In message llile@SALTONUSA.COM wrote: > It is quite possible to do electronics as a hobby anywhere. Indeed it is - I've held a subscription to EPE since 1997, a subscription= to Elektor since 2002 and I've been building stuff out of the remains of dea= d VCRs and suchlike for a good six years. > Rule 1: Never order less than 200 resistors, or less than 10 more of > anything that you need. I apply the same rule, except my MOQ for resistors is 50. For electrolyti= cs it's 25. > Rule 2: Get good at desoldering stuff. Rob a few caps from old VCRs Desolder wick is good for desoldering SMD stuff and some through hole stu= ff. If you have trouble getting the solder out of the holes, resolder the joi= nt, then use a soldersucker to remove the solder. I've got an Antex Pro-Desol= d soldersucker and I tend to use the Chemtronics Soder-Wick soldering wick, both of which work fine. For soldering, I've got a 50W Antex temperature-controlled soldering station - again, fairly well built and m= uch easier to use than my old mains-powered 25W soldering iron. I usually kee= p the temperature at around 340 degrees C for soldering, 365 for desolderin= g. > Rule 3. Keep a big, well organized junk box with lots of littlle label= ed > drawers. Avoid the H*** Box syndrome. "Aw H*** I will just throw it a= ll > in a box. Oops. Methinks it's time to buy some proper storage boxes... > Rule 4: Jameco is your friend. Mouser and Digikey are nearly your > friends. If you're in the UK, Farnell InOne (www.farnell.com), CPC (www.cpc.co.uk)= , RS [to some extent], Mainline Surplus Sales and WCN Supplies are your friend= s. WCN and Mainline specialise in surplus parts, whereas the other three sel= l new components. RS are good for some of the "oddball" stuff but their pri= ces are a little high. CPC seem to specialise in replacement parts for VCRs a= nd other consumer electronics devices. Farnell just sell new components (and significantly cheaper than most other UK suppliers, too). If you want PICs, Crownhill Associates sell PICs at well below everyone else's prices. > Rule 5. Grab bags, assortments, and so on are good. See WCN and Mainline Surplus aboce > Rule 6: Round out those onesies orders to $25 by adding a few NIMH > batteries each time. You know you will need them. I usually add resistors and electrolytics. Philpem's Rule 1a: ALWAYS buy metal film resistors at 1% tolerance. Sure, they're more expensive, but they have better temperature stability and yo= u never know when you might specifically need the close-tolerance values (e= .g. for amplifiers, oscillators or Vregs) > Rule 7: Yes, radio shark stinks. I still give them a lot of business > because there is no alternative locally.=20 Replace "Radioshack" with "Maplin" and you've got the UK version. > They *DID* have a USB:RS232 > adapter in stock when Circuit City didn't. Maplin... USB:RS232... ROTFLMAO! GB =A349 for a USB-to-RS232 converter. I think that works out at, what, U= S $85? Later. --=20 Phil. | Acorn Risc PC600 Mk3, SA202, 64MB, 6= GB, philpem@dsl.pipex.com | ViewFinder, 10BaseT Ethernet, 2-slic= e, http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/ | 48xCD, ARCINv6c IDE, SCSI ... How come all the buttons keep flying off my shirt? -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics