Where do you buy your stuff?

I have ordered stuff from bitsbox via eBay before, really good stuff. I like their capacitators kit :).

e-bay for RGB LEDs, arduino boards and as the last poster mentioned, capacitors, specially hard to find ones like 20pf and 33pf.

I also buy from bliptronics.com .. the only retail outlet I have seen that has the RGBs with the IC included and already wired .. and has arduino code. Plus a really nice EQ chip.

For LED controller chips, no one mentioned avnet express. So I figured I add it to the list.
(I have found great deals on TLC chips here)

Looking for adapters .. this place has done right by me:
http://www.proto-advantage.com/store/

Have fun!

http://www.rapidonline.com are a good general component supplier, very competitive on price.

For Arduino stuff and other embedded stuff, I've bought with great success from:

http://www.oomlout.com

very competitive on price.

Umm, Mowcius disagrees.

I consider Rapid Electronics to be expensive. Maybe not compared to sparkfun but they are rather expensive compared to farnell or ebay.

Mowcius

I concur with Mowcius.

However, Cowjam has puzzled me with his reference to "moonshineelectronics.co.uk". Is this a veiled reference to Earthshine, or have I missed one?

Steve

However, Cowjam has puzzled me with his reference to "moonshineelectronics.co.uk". Is this a veiled reference to Earthshine, or have I missed one?

Moonshine is like earthshine but contains more illicit booze :wink:

(yeah, I meant earthshine)

Over the weekend I went to Apache Reclamation; I picked up "a ton" of various parts - many (more than 50 pieces) 7805/12/24 and 7905/12/24, plus TIP120s, etc - some with gold leads, some with tinned - the gold lead ones I paid 50 cents each for, the tinned lead ones I paid 25 cents each (heh, I got 3 2n3055s for 25 cents each - not quite enough for an h-bridge, tho!). I think I paid a total of a dollar for 6 8255 PIAs (probably only worth anything to collectors like me). I essentially got an entire bag full of various components for "scrap value"...

:wink:

My list (USA):

Jameco and Mouser - basic components. I really like Jameco's catalog and web site.
Sparkfun - breakout boards and specialty items
All Electronics - surplus stuff, perfboards, enclosures
Futurlec - cheap items, cheap shipping, but very slow
Axman Surplus - local brick-and-mortar surplus chain with crazy stuff

Futurlec - cheap items, cheap shipping, but very slow

the one time I bought there it was slow enough to offset the pennies I saved there

they do have some great deals, but save a nickle wait a month? meh

Umm, Mowcius disagrees.

I consider Rapid Electronics to be expensive. Maybe not compared to sparkfun but they are rather expensive compared to farnell or ebay.

Umm, looks like we'll have to disagree about this one. :wink:

Umm, looks like we'll have to disagree about this one.

Well I have not looked up prices for some time so I went to look some up and couldn't find anything I searched for. I remember that was another reason why I didn't use them, unless you had the catalogue, it was difficult to find anything.

Searches such as LM7805 come up with nothing whereas on farnell you get a page full.

I have ordered things from Rapid before but most of the time it is also easier to buy from farnell when I know they have everything I want and I will be able to find it on the website.

Rapid also don't seem to have a sort feature so I can never find anything in the many pages it gives me for a basic term such as 5mm LED.

Maybe we can agree that without the catalogue or knowing exactly what the part numbers are, Rapid is a bit useless and they can be lacking in parts. The price of some things is up for debate :stuck_out_tongue:

Mowcius

Doesnt Farnell require a £20 min order?

*£20 minimum order value applies to all credit card orders

Maybe, I normally purchase over £20 of stuff but you can just go to the trade counter and pay by cash.

Mowcius

Ah, its at least an hour from me. I keep most things in shop but occasionally theres a part I need quickly :stuck_out_tongue:

Ah, its at least an hour from me.

Same here, about an hour by car or 1.5hr by bus to leeds (then travel in leeds) but it's not too tricky to get if in leeds.

An electronic parts and high end sound-/tv-set shop in Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Home - De Radiobeurs Louter

They don't know Arduino but they stock a load of components. They were very helpful with my questions and i like to have the ability to 'grab a tie' when something goes wrong.

Jeroen

Farnell, when I need more than £50 of stuff to get free shipping, or need a part only they sell.
ebay, when I only need one part, or find a bunch of them really cheap.
Rapid, rarely.

I don't have any electronics stores near me, unfortunately.

Doesnt Farnell require a £20 min order?

no, but they slam you on shipping for small (under £50) orders.

Someone from Arduino Forum pointed me to www.dipmicro.com and I have bought from them a couple of times. Most of their stuff seemed to be of great value (especially headers and protoboards). They ship international as well!

Here's another two I've used in the past:

http://www.jameco.com

ESR are my "local" electronics store (about a 50min drive) now that Maplin stores seem to have abandoned the idea of selling electronic components.

ESR are my "local" electronics store (about a 50min drive) now that Maplin stores seem to have abandoned the idea of selling electronic components.

Well they never really sold them, they just traded them for your life savings :smiley: