Small Electronic Components

[BattZ]

The "where do you get your stuff" thread started me thinking, where do you guys like to get our small electronics from? I'm thinking of resistors, capacitors , and LED, and the like? I've boughten some from EBay, but don't like it because I always have a fear of being ripped off, even when the seller has 100% thumbs up or whatever they do, I just have that little faith in people on the internet =P

I'm starting a small project and need to restock on some of those little things.

[eovnu87435ds]

old power supplies are chock full of components. Just be sure you haven't plugged it in for a while. A friend of mine just electrocuted himself on a 400watt server psu and he lost feeling in his arm for 2 days, as well as getting a crusty burn patch on his finger.

old electronics have alot of stuff too. I got about 300 resistors off a really old sound card(idk how old it is, but the system requirements were 512KB ram and DOS 2.0). as long as it's before the age of surface mount electronics you should be fine.

[okiwan]

http://www.mouser.com/

this is the best site ever. i used to get my crystals from them back in the day to build red box's. the the catalog they send you is BIG.

[BattZ]

old power supplies are chock full of components. Just be sure you haven't plugged it in for a while. A friend of mine just electrocuted himself on a 400watt server psu and he lost feeling in his arm for 2 days, as well as getting a crusty burn patch on his finger.

old electronics have alot of stuff too. I got about 300 resistors off a really old sound card(idk how old it is, but the system requirements were 512KB ram and DOS 2.0). as long as it's before the age of surface mount electronics you should be fine.

Good to know about the old electronics. A few years ago...maybe more like 10, I was playing around with a power supply, and something bad happened, all I know is I was in pain and on the floor...oh being young again...

That mouser site has a ton of stuff, maybe too much, I can't find just LED lights, but I could just be lost in their search results. The closest I can find is arrays of LEDs or ones that cost >5$ per.

EDIT:: I was talking to a friend of mine and he said http://www.ledshoppe.com/ was good for LED's, and they seem pretty inexpensive. As for most of the other stuff, he uses http://www.allelectronics.com/ which seems pretty good, but I haven't poked around too much.

Edited September 8, 2010 by BattZ

[Trip]

maplins ?

probably some good info on www.hackedgadgets.com

[okiwan]

http://alan-parekh.vstore.ca/leds-c-4.html

here you go

[moonlit]

FYI, just because a PSU has been unplugged for a while doesn't mean it's discharged, they can still give you a good reminder not to touch the wrong thing.

[Trip]

FYI, just because a PSU has been unplugged for a while doesn't mean it's discharged, they can still give you a good reminder not to touch the wrong thing.

lol i found this out from some capacitors in my old amp :D

if you unplug it then touch the terminals you plug into the wall it give u a little boost hehe

[wheeee]

FYI, just because a PSU has been unplugged for a while doesn't mean it's discharged, they can still give you a good reminder not to touch the wrong thing.

Not sure if it applies to low voltage caps, but high voltage ones cans build a charge over time if they are not shorted or hooked up to anything.

Electronics Goldmine, Digikey (cheap, but difficult to find stuff), Sparkfun, Jameco (a bit pricier), MCM, Google.

If you are really interested in components, see if you can find a Nuts and Volts magazine and just flip through all the advertisements.

Also... check and see if you have any electronic surplus stores in your area. Some of the best deals come from them. They tend to be more interested in moving quantity rather than making good profits on small parts.

Anyone ever been to an Axeman store in Minnesota? Pricier of the surplus stores, but an absolute must for any modder/hacker/etc