Lots of electrical components

dirtychinchilla · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:12

So I'm trying to buy 2/3 of various small electronics components to build a guitar pedal with. Does anyone know where you can buy resistors, capacitors, etc in such small quantities without being charged through the roof?

I've got a big old parts lists, I was wondering if there were any companies I could just it to who would find all the stock and send it over.

Apologies for dropping this in GD, but it doesn't really seem to fall into any of the other forum categories.

(BOM is here if anyone is interested)

Thekwango · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:25

your excel sheet links to texas components who let you buy in single/small quantities for pennies per item - not sure you'll get the bits any cheaper.

dirtychinchilla · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:26

Thekwango said:
your excel sheet links to texas components who let you buy in single/small quantities for pennies per item - not sure you'll get the bits any cheaper.

All in the US, though...

Thekwango · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:27

dirtychinchilla said:
All in the US, though...

ah, my bad. didn't realise that! tried farnells?

touch · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:28

Anyone who sells electrical components is likely going to be a competitor.

dirtychinchilla · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:28

Thekwango said:
ah, my bad. didn't realise that! tried farnells?

Nope! That's the kinda help I was looking for

Thekwango · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:29

touch said:
Anyone who sells electrical components is likely going to be a competitor.

doubt it!

edit: quoted the wrong post! d'oh

Rroff · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:32

I use Farnell quite a lot - the minimum order quantities generally aren't bad though they are more geared up for businesses that order in the £100s but you can usually buy quite a lot of stuff in small quantities. Sometimes I find Mouser have a better selection but the delivery costs can be high as they come from the US if you don't qualify in some way for cheaper/free delivery. Some of the small hobbyist I know use Digikey but I've mostly used the other two over them.

d_brennen · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:35

I usually use eBay for smaller electronics purchases. Usually can find lots of 5/10 lower value item stuff like transistors and such. Resistors you're likely to have to buy a good few of them due to how cheap they are per unit

Rroff · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:39

d_brennen said:
Resistors you're likely to have to buy a good few of them due to how cheap they are per unit

I started off like buying 2-3 of just what I needed for small electronic projects... I now have like 100 of each value of resistor I use, etc.

d_brennen said:
I usually use eBay for smaller electronics purchases. Usually can find lots of 5/10 lower value item stuff like transistors and such.

I'd avoid ebay, etc. (unless brand name) for audio projects - I built an amp once using generic metal film resistors, etc. off ebay and Amazon 3rd parties and the noise floor was atrocious.

dirtychinchilla · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:40

Rroff said:
I started off like buying 2-3 of just what I needed for small electronic projects... I now have like 100 of each value of resistor I use, etc.

Fancy sending me some?

builder22 · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:43

RS Components? (Actually...just saw you need to buy 50 etc at a time)

What will the pedal do?

Rroff · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:53

dirtychinchilla said:
Fancy sending me some?

I have loads of the common values like 10K, 100K, etc. 1% metal film but not sure I have some of the values like 220K and 56K.

touch · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:56

Thekwango said:
doubt it!

Well, the site you suggested also sells networking kit, peripherals and other PC components.

Terminal_Boy · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:57

RS Components will sell you as many of a thing as you can afford. Minimum quantity is usually 10 for smaller/lower value items.

dirtychinchilla · 30 Aug 2019 at 16:01

builder22 said:
RS Components? (Actually...just saw you need to buy 50 etc at a time)

What will the pedal do?

It's a tube pre-amp for my bass. I found myself looking at tube amps and then realising they were £1k+, and then realising I could use my current amp and make a pedal like I'd planned and forgotten about.

Rroff said:
I have loads of the common values like 10K, 100K, etc. 1% metal film but not sure I have some of the values like 220K and 56K.

Would you be up for sending some of those? I can pay postage and send you some quids. It would save me buying a shed load of them...

R.C.Anderson · 30 Aug 2019 at 16:37

The main ones I know of are:
Farnell
RS
Mouser

I know a few people who have used eBay for components too, and may be your best bet for small quantities, but be careful of the seller, as you're more likely to get duds etc.

Rroff · 30 Aug 2019 at 16:38

dirtychinchilla said:
Would you be up for sending some of those? I can pay postage and send you some quids. It would save me buying a shed load of them...

Any idea on how important the power rating is on those resistors? the BoM has 600mW but I think most of what I have is 250 and 500mW. It is probably more cost effective though if you are buying all of it to do an order in one go from like Farnell so you get free delivery, etc.

R.C.Anderson said:
I know a few people who have used eBay for components too, and may be your best bet for small quantities, but be careful of the seller, as you're more likely to get duds etc.

Generally not a bad source for like general purpose - I bought a 1% metal film pack from a random far east Amazon seller out of curiosity and they seem like factory seconds - more like 3% accuracy over testing a dozen of them but otherwise don't seem to be a problem - no duds so far - so fine for little hobby projects, etc. but for audio use (or anything where you need good precision with small signals, etc.) I'd definitely buy from somewhere like Farnell.

Mr_Orange · 30 Aug 2019 at 16:55

Rroff said:
Any idea on how important the power rating is on those resistors? the BoM has 600mW but I think most of what I have is 250 and 500mW. It is probably more cost effective though if you are buying all of it to do an order in one go from like Farnell so you get free delivery, etc.

Generally not a bad source for like general purpose - I bought a 1% metal film pack from a random far east Amazon seller out of curiosity and they seem like factory seconds - more like 3% accuracy over testing a dozen of them but otherwise don't seem to be a problem - no duds so far - so fine for little hobby projects, etc. but for audio use (or anything where you need good precision with small signals, etc.) I'd definitely buy from somewhere like Farnell.

I agree stick with the likes of Farnell/Mouser/RS.

bulb66 · 30 Aug 2019 at 17:40

https://www.bitsbox.co.uk/

https://www.conrad.com/

https://www.proto-pic.co.uk/shop.html