• SourcesSources

Sources

Where do you get your dorksupplies? Please add to the list.

Local (Seattle and Western Washington, USA):

Online / Mail Order:

All Electronics http://www.allelectronics.com

• New and surplus parts and stuff

Digikey http://www.digikey.com

• Huge selection of semiconductors and electronic parts. No surplus --- their main market is actual engineering companies but they don't mind selling to hackers. (Allegedly got their start selling to hams anyway.)

McMaster-Carr http://www.mcmaster.com

B.G.Micro http://www.bgmicro.com

American Science & Surplus (the surplus house formerly known as Jerryco) http://www.sciplus.com/

Kingbright LEDs http://www.us.kingbright.com/

Mouser http://www.mouser.com

• Similar to Digi-Key (above). I usually find that Digi-Key has a better selection of digital stuff, Mouser is better for analog stuff and slightly cheaper.

Radio Shack http://www.radioshack.com

Spark Fun Electronics - SMT breakout boards and such http://www.sparkfun.com

• Carries interesting ICs that are hard to get in small quantities elsewhere. Also a PCB prototyping deal that's really cheap if your board is small enough.

Antique Electronic Supply http://www.tubesandmore.com

Enco http://www.use-enco.com Import tooling and shop supplies. Best prices I've found. Ships out of Nevada, generally takes 1-2 days.

Small Parts Inc http://www.smallpartsinc.com/ Good supplies for working on small things.

A vendors list posted to the synth-diy mailing list in 2004 by Scott Stites. http://mypeoplepc.com/members/scottnoanh/slsdiy/index.html Stolen with permission by Toby Paddock.

• Jameco Electronics http://www.jameco.com I've mentioned off-list that I always go to Jameco first. Why? Mainly because they generally have the best prices and often for IC's that are not easily found elsewhere. If you want to load up on CA3080E's, this is the place I recommend. The 3080's I've gotten from them are the RCA's (IIRC). They also have a great transformer for +/-15V power supplies for a decent price. They're prompt and rarely make mistakes. If they do make a mistake, they rectify it quickly.

• Allied Electronics http://www.alliedelec.com/ The only thing I *ever* order from Allied is Vactrols - best prices hands down on them (except for the VTL5C2 - see the entry for BGMicro). Prompt delivery.

• Hosfelt Electronics http://www.hosfelt.com/ Good place for CMOS and linears. Excellent prices for reed switches, etc. Medium good delivery times. Very reliable.

• Alltronics http://www.alltronics.com Want one of those cool joysticks MECI used to have? Go to Alltronics and you'll find they're cryptically hidden in the resistors section. Good pots, etc. Nice surplus selection. It's been a while, so I can't remember how long my orders took to get here, but definitely reliable.

• All Electronics http://www.allelectronics.com/ This is where I get my patch cables (3.5 mm/1/8"). Nice price, they work well, and like Peter G says, if it breaks - what the hell, it only cost a buck! Good surplus selection. Reliable and fairly quick.

• BG Micro http://www.bgmicro.com/ Good surplus, indeed. Often will have 'by the tube' deals. The only place you can get VTL5C2 Vactrols for 50 cents apiece. Reliable, fairly good delivery time.

• Electronic Goldmine http://www.goldmine-elec.com/default.htm Ma and Pa Goldmine get the sexiest surplus stuff around, and it doesn't last long (they've been the cause of a stampede or two on the list). Keep an eye on them, and subscribe to their circulars. Good delivery. Reliable, if not frustrating when they've sold out. Have been known to make inappropriate knob substitutions in at least one case I know of (not me, someone else), but I love these guys anyway. I put them in my will. Medum good delivery time.

• Ocean State Electronics http://www.oselectronics.com/ Very good surplus selection. I've ordered once from them - got what I'd ordered, but man, oh, man did it take a long time - perhaps they were moving or something. After five weeks, I figured the order never went through and re-ordered the same stuff from someplace else. Their order arrived on *the same day* as the other stuff I ordered. That put the kibosh on the spouse-gating for a while, I gotta tell ya.

• Futurlec http://www.futurlec.com/ Yes, the dreaded Futurlec. Futurlec is this amorphous entity that exists *somewhere*, but you're not really sure where. Ordering from them is a gamble where the level of frustration is the payoff. Weird problems emerge ("post office can't find your address", "your credit card number doesn't work", etc.). They can take a month (or, I've heard, longer) or less than a week to deliver. IIRC, Ken Stone has sworn off them completely. So why do I list them here and abuse myself by ordering from them? (1) I actually have received everything I ever ordered (no matter how long or even short it took), (2) I absolutely am addicted to the protoboards they sell and (3) they do have a great IC lineup for not-so-bad prices. So, they're reliable in the fact that you'll probably get what you ordered and also that it may be a painful experience. But it's such sweet pain =-D. YMMV rating.

• MCM In One (Formerly MCM Electronics) http://www.mcminone.com/ MCM has a great selection of replacement chips, semiconductors, and other stuff. They even have (sotto voice) bbd's. Good delivery, quite reliable.

• Small Bear Electronics http://www.smallbearelec.com I'll preface this by saying I *love* Small Bear. They're a DIY wet dream, mainly because that's what they're geared for. Great crew, reliable, a bit of a wait for delivery. *Excellent* inventory. My PT chip source. And they have (hushed voice) BBD's.

• American Microsemi http://www.americanmicrosemi.com/ An excellent source for hard to find semiconductors, sometimes for hilariously out of balance pricing. Very reliable, quick delivery.

• Marlin P. Jones (MPJA Online) http://www.mpja.com/ Excellent source for power supplies. Good surplus selection. Fast and reliable.

• Unicorn Electronics http://www.unicornelectronics.com/ Good selection, I've ordered twice and always gotten what I've ordered, can't remember delivery times, etc, but everything's worked for me.

• Electronics Plus http://www.electronicplus.com/ A place I haven't tried yet. An impressive listing of IC's (they have the MM5386N noise generator, BTW). Not so hot prices generally, but what the hey?

• Newark In One (formerly Newark Electronics) http://www.newarkinone.com/ A place I used to order from but don't anymore. I used to order from this company quite a bit - their packaging of resistors and IC's is nothing short of awesome. However, at some point along the line, it seemed that they started gearing more for OEM type of stuff, and I got the impression that my pesky nuisance orders weren't entirely welcome. I still get their (huge) catalogs, but their prices don't strike me as being as good as they once were. Maybe just my imagination, but, anyway, I really haven't *needed* them for quite a while.

From an exchange on the blabber list:

• does anyone know of a good place locally to buy small to medium amounts of raw plastic materials (delrin, lexan, etc.)? I already know about TAP plastics ...
• Try Laird also.

• You could also try Clear Cut Plastics in Fremont. They'll sell you their drops for a pretty good price if you ask.

CategoryCategory