i'm not going to sit and test a complete kit of resistors or capacitors no, the only failure i have had was an op amp that drew 30mA by itself and ran very warm, i just pulled it out of the circuit and junked it. Since i breadboard all (or most) of my circuits it's easy to swap out a bad part which i almost never get. I recently received an order of resistors from digikey and was very impressed, i just hate to pay $6.99 shipping when my order was $4.29, the 4 day shipping doesn't bother me though, it depends whether i am in a rush for my components. In answer to your question though, no....i never test components prior to inserting into a circuit.

The key on the shipping is to avoid small orders, when possible (not always possible). If I have a part that I need and am ordering from Digi-Key or the like, I try not to order just that part (unless it's sufficiently expensive that the shipping is a minor nuisance). I will spend some time looking to see what else I need (or, yes, want), trying to identify, as much as foreseeable, parts that I am likely to be ordering from them in the next few months anyway. This is how I've ended up with many of the component kits I've got -- they were order fleshers. It's also how I've justified getting things that I've wanted to play with but couldn't justify going out of my way to get by themselves. Lab supplies, like standoffs and grabber leads also make good order fleshers. It doesn't take much to really soften the blow (at least emotionally). A $4.29 order gets hit with 163% in shipping surcharge, while a $10 order "only" incurs a 70% hit and a $50 order is only getting a 14% hit, which is a lot more palatable. Another way to look at it is that, yeah, the thing I'm making the order for is getting hammered, but, hey, I get free shipping on everything else I get at the same time.

Having said that, I'm very consciously trying to NOT buy stuff I don't actually need, so I'm much more likely just to bite the bullet and take the shipping hit (which, really, isn't that bad when you think about it -- $7 for someone to pull the items from stock, assemble the order, package it (and pay for the packaging materials) and then pay USPS to actually ship it (though they've got bulk agreements with the various shippers, to be sure). Then the shipper has to handle it through their processing chain and eventually deliver to your door or mailbox. Pretty amazing what the economies of scale can do! Anyway, today I will still try to flesh out orders to soften the blow, but only with things that I can truly say that I need and would almost certainly be buying at some point relatively soon anyway. This is where their web presence works to my advantage -- it's a lot easier for me to search for just what I need and get it onto an order. Their old print catalogs were extremely dangerous things in my hands (dangerous to my back balance) because they were like the Sears Christmas Catalog when I was a young child -- the stuff that dreams were made of!

 

Hi,
A couple of years ago, I decided to simplify my life, and stuff.
From a lathe, to through the hole components and tricopters, camera buggies, cameras, etc.
They all went in a skip or auctioned. I mourned for a couple of hours, then looked around at my much tidier place, and moved on.
I rarely buy any stuff now

Now each of my projects will fit in a cigar box, with SMD components, and my stuff is in 4x plastic storage boxes, plus a shed.

At the moment I'm playing with Heltec V3s, using AI to program them.

C.

 

Hi,
A couple of years ago, I decided to simplify my life, and stuff.
From a lathe, to through the hole components and tricopters, camera buggies, cameras, etc.
They all went in a skip or auctioned. I mourned for a couple of hours, then looked around at my much tidier place, and moved on.

This is the mode I'm more-or-less in. I've had several purges over the years and there has been almost nothing that I have regretted parting ways with. Certainly not enough to forego the happiness that comes from a significantly less-cluttered home.

 

i'm not going to sit and test a complete kit of resistors or capacitors no, the only failure i have had was an op amp that drew 30mA by itself and ran very warm, i just pulled it out of the circuit and junked it. Since i breadboard all (or most) of my circuits it's easy to swap out a bad part which i almost never get. I recently received an order of resistors from digikey and was very impressed, i just hate to pay $6.99 shipping when my order was $4.29, the 4 day shipping doesn't bother me though, it depends whether i am in a rush for my components. In answer to your question though, no....i never test components prior to inserting into a circuit.

