My problem is that I am starting to prototype more lately and never have any parts I need so I guess m questions is how do you get some many parts like do you buy in bulk or pieces??? I was thinking about buying like a led kit and pot kit etc etc from ebay just for prototyping ????

 

I spent years collecting every broken piece of electronics I could get my hands on. I have a lifetime of parts available for prototyping that didn't cost me anything.

 

Anytime a family member has a broken electronic gadget, they know to ask if I want it. I cannibalize parts from anything and everything I think might be worthwhile, though my junk pile is building up and the wife has taken a notice, so it may end up getting tossed anyway.

A lot of the simple stuff (e.g. Resistors, capacitors, transistors, wire, etc.) can be sourced from Ebay for pretty cheap...don't waste your time tearing into a piece of hardware looking for a 330 ohm resistor, just go buy one...

 

There was a time when going through scrap boards etc yielded many through-hole dip IC's, even ones that were socketed making it worth while, now with SMT it's not worth the effort.
Start making a list and when you are ordering special parts from a supplier, Digikey etc, add the items to the list to save on postage.
Max.

 

[responding after #2, too slowly apparently] Haha, yeah, me too. Hard to say it will ever pay off (the bigger electrolytics and relays are pretty nice to have on hand instead of buying) but it was useful experience in desoldering and removing parts from PCBs.

 

I spent years collecting every broken piece of electronics I could get my hands on. I have a lifetime of parts available for prototyping that didn't cost me anything.

Sounds like a candidate for " Packrats Anonymous " Welcome to the pack... I have done the same for Years...

 

Common parts are so cheap on Ebay that cannibalizing is not worth the time.

Bob

 

A thing I always get new is electrolytic caps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolytic_capacitor They do have a shelf life. As they tend to dry out over time.

 

Whenever I place an order for parts, or go to a local store for parts, I often buy a few extra things for projects that I'd like to do someday. After many years of doing that, I've built up a good enough assortment of spare parts that a lot of the time, I can prototype a new project from boxes in the garage.

I'm not sure where the line is between hoarding as a psychological disorder versus maintaining a healthy stock of a variety of parts for project use, but I'm probably pretty close.

I used to work in a research lab at MIT. They would periodically empty out entire lab areas for building a new research project, and the amount and quality of stuff they would discard was incredible. I've had to throw away entire cartons of precision resistors for simple lack of storage room!

 

...and the amount and quality of stuff they would discard was incredible. I've had to throw away entire cartons of precision resistors for simple lack of storage room!

If you ever have that problem again,,, PM Me I can always come up with a few bux for that opp'ty...

 

We should have a scale to see who's the best packrat!
That reminds me I have to go pickup that laser printer/fax machine someone is tossing out.
There is also a huge 33" or something CRT monitor but that's too heavy for me to lift.

 

I tried finding a local electronics supply store by me but nothing comes up..

We should have a scale to see who's the best packrat!
That reminds me I have to go pickup that laser printer/fax machine someone is tossing out.
There is also a huge 33" or something CRT monitor but that's too heavy for me to lift.

How about a new thread about showing off your bench and parts inventory...

 

There wouldn't be enough space on the post to show my inventory.

 

We should have a scale to see who's the best packrat!
.

Simple... I'm the King !!! [ please don't beat me up too bad ]

 

I couldn't possibly be the top pack rat. All of my electronics stuff fits in one room. There is only an aisle in the center to walk to the work bench, but it's all in one room.

 

Mine is on the end of my basement on 6 shelves. It's not THAT much.

 

OK guys this thread is worthless without pics so post them up....

 

1/8th watt, 5% resistors can be bought for 100's per $1. Common transistors, like 3904/3906 can be ordered from Digikey for a few bucks per 50 or so. Then, you can bulk order opamps, 555's and other common IC's. Now the trick is to design your projects using the few common parts you have acquired. It's a challange, but very doable. People here are always willing to help you do that.

 

I would never ever never use a used component. It is of dubious quality after being desoldered, it may be past it's useful like, and you rarely can back-figure out what you really have by specification. Also you may not be able to buy another one if your project is sucessful and you want to make another one or hundred.

I tend to stick to places like Digikey; using US mail gets me small purchases in 3 days for 3 bucks.

Assortment packs are not the worst thing, buy you always run out of the most useful ones. Just show me a resistor assortment with any 1K or 10K values left.

 

I would never ever never use a used component.

Oh give me a break. I don't know about you, but I'm not usually building anything related to life support or a Mars mission or anything that, if it failed completely, would result in more than $50 damage. So will I use an occasional cap for filtering power, or a switch, or an LED, or a relay, or whatever? Of course I will! There's no penalty for not doing so, and it saves the time and hassle of finding and ordering parts.

I appreciate that it completely depends on what you're doing. If your product needs to be reliable in the hands of paying customers, it's a very different game.