I'm putting together a group buy of the FTDI FT232RL chips, as used in the Arduino. I'm trying to get enough commitments together to get up to at least 1 full reel of 2000 chips. The plan is for me to purchase the parts, and then distribute them to the end-users. I'm not going to make any money off of this...I'm just trying to get a good deal on some parts.
The distributor has not been finalized yet. Might be one of the usual players like Mouser, etc. Any suggestions?
Yeah, a full reel is spendy. I personally only want like 50 or so. Soldering a few at a time by hand isn't too bad. Most of the folks who have expressed interest are shops who are producing products in commercial quantities...likely with solder stencils, pick & place machines, and reflow ovens.
Ok, we're up to a full reel or so. I'm going to close the deal and place the order in the next couple of days. If you're interested, now's the time to speak up.