Yeah I know it is quite impossible to test every small conponent before using. Do you purchase small modules and sensors from Amazon? How was your experience, if yes?

 

i only buy learn electronics type stuff but I must have bought over 100 kits and sets of components from amazon with 0 percent failures. obviously some stuff is lower quality and gets appropriately reviewed, but does work exactly as it is built to. (looking at you fnirsi 1014d, with your inability to read below 30mvpp)

Do you purchase from any specific supplier at Amazon?

 

Yeah I know it is quite impossible to test every small conponent before using. Do you purchase small modules and sensors from Amazon? How was your experience, if yes?

No modules or sensors, I have bought multimeters and a function generator from them though, no problems.

 

Do you purchase from any specific supplier at Amazon?

no, just whatever looked like it was what I wanted and at the cheapest price

 

no, just whatever looked like it was what I wanted and at the cheapest price

Cheaper isn't always better ;-)

 

Cheaper isn't always better ;-)

Look at the Amazon customer feedback, aim for low negative reports and read some of those negative reports to see what specifically upset those buyers. Sometimes its just stuff like it arrived late or the box was broken etc.

Sometimes too, many of the buyers are not really educated in electronics, just read a few how-to posts on this or that maker forum.

Look: BOJACK 1000 Pcs 25 Values Resistor Kit 1 Ohm-1M Ohm with 5% 1/4W Carbon Film Resistors Assortment







See what I mean, some of those guys have no idea what a resistor actually is or what 5% tolerance means, I mean his measured resistance is better than 5% tolerance, the product's rated tolerance !

 

Look at the Amazon customer feedback, aim for low negative reports and read some of those negative reports to see what specifically upset those buyers. Sometimes its just stuff like it arrived late or the box was broken etc.

Sometimes too, many of the buyers are not really educated in electronics, just read a few how-to posts on this or that maker forum.

Look: BOJACK 1000 Pcs 25 Values Resistor Kit 1 Ohm-1M Ohm with 5% 1/4W Carbon Film Resistors Assortment

View attachment 368590

View attachment 368591

View attachment 368592

See what I mean, some of those guys have no idea what a resistor actually is or what 10% tolerance means.

I don't buy resistors from amazon anymore because of bad reviews.

 

I don't buy resistors from amazon anymore because of bad reviews.

Bad reviews by serious electronics engineers or by bozos like those in my post above? I've bought all sorts of bulk resistor and capacitor packs from Amazon, and when I'm very bored I will randomly grab some and use a high precision DMM to measure them, every time they were perfectly reasonable values.

In industry bulk purchases have tiny costs, 5,000 will cost say 25 dollars. that's 2.5 dollars for 500, and these Amazon suppliers are typically selling 500 for like 8 dollars - that's a good profit, no need at all to use fake or low grade parts, you're actually getting excellent resistors, just paying a lot for them.

Consider this post a review.

 

Bad reviews by serious electronics engineers or by bozos like those in my post above? I've bought all sorts of bulk resistor and capacitor packs from Amazon, and when I'm very bored I will randomly grab some and use a high precision DMM to measure them, every time they were perfectly reasonable values.

In industry bulk purchases have tiny costs, 5,000 will cost say 25 dollars. that's 2.5 dollars for 500, and these Amazon suppliers are typically selling 500 for like 8 dollars - that's a good profit, no need at all to use fake or low grade parts, you're actually getting excellent resistors, just paying a lot for them.

Consider this post a review.

several reviewers complain about thin spindly legs that give loose contact in breadboard, one reviewer even said the resistor legs are made of steel and are magnetic.....thats good enough reasons for me to avoid.

 

Amazon reviews are mostly meaningless to me. 87% give 5 stars while 3% give 1 star. The reviews I most look at are the 3 star reviews. Even then I find reviews like (and I exaggerate) My 5V LED burns up when I power it with 12V. DO NOT BUY!" I also see a lot of 5 star reviews that appear to be written by the same few people. It's like someone is trying to UP their ratings.

