.Futurlec.com (http://www.Futurlec.com) is a great general purpose site (especially for newbies like me) with NO MINIMUM orders and great pricing. They have a crazy pack of 50 most common IC's for $4.95, and a bunch of other cool "packs."
- www.eBay.com (http://www.eBay.com) - SWITCHES BITCHES! I just got 50 SPDT on-off-on toggles for $12.99 and free shipping!! There are a whole bunch of international sellers on there selling the most common toggles dirt cheap.
- www.eBay.com (http://www.eBay.com) - also great for 1/4" jacks - I just got 40 MONO jacks for $25 (free shipping)
- www.PedalPartsPlus.com (http://www.PedalPartsPlus.com) - if you're into building effects pedals they've got 3PDT (true bypass) stomp switches for $3.80/ea. I ordered five and the shipping was only $2.
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Just ordered some bits from www.esr.co.uk (http://www.esr.co.uk), but they dont seem to do pots.
So I went to www.rshelectronics.co.uk (http://www.rshelectronics.co.uk) for the pots.
Seem to be ok prices and the p&p is about £2.50 for both stores.
Will let yall' know about the products when I get them...........
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I've bought a couple of velleman kits from ESR before. I didn't have any problems with them but they don't seem to do much in the way of basic components.
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taaaaaaa
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anyone tell me the best soldering iron to get
dont wanna be paying top whack for one, so any help will be greatfull
tony
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i got one of these from maplin (but they have stoped selling them) its not the cheepest but it solid best to have one like this in the long run
http://www.soundlightuk.com/shop/products/Altai-Professional-Soldering-Station-With-Temperature-Control..html (http://www.soundlightuk.com/shop/products/Altai-Professional-Soldering-Station-With-Temperature-Control..html)
temper controlled soldering station
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I've had good experiences with allelectronics.com (U.S.). Solid components, usually cheaper than Jameco/Mouser/etc. by a dime or more.
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Anyone know were i can get a Dual pp3 battery holder from?
like this?
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/5123-strap-batt-dual-parallel-9v-7-ld-227.html (http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/5123-strap-batt-dual-parallel-9v-7-ld-227.html)
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Not sure if these guys have had a mention but I buy a lot of pots, switches etc from them for guitar fx
https://www.taydaelectronics.com/
They are in Thailand so delivery usually takes a few weeks but the parts are top notch and relatively cheap. They also post discount codes on their facebook page so it's worth adding parts to your wishlist and buying when a discount code becomes available. https://www.facebook.com/TaydaElectronics/