Information on purchasing electronic components

[Drew23]

I would be interested to hear from members where they purchase there components from?, especially if you can buy just one or two, and not have to buy ten at a time.

Also I would like to know which manufactures of electronic components that member’s use, because of the quality of there products?.

 

[DPG]

I tend to buy stuff from ebay these days, but obviously that has the associated risks.

If you want guaranteed good components from someone with a proven supply chain then probably RS or Farnell would be a better idea. Or CPC (are they still going?)

 

[Lucien Nunes]

CPC are still around, part of the same group as Farnell these days. Their actual component range is limited although prices tend to be good on the stuff they do stock. Their strength is in electrical commodities like IEC cordsets, where their pricing and availability are very good for a traceable supplier. I use all of them, RS, Farnell, CPC for different reasons. Audio and video stuff I get from Canford; their catalogue prices are sky-high but with a trade account they are hard to beat.

Not sure about the best way to buy small quantities. Cricklewood Electronics have a reputation for being friendly and helpful with small orders but I don't know what their range is like, as I only use them for a few specialities. There's an incentive not to shop around when one needs to maintain turnover on a trade account. eBay can get you out of a hole for some obscure and obsolete parts, but there are many items that I absolutely would not buy from an untraceable source because of the percentage of fakes. Certain semiconductors are almost guaranteed to be fake unless traceable under a QM system. Some will work but not to spec, others will be dead, or a different part, or whatever. Sometimes the higher cost of the pro suppliers is well worth paying.

 

[pc1966]

If you want guaranteed good components from someone with a proven supply chain then probably RS or Farnell would be a better idea. Or CPC (are they still going?)

I tend to use RS as often good range and reasonable prices (but far from cheapest), but we have an account so less issues of shipping costs, etc.

CPC and Farnell are basically the same company, but you get stuff on one and not the other, or on both at sometimes almost a x2 price difference, so that it looks they are unrelated!

Rapid Electronics is another place to look at occasionally.

 

[DPG]

CPC are still around, part of the same group as Farnell these days. Their actual component range is limited although prices tend to be good on the stuff they do stock. Their strength is in electrical commodities like IEC cordsets, where their pricing and availability are very good for a traceable supplier. I use all of them, RS, Farnell, CPC for different reasons. Audio and video stuff I get from Canford; their catalogue prices are sky-high but with a trade account they are hard to beat.

Not sure about the best way to buy small quantities. Cricklewood Electronics have a reputation for being friendly and helpful with small orders but I don't know what their range is like, as I only use them for a few specialities. There's an incentive not to shop around when one needs to maintain turnover on a trade account. eBay can get you out of a hole for some obscure and obsolete parts, but there are many items that I absolutely would not buy from an untraceable source because of the percentage of fakes. Certain semiconductors are almost guaranteed to be fake unless traceable under a QM system. Some will work but not to spec, others will be dead, or a different part, or whatever. Sometimes the higher cost of the pro suppliers is well worth paying.

I used to use Cricklewood back in the 80s/90s as a hobbyist. They had a good catalogue. Second best to Maplin back then.

 

[pc1966]

Not sure about the best way to buy small quantities. Cricklewood Electronics have a reputation for being friendly and helpful with small orders but I don't know what their range is like, as I only use them for a few specialities.

Strewth! Not heard of them for years!

Sadly a few ones I used to use are long gone.

 

[DPG]

Strewth! Not head of them for years!

Sadly a few ones I used to use are long gone.

Omni electronics. And what about J. Bull and Greenweld with their unusual surplus stuff.

 

[pc1966]

Also along Edgware Road in London there were great shops selling all sorts of stuff. In the 80s I remember there were places that looked as if they (and their staff) had been there largely unchanged since the 30s.

All gone now.

 

[DPG]

Also along Edgware Road in London there were great shops selling all sorts of stuff. In the 80s I remember there were places that looked as if they (and their staff) had been there largely unchanged since the 30s.

All gone now.

We had Bardwells in Sheffield. And there was one in Lincoln up until a couple years ago.

 

[pc1966]

We used to use Cirkit Electronics Limited for various things, largely as they were the stockist for Toko inductors but sold other RF bits like varicap diodes, etc. The also sold springs described as "simple harmonic motion generators, bag of 100"

 

[DPG]

We used to use Cirkit Electronics Limited for various things, largely as they were the stockist for Toko inductors but sold other RF bits like varicap diodes, etc. The also sold springs described as "simple harmonic motion generators, bag of 100"

Ooh I forgot about Cirkit.

