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Of those 3, one was originally my own. The other 2 came from auctions
where I gave a couple bucks for them. The reason I can not just
change parts from one to the other is that they are all different
amperages. The thermal breaker needs to be a 12A (its a 2 or 10A
charger). None of the other chargers are even close, they are much
higher AMP chargers. I cant use the diodes from the 10A on a 50A or I
think the other one is a 20 to 30A. This is where the problems arise.
Getting parts these days is very difficult. Even when you do find
them online, many (or most) companies want a minimum order and or
charge very high shipping making the whole repair cost more than a new
charger. I did find one place that has the thermal breakers, except
they dont have a 12A. I have to choose either a 10 or 15, which means
a 15 or it will trip all the time at full charge. The part is around
four dollars. For some reason their shipping would not calculate on
the web which means I have to call them tomorrow, but I already have a
feeling the shipping will be $10 or more, which will make me ask
myself if it's worth the cost. (the item weighs .7 oz, so the real
shipping should be about $2). And I am not sure if they have a
minimum either.....
I suspect that UPS Ground from DigiKey to most locations in the US would
be about $4 for their smallest size box and minimal content. Plus a $5
handling charge if your order is less than $25 or something like that.
They may charge "UPS Chart Rate" but get a big discount, which they
pocket to defray cost of the package, packing material, and doing the
packaging and also a bit of profit. Their parts prices are so low that I
see their markup over full "standard package" per-unit prices barely
covering cost of repackaging into smaller quantities and only some of the
other costs of getting them from a "standard package FOB manufacturer" to
your package of parts.
They have a highly automated system for that. It would cost them more
after cost of extra labor to send your package by first class mail instead,
probably at about $2 for postage. I have an impression that their
smallest box with packing material weighs about 5 ounces, plus the weight
of the merchandise. The automated system requires a small variety of box
sizes for the bulk of their shipments to minimize cost.
What ever happened to the good old days when every city had a well
stocked electronics parts store? I recall them in the 60's and spent
a good amount of time and money at them, when I was in my teens.
1. Electronics has largely been offshored by higher USA labor costs
(including labor overhead or USA-specific extra employee expense such as
health insurance at USA bloated healthcare cost rate, and auto insurance),
higher liability and liability insurance costs, and more-expensive-to-
comply-with workplace safety and environmental regulations. Have you seen
yet fire extinguishers with a flammability rating? I first started seeing
those around 2004 or so. For that matter, I think the rule book would get
fatter rather than thinner to get fire extinguishers an exemption from
whatever chemical product regulation gave us this!
So, there is little electronic prodct or electronic component
manufacturing in the USA now. I suspect a lot of DigiKey's customers are
hobbyists, prototype developers, consultants and specialty small job
manufacturers making a small quantity of actual products, and the small
remainder of actual electronic product manufacturers in the US, and a few
manufacturers of products that use a few loose electronic components (as
opposed to entire circuit boards). I suspect DigiKey also has some
Canadian customers including product manufacturers.
2. The local parts stores can't compete against DigiKey in any way
except by getting parts to you today rather than tomorrow.
DigiKey even goes a bit of the way there by accepting online orders as
late as 8 PM Central time and getting them to you the next morning.
Mouser is also doing some of what DigiKey does. The other main
electronic components distributors as far as I know are Allied-Newark,
Future Electronics, and Jameco. There are a few hobbyist/surplus type
places, and the ones that come to my mind most are Hosfelt, BG MIcro and
All Electronics. There are some local ones, but they are dying out to
such an extent that not every city in the US has one.
- Don Klipstein )