hi everyone,
I'm designing my first SMD pcb. I will solder it at home with hands tools, so I decided to use 0603 parts since I manage to solder those parts.
Now I'd like to order resistors, capacitors and diodes on Mouser, but I'm stuck since there are plenty of choise.
Can anyone recommend me the most common manufacturer/kind of 0603 that I could buy to start?
I'm looking for common value resistors, 1% tollerance should be ok, and for 1N4148-like diodes, and for common caps like 0,1uF, 1uF and 10uF.
on Mouser, but I'm stuck since there are plenty of choise.
I think there is an option to sort by the cheapest. Get the lowest cost you can get.
Dimitree:
I'm designing my first SMD pcb. I will solder it at home with hands tools, so I decided to use 0603 parts since I manage to solder those parts.
Are you sure you meant 0603? Those are very tiny parts; 0805 is more practical when you're soldering by hand.
sureelectronics.net sells 0805 assortments for resistors and capacitors and also has nice storage containers for them.
http://www.sureelectronics.net/goods.php?id=159
0805 is more practical when you're soldering by hand.
Yes but 0805 are obsolete now.
Go for cheapest in the kind of quantity you are interested in (cheapest per device
is always a whole reel!). For 0603 resistors check your power dissipation - overload
one of those and it could desolder itself...
If you are using solder paste then be aware that with the smaller components you
increase the risk of tombstoning, so observe the "keep-out" boundaries for all the
pads. At that size scale the surface tension of molten solder is by far the largest force operating so its important pads are the right shape and symmetric.
If using a soldering iron leave enough space between parts or you desolder one as you
solder its neighbour!
If using a soldering iron leave enough space between parts
Ironically enough I could always solder resistors closer spaced than our production / PCB layout department was permitted to space them.
Grumpy_Mike:
0805 is more practical when you're soldering by hand.
Yes but 0805 are obsolete now.
What do you mean by that?
What do you mean by that?
I mean that they are stopping making them, any that are left are just sloshing around suppliers. The mobile phone industry has moved on and there is no longer any real demand for parts that big.
In my last two jobs over the last 5 years we have been phasing them out and now no new products will use them. Even 0603 are getting rare.
thanks for the tips! 
what about generic diode like 1N4148? what do you recommend?
Dimitree:
thanks for the tips!
what about generic diode like 1N4148? what do you recommend?
I've been using Vishay 1N4148WS-V-GS18, which is no longer available from Mouser (I bought them last March), but this one looks very similar:
As was said above, just use the parts selector on Mouser (or Digi-Key, or wherever) and get the least expensive parts that fit your specs.
It took me about 30 seconds to find:
I can buy 100 of those for $0.70 or 500 for $2.50. At those prices, even if I only need a few of a given value, I'll usually get 100 and have a lifetime supply. And they're 1% tolerance to boot, which is better than I normally need. With those kinds of prices, I basically don't care how cheap they are on eBay, I'd much rather have top quality parts from a reputable distributor even if they are just boring resistors.
As far as kits, I haven't found that I even come close to needing most of the E24 or even E12 values these days which is what a lot of kits try to cover. I'd probably use up six or eight common values from the kit, and end up with a bunch of values that I hardly ever use.
I haven't found that I even come close to needing most of the E24 or even E12 values these days
I find that designing active filters does wonders for your usage of obscure resistor values.
Grumpy_Mike:
I haven't found that I even come close to needing most of the E24 or even E12 values these days
I find that designing active filters does wonders for your usage of obscure resistor values.
Indeed, gotta get those RC values as close as possible. I designed and built a three-way active crossover for a friend decades ago. He used it to tri-amp a pair of Klipschorns, it worked great and boy was it loud. Total power for one channel was something less than 200W IIRC.
I have a favorite little boost regulator circuit that uses weird values for the feedback voltage divider, 249K, 309K, 976K. Even buying those in quantities of 10, they're $0.014 each.
But I think a beginner here could get by very well with 6-8 resistor values and maybe half as many capacitor values.
I haven't found that I even come close to needing most of the E24 or even E12 values these days
Yes but those storage forlders that some cone in are very handy
Don't do analog circuitry then...
MarkT:
Don't do analog circuitry then...
True that. I'm majoring in microcontrollers these days though 
I haven't found that I even come close to needing most of the E24 or even E12 values these days
I think I've only used 10k in the last few years, no wait, I did use a 4k7 once OK so I don't do much in the way of active filter design.
As for storage, I might get some of these
http://www.andahammer.com/cbcube/
They don't appear to have rounded corners (which makes it easier to get parts out) but they look like a very cheap and neat solution. They have larger versions as well.
Rob
As for storage, I might get some of these
http://www.andahammer.com/cbcube/
These are a bit expensive but have 128 compartments
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_164267_-1
http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/catalogs/c141/P142.pdf\
http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/catalogs/c141/P142.pdf
Extra \ on the URL broke the link.
Have you physically held one of those boxes. Do they seal between compartments? I ask because often boxes with a single lid to not seal the individual compartments well enough to stop the 0402 resistors all mingling when you drop the box
Rob
Graynomad:
Have you physically held one of those boxes. Do they seal between compartments? I ask because often boxes with a single lid to not seal the individual compartments well enough to stop the 0402 resistors all mingling when you drop the box
Rob
I hate it when that happens. And don't even get me started about the 0201s.