On Sat, 26 Feb 2011 17:43:02 -0800, you wrote: >It looks like the storage box in the eBay listing does not hold the parts >on tape, but after they've been removed from tape. I'd like to remove them >at the last possible moment. It's too easy to lose them otherwise. > >One clever idea that I haven't tried is to use 3 ring binder inserts that >are designed to hold strips of 35mm film. These are OK, but there aren't many slots per sheet, and the width means ta= pes can be pretty loose and fall out easily. Baseball card binder sheets are also a possibility. However Farnell sell the binder sheets used for SMD kits :=20 http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/mcinsert-chipkit/file-insert-component-stor= age-pk5/dp/5412067?Ntt=3D5412067 These are ideal for reasonable lengths of tape. I spent a long time looking for the ideal storage solution for SMD parts an= d TH ICs. Over the years, I've distilled the storage criteria down as follows : 1) You want to store them by type/function per box (e.g. RS232 drivers, vol= tage regulators, 74HC CMOS, opamps etc.), not by individual parts numbers as there are too many d= ifferent types. 2) The container must be reasonably long in at least one dimension to accom= modate tapes and cut-down tubes 3) The container must be shallow so you can stack lots of them in a reasona= ble space, and can easily see parts at the bottom 4) Need to be able to quickly find parts within a container 5) Need to be able to just chuck parts into the right box when clearing up = after a project but be able to find them easily later 6) Cheap - I need at least 40-50 of them to cover the range of parts I want= to store. 7) Need to be continuously available, so you can expand as required. or che= ap enough to buy plenty of spare. 2 precludes almost every type of cheap very small plastic box - e.g. jewele= ry display/sample boxes etc. 4 and 5 preclude boxes full of poly bags - too fiddly & just ends up as a m= ess. 6 Precludes most of the stuff specifically targetted at the electronics ind= ustry So just a basic undivided wide, shallow plastic box with a lid of some so= rt, into which I can put a sheet of conductive foam to hold DIPs. Once you've lined the bottom with= conductive foam, the box itself doesn't need to be anything exotic like antistatic. Clear is nice, b= ut not essential. Not hard to find you'd think... actually surprisingly so! I recently found these, which are very close to perfecty filling the above= criteria - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/25-x-PEEL-OFF-BOXES-STORAGE-STICKERS-CRAFT-CONTAINERS= -/190502918204?pt=3DUK_Crafts_StickersScraps_Decoupage_SM&hash=3Ditem2c5adb= d83c --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .