On Tue, 21 Feb 2017 10:03:40 -0600, Joe Chisolm wrote:

On Tue, 21 Feb 2017 05:32:13 -0600, oldschool wrote:

What is the best place for a hobbiest to buy small amounts of electronic
parts?

I am looking for an online source where I can place orders for a handful
of parts at a time, which does not require $50 or more orders, or charge
huge shipping fees. I am also looking mostly for parts for antique tube
equipment. My typical order would likely be $20 or less of caps,
resistors, and maybe some solder or a tool, and so on....

From what I've seen, Mouser, Digi-Key and Allied seem to be the
biggies... But I have to admit that they have so much in their websites
that I almost feel overwhelmed. And I hear they have large minimums and
shipping, but I never got that far on their websites.... (I have to go
to a public WIFI to use those sites, since I only have dialup at home).

I know ebay is an option too, but ordering each item separately can be a
pain too.

I have been out of this hobby for around 40 years and am getting back
in, but only working on old tube stuff. I remember this stuff like it
was yesterday, but back then, I lived in a city, and there were many
"brick" electronics stores nearby. Now, I live in a rural area, and
aside from the very limited parts at a Radio Shack, (25 miles away)
there are no longer any "brick" stores. Not to mention that much of not
most places seem to cater to solid state devices now. [Times have
changed a lot].

What (if any) online stores will fit my needs?
Maybe its none of these huge stores, but something smaller...

Thanks

I'll add Allied Electronics to the list
www.alliedelec.com

Also for odd parts and such try Electronic Gold Mine

www.goldmine-elec-products.com


Avnet was a good place to order from but they have really messed up their
web site now, but they did have $9 fedex ground shipping.

I think Mouser still has $8 USPS shipping for small orders.

SparkFun has been mentioned in another post. Lots of great
experminter boards and break out boards.

I would start with Digi-Key. IMHO they have the best search
engine. Once I find the part(s) I plug them into other web sites
to check availability, price and shipping cost. It also depends on
where you live. I'm 4 hours driving distance from Mouser so normal
UPS ground is "next day" for me.

I got a email yesterday that Newark is doing $5 shipping on orders $49 and
free shipping on orders $49 and over. Cavaet is parts must be in a USA
warehouse and shipping to a USA address.


--
Chisolm
Republic of Texas