Where to buy electronic components?

valve90210

valve90210

valve90210

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Hi All

I want to buy a few electronic components and not really sure where to get them from?

In days of old I'd have ordered from Maplins but they don't seem to have what I want. I know a lot of people use Farnells etc but every where I've found is rather pricey when it comes to delivery, especially seeing as I literally only need a few bits which will come to a couple of quid at most.

Any suggestions?
 
CPC are OK, they are owned by Farnell I believe. Also most Maplin stores have a little counter tucked away in the back where you can buy components. Resistors, caps, wire, LEDs, etc.
 
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EBay. I've got the majority of my electronics stuff from there. One rare exception were some hard to find jst connectors that were cheaper buying in dozen quantities from CPC.
 
Only £20 spend at Farnell to get the order handled and delivery is free if it's UK or Europe stock items (mostly are), have to add VAT on top though.

Otherwise the bay, but quite a mark-up to cover their costs. Have used it myself a few times though.
 
Hmmm, might check out eBay, I literally need about 6 items:

1 x ir receiver
1 x led
1 x resistor (might ask advice on that... Not 100% sure on what I need)
Approx 4 short wires
And a small piece of copper strip board (though I might have some knock about already)

I could check out the local Maplins, wasn't sure they still did bits like those as I couldn't find them on the website...
 
UK based I use bitsbox.co.uk or ebay. I use tayda if i'm not in a rush or buying bulk.
 
The 'bay is definitely the best if you want little bits (like you can usually get massive rolls of resistors and stuff for a quid)

Cool components usually stocks some interesting stuff.

It's a bit of a shame that there's not more going on in brick and mortar stores to be honest. The only places I find that stock them are Maplins and they're usually priced absurdly compared to what you'd find on eBay.
 
Cheers, lots of suggestions there, I'll have a good look tomorrow.

Quick question, what value resistor should I use to protect a big standard led when power supply will be 5v? I want to follow a tutorial I've found about adding an ir receiver to my pi and it suggests 200 - 1000ohm?
 
Quite a few of the UK places are just Farnell resellers :S they are ok/decent.

Mouser is really good (like proper old fashioned customer service and proper packaging, etc) but unless your ordering in bulk quite pricey and they ship express from the US (very quick) so not cost effective for smaller products - I usually save up a load of stuff I need and buy from them in one go or order in advance reasonable quantities of stuff I'm likely to need to make it worthwhile.

Amazon is a good source for hobby stuff with a mix of cheap to not too expensive parts with a mix of quality from "ok" to moderately good but quite a bit is shipped from China so you can be waiting a week to 20 odd days.

Another option is Digikey but I've not really used them myself.

The resistor required will depend on the forward voltage of the LED but usually 100ohm to 1000ohm on 5v (source) depending on how bright you want it: http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz - usually your talking about 20ma for full brightness - for general indicator type use then you want to drop that back to around 3-4ma probably (470-1K ohm). (EDIT: If your talking about the IR LED itself then you want a fairly low value resistor - probably sub 200 ohm).

EDIT: As an aside (personal experience :S) if your doing anything with audio (or where precise signalling, etc. matters) don't bother with ebay/amazon cheaper parts - there was a huge difference in the noise floor between a circuit I made with resistors, capacitors, etc. from random online sellers from those kind of sources and the same made up of parts sourced from Mouser - despite being comparable stats wise on paper.
 
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^^ On a semi serious note RS/Tandy are on the way out (and I believe will soon cease to exist entirely though I've not kept up on the news on that front).

Tealc said:
EBay. I've got the majority of my electronics stuff from there. One rare exception were some hard to find jst connectors that were cheaper buying in dozen quantities from CPC.
Click to expand...

Having a bit of a nightmare sourcing the jst connectors I need for something I'm working on atm might have a poke around cpc though had no luck with farnell.
 
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Where are you based, as Farnell have a trade counter in Leeds.
I should state that I work for them... if it's a couple of items and not meeting the delivery, then I could probably get them and post them on for you, let me know.

Also CPC (a division of Premier Farnell) have a trade counter in Preston, you might be able to get them there.
 
Rroff said:
The resistor required will depend on the forward voltage of the LED but usually 100ohm to 1000ohm on 5v (source) depending on how bright you want it: http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz - usually your talking about 20ma for full brightness - for general indicator type use then you want to drop that back to around 3-4ma probably (470-1K ohm). (EDIT: If your talking about the IR LED itself then you want a fairly low value resistor - probably sub 200 ohm).
Click to expand...

Right...you lost me there! Been nearly 20 years since I did a bit of basic electronics and that flew way over my poor little brain's capabilities! lol

Basically I'm wanting to follow a tutorial on modmypi that shows how to add an ir receiver and get lirc working on a raspberry pi

The led is just to give a visual indication that the ir receiver is doing something., on the site they just mention a 200 - 1000 ohm resistor.

Rroff said:
EDIT: As an aside (personal experience :S) if your doing anything with audio (or where precise signalling, etc. matters) don't bother with ebay/amazon cheaper parts - there was a huge difference in the noise floor between a circuit I made with resistors, capacitors, etc. from random online sellers from those kind of sources and the same made up of parts sourced from Mouser - despite being comparable stats wise on paper.
Click to expand...

Should be ok with ir stuff do you think?


daz.rathbone said:
Where are you based, as Farnell have a trade counter in Leeds.
I should state that I work for them... if it's a couple of items and not meeting the delivery, then I could probably get them and post them on for you, let me know.

Also CPC (a division of Premier Farnell) have a trade counter in Preston, you might be able to get them there.
Click to expand...

Sadly I'm all the way down south in Kent, so they're a bit on the far away from me side ;) I shall have a look about and see what I can get online or nearby but will certainly bear your offer in mind, thanks.
 
For IR stuff it'll be fine, stick a 1K resistor in and adjust if necessary for more/less brightness, anything over 200 ohms should be enough to stop most LEDs from being fried with 5v source if you don't know the specs.
 
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