 

[pc1966]

There used to be catalogues for ITT and another that escapes me, were borged in to the RS/Farnell groups.

 

[plugsandsparks]

Have used JPGElectronics.com for decades, will ship but best to ring or email, they are in Chesterfield. Great for small quantities and almost always have what i want.
Like others, otherwise i use RS and CPC

 

[Lucien Nunes]

And there was one in Lincoln up until a couple years ago.

Birkett's? John Birkett died last year IIRC, he had been running the shop(s) since 1960.

I too used to trek to the Edgware Road in my early teens to get parts to build projects. The excitement of coming home with a bag or bags of brand new components, clean and shiny, ready to begin work, was unforgettable. Henry's, Smith (there were a few), Proops... Henrys hung on longer than most but even they are gone now. Others local to me were Crescent Radio, Frank Mozer and Enfield Electronics, and Hobbs in Luton was just round the corner from my parents' business so I was within easy reach of them.

Of the above, only Crescent still seem to be in existence although keeping a low profile, emphasis on key fob repairs rather than electronic parts. A lot of shops went that way, catering more and more for consumer items, disco, security etc rather than parts for constructors, before finally succumbing. Maplin, too, shifted radically in its final years. When I was at uni the local Maplin was an essential source and at least a weekly visit was required.

These were not just shops but community hubs, for a hobby that still kind-of exists but has changed out of all recognition.

 

[DPG]

Birkett's? John Birkett died last year IIRC, he had been running the shop(s) since 1960.

I too used to trek to the Edgware Road to get parts to build a project. Henry's, Smith (there were a few), Proops... Henrys hung on longer than most but even they are gone now. Others local to me were Crescent Radio, Frank Mozer and Enfield Electronics. Again, all gone. These were not just shops but community hubs, for a hobby that still kind-of exists but has changed out of all recognition.

I think that was it yes. He had 2 shops, one on each side of the pedestrian bit. Loads of old aircraft gauges etc.

I only discovered it a few years ago unfortunately. I bought 2 old AVO 8s for £15. One of which I sold for £25 and the other I made into a vintage lamp.

Last time I went he had a lovely old wooden cased resistance decade box in the window. Less than £20, but the shop was shut.

I used to go to Modern Electronics (very inappropriate name for the shop!) in Doncaster in my college days. Always stocked loads of the Berbard Babani books. He also used to sell bags of workshop floor sweeping up! Lots of old components in a clear bag for £2. Mostly junk to be honest!

 

[pc1966]

Birkett's? John Birkett died last year IIRC, he had been running the shop(s) since 1960.

Ah yes, I also remember them. Nice folks to deal with as well.

I too used to trek to the Edgware Road in my early teens to get parts to build projects. The excitement of coming home with a bag or bags of brand new components, clean and shiny, ready to begin work, was unforgettable. Henry's, Smith (there were a few), Proops... Henrys hung on longer than most but even they are gone now.

It was Smiths I think that I remember most fondly. They had wooden trays with sleeving in them in the middle of the shop, fibreglass stuff for high temperatures, silicone, etc. I think the main guys were Arthur (oldest?) and Raymond, both really helpful.

Also just a block away was Samson transformers, they had all sorts from valve radio output stages to smaller HV stuff it seemed.

 

[Julie.]

I use
RS
DigiKey
Mouser

In about equal measure, I build a shopping list over the free delivery and switch stuff around until I get a balance.

Sometimes it's better to pay a few pence extra on some components to get free delivery from one supplier.

I have also used LCSC components (partner of jlcpcb.com - where I usually get my pcbs made)

All have been OK.

Depending on what you are looking for each has a better range than the others.

I have found RS pretty poor with regards to modern electronic components though.

 

[pc1966]

DigiKey
Mouser

I use them as well when I could not get specific bits from others like RS, but often they imported from USA so extra cost/hassle for import duty. That might be less of an issue now.

Also the tedium of filling out a US export request for parts made in Mexico...

 

[timhoward]

For small quantities and a limited range of items, Hobbytronics are quick, fairly cheap, efficient, and their packaging is beautiful.

 

[Julie.]

I use them as well when I could not get specific bits from others like RS, but often they imported from USA so extra cost/hassle for import duty. That might be less of an issue now.

Also the tedium of filling out a US export request for parts made in Mexico...

Never had that.

I merely build up an order over the ~ £30 mark, plus the VAT, then they turn up a few days later.

The parts have often arrived before stuff from the UK ordered at the same time.

Never any additional import duties - that's always been sorted out by them with no interaction from me.

I think I had to declare the use of the parts the first time I used DigiKey, but that was just a short phone call (from their end).