I am still relatively new to electronics and have been following the E-book pretty faithfully and have decided it is time to outfit and stock up a proper electronics experiment work bench. I am interested in what would be considered a good basic selection of components such as transistors, IC's and such. I have a very good basic selection of LED's, Caps, diodes, and resistors as well as some very basic 39XX series transistors, LM3XX series regulators and 551 timers already. If an individual was interested in stocking a fairly complete bench with a good general selection of components for basic and advanced experimentation, what components would be a good starting point, since I have already encountered a need to place a project on hold while waiting for additional parts to arrive (very frustrating indeed). I have assigned an arbritrary limit of 50 USD (excluding freight and handling) for the initial order and each subsequent order, although that value could be somewhat variable based on the need for particular high value components. It is my intention to build this selection monthly over some period of time, perhaps years so any thoughts or recomendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!!
Bob

I should add that I already also have a Beckman osciloscope and function generator as well as a myriad of DVOM's and probes in addition to a good quality soldering station and third hand devices for manipulating boards and components.

 

That really depends on what circuits are you going to build in the future. I would get some fixed 78xx an 79xx regulators, a few comparators like lm339, and few opamps like tl072 or ne5532. Some power transistors like bd139/140 could be handy, maybe some mosfets like IRF240.
The selection is wide and different for different applications.
Even though I have pretty good stock of components acquierd for the past ~10 years of doing electronics, I always end up going to the shop for some critical component I don´t have when starting some project.

 

551 timers? I wrote the section on 555 timers, literally.

I agree with Kubeek though. Resistors by far are the biggest pain, followed by capacitors.

I would also recommend CMOS 555's (AKA TLC555, 7555, there are many others).

The TL072 is a good idea, as is the TL074 (a dual op amp vs. a quad).

As is the LM393 and LM339 (another dual and quad combo, comparators this time).

10 or so 2N2222A and 2N2907A's, they are complementary to each other.

You know, that might be a good project sometime, a complete list of all components used in the experiment section. I try to reuse parts where I can.

In my opinion not enough has been done in the book with MOSFETs, I may rectify that in the future.

Bill's Index

 

I just went to wally world and bought (2) parts cabinets for around 12 bucks each to replace my bug boxes. WHY didn't I do this long ago, now everything is organized, and labeled so finding stuff is so easy!!! I actually have room on the bench now.... I'm also going to pick up a bench vise as I just tried using a meter on a tiny smt board....PITA!!!!

 

Some LM386 audio amplifiers are very handy if you are interested in anything audio related. Also maybe an H bridge IC is a simple solution for some switching application of small DC motor type applications.

 

Thanks Bill, I got fat fingers on the 551's they are 555's, and i went through the book and wrote down that info and arrived at somewhat less than 10 dollars for the re-usable items, very inexpensive indeed! So the initial idea of a 50 limit may have been excessive and can be adjusted down accordingly. I intend to fab up several wal-wart power suppies as well as a bench type higher quality PS and make them permanent fixtures so there will be some minor expense there, but still manageable nonetheless. Thanks for the input from the other responders too, I really apppreciate the candid and forthright help that comes from the membership. Happy "lectronican to ya guys, I'm havin a blast!!
Bob

 

Basic Bench Top Power Supplies

 

Dont over look scraping old equipment, Old VCRs for H bridge motor drive Ics old computer powersuplys have been a source of high voltage & reasonable current MOSFETs & high current Shottkey diodes. Daryl