I recently took out an old Make: magazine from the local library. It had a lot of cool links. Here are some:
- USBCell. These rechargeable, AA batteries plug into a USB port. A two-pack costs £11. Their website says that AAA, C, D, and 9-V batteries are in the pipeline.
- Octopart. Type in a part number, and let Octopart find it for you. They now have a “parts list” feature that lets you build a parts list online or import a list from a .csv or .txt file.
- All Electronics. Surplus house. Sells everything from cable clamps to wall warts. Some good deals.
Weird Stuff. Another surplus house. Sells a lot of old computer gear (think Sun) and industrial equipment (valves, pumps, blowers). - Hobby Engineering. Tagline: A supply store for people who want to build robots, electronic gadgets, kinetic art or anything else that moves, beeps or flashes. Carries a variety of educational kits as well as microcontroller parts and electronic components.
- FlyABird. Totally unrelated to ham radio. Sells machines called ornithopters that fly by flapping their wings. Very amusing.
UPDATE 4/17/22
I just got a note today from Ethan Bass, a Boy Scout who is working towards his electronics merit badge. He writes, “Your page included some really great information and sites to learn from! Thank you so much!!”
Ethan even suggested another link to add to this page—Electricity Glossary and Terms. He says, “It covers a ton of terms and additional resources.” Thanks, Ethan!
John McDonough says
I know you follow QRP-L, graze the archives a bit; there have been mixed reviews of All Electronics.
Don’t forget the bread and butter places. Mouser if you have a tiny order, Newark and DigiKey if you need a bit more. DigiKey has the best online catalog, but sometimes Newark has much better prices. If you want PICs, Newark is almost always the best deal, although if that is all you want, then go direct to Microchip. For other stuff, DigiKey is generally better, but it always pays to check. Mouser is usually more expensive, and here in 8-land, it takes forever for stuff to arrive. But if you just need one transistor, their deal on shipping might make up for it.
I gotta admit to a soft spot for DigiKey. Their customer service is second to none, and they were started by a ham. Their first product was an electronic keyer kit, hence the name. I don’t even know if they have a keyer anymore. They carry over a million different parts. The postman is very unhappy when he brings their catalog.
Dan KB6NU says
Mouser, DigiKey, Jameco, Newark, etc. are all great suppliers. Octopart searches Mouser, for sure, and probably the others as well.
AllElectronics is a surplus place, and you can find the odd deal there. For example, they were selling balun kits for a couple of bucks less than the other places. I’ve ordered from them several times, and have never had a problem with service.
David Brodbeck N8SRE says
A few other good surplus places:
BG Micro: http://www.bgmicro.com/
Often has especially good deals on LCD display units.
MPJA: http://www.mpja.com/
Fair Radio Sales: http://www.fairradio.com/
Lots of NOS and used tubes, military surplus, etc. Prices seem kind of steep on some of the military gear but their tube prices are pretty good and there are other deals to be had.