I have been told that when doing an electronics project that you plan on making a multitude of, then you should try and make a cheap package of resistors work for your purpose instead of getting the exact resistance you need per component. When I go to radioshack I see 99% individual resistors and when I go online some of the resistor packs seem so random. My question is as follows:
How do you find these "packs" I speak of (granted they do exist) and is it really worth all the headache in a larger scale, when price is being taken into consideration, to find a pack the fits your situation as opposed to buy a multitude of the resistors you need for each component?
I am sure this isn't the most pressing issue on the forum but most forums like you to start small so that they realize you aren't going to spam and I haven't been able to find anything on the subject so I figured it would be a good first post.
When I first started I got a mixed bag of resistors and I decided to write down all the values to see what I had. I started with a colour reel that you idled in the colours for each band. By the time I had finished I knew the resistor colour code and never had to use the colour wheel again, that was almost 50 years ago.
Get a mixed bag then buy what you need, the bag providing what you think of now as odd ball values.
However, never stint on resistors they are the cheapest of components and it is cheap to get them in single values in quantities of 100.
Just to echo what GM has said, get a pack of E12 series resistors (E12 meaning the range of values you get) and when you start to run out of a particular value, buy another 100.
Great thoughts gentlemen. I will pick up the color coding quick; I had it memorized in high school hehe 8). I think I will take a look at the E 12 series and go from there. For my project I will be wiring over 200 leds together. So, how I will use resistance is a lot more up to me.
You don't so much remember the colour code as you just look at a resistor and know its value. It is very automatic, you don't do the translation in your head it is automatic.
Anyway good luck with your endeavours.