My experiences with Amazon have been mixed. Looking at what people say and imagining their level of competence can lead me to buy or not to buy. Right now I have two Color Changing Solar Powered Flood Lights over my fish pond. They worked well for 8 months. Now one of them comes on during the daytime and the other doesn't come on at all. I initially gave them a 5 star rating but have since edited it down to 1 star. Throughout the ownership I've periodically updated my reviews so that others can clearly understand how I mounted them (important to get sunlight) and how long they last during times of low sun angle versus high sun angle. Originally purchased in September (lower sun angle and going even lower) the lights would burn from sunset to about 1AM. In the high sun angle days they would burn till 5AM. That was fine with me as I didn't think I'd ever be sitting by the pond at 4AM. Now they're not working.

With Amazon there have been other products that have disappointed me. Long before Amazon I used to pick up parts from NET Electronics (Downey CA.). I don't know if they're still there; that was back in the 70's. Though one memorable thing happened on the way home from NET; while riding my 10 speed bike north on Downey Ave. I passed the Carpenter's home. Karen and Richard were washing the white Dodge Charger. I stopped to watch. Karen smiled at me then came over and talked with me. I don't remember a single word past "Hi". The experience was magical. Yes, I met Karen Carpenter in her Downey home driveway.

Back on topic: Yes, I still use Amazon for quick cheap projects. But if I'm going to fix something like a computer (bad capacitors) I buy the expensive stuff with the long wait times and high shipping prices. It's worth it.

 

one reviewer even said the resistor legs are made of steel and are magnetic

OH, I HATE THAT! Clipping leads with my side-cutter, having to stop and pull the leads off the cutter is a pain in the bum. Yes, I have a bunch of Amazon resistors. I bought them before I knew better.

 

several reviewers complain about thin spindly legs that give loose contact in breadboard, one reviewer even said the resistor legs are made of steel and are magnetic.....thats good enough reasons for me to avoid.

Breadboards have their own limitations, it seems typically the wire must be a minimum of 0.5 mm or so. A 1/8W resistor might have a lead diameter of 0.45mm - likely a loose fit on breadboard.



Source: Practical Components.

As for magnetic leads, it is extremely common and does not indicate some kind of inferior component,

 

As for magnetic leads, it is extremely common and does not indicate some kind of inferior component,

Only in inferior products. Good products use tinned copper.

 

Only in inferior products. Good products use tinned copper.

Well I'm no expert but did do some reading across the web and can't find any justification for the claim nor can I find any standards that specify lead materials.

I can't see why it has any bearing on quality, if it did then surely it would be part of some standard?

 

I can't see why it has any bearing on quality, if it did then surely it would be part of some standard?

It's a pain when the leads stick to cutters when trimming.

Yaego - copper leads welded to end-caps.


Even Chinese resistors used copper leads. Page 4 of the datasheet below.

 

As far as dev modules and breakout boards go....

You can find the exact same modules at Amazon, AliExpress, Temu, eBay. Most of these modules work very well, with reasonable designs, although the specifications are sometimes inflated. But if the a module looks the same from all of these sources, it probably came from the same factory.

How and why China churns out these modules and sells them at a lower price than you or I would have to pay for the components is anybody's guess. These modules are a great way to prototype and try out different devices. And if you make a "motherboard" pcb, you can even create reliable complex devices.

 

As far as dev modules and breakout boards go....

You can find the exact same modules at Amazon, AliExpress, Temu, eBay. Most of these modules work very well, with reasonable designs, although the specifications are sometimes inflated. But if the a module looks the same from all of these sources, it probably came from the same factory.

How and why China churns out these modules and sells them at a lower price than you or I would have to pay for the components is anybody's guess. These modules are a great way to prototype and try out different devices. And if you make a "motherboard" pcb, you can even create reliable complex devices.

Not sure about the "how" but this is probably the "why"