Looking for links and order info for PARTS

I use the Digikey search engine even when I don't plan to buy from Digikey. It's (and Mouser's) is about the only cross-vendor parts search engine around.

It would be nice to have a really good parts search engine; I'd pay for access. Anybody know of one?

Some vendor sites, especially connectors, are nearly useless. I was looking for a Phoenix part yesterday and a search got me a list of

2600 candidate parts, each with a long part number and a PDF to be opened and examined.

I need a components engineer. Can't justify one full-time.

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics

Sure, digikey for a part number and octoparts for a supplier. But it's nice to send some money DK's way too. (how does octoparts make money?)

When I couldn't find the right search term/category for a ferrite bead last week, I googled it, and then followed a link to the DK page.

George H.

FindParts? Octopart? Digikey is still the best one. Years back Avnet was asking us what they could do to make their search engine better. Everything they did made it worse (things like sorting '10' between '1' and '2'). I told them to "make it like Digikey".

I've found that they do nothing but get in the way.

Google images is often a good way to look for parts.

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics

I've been at a testing lab this week; they have chocolate on the front counter.

Avnet is mainly big quantity sales. If you aren't buying reels, they're probably not interested.

Arrow used to be the same way but recently opened up free shipping with no minimum order, so you can add them to the list of hobbyist-friendly suppliers. This puts them on par with Newark (Element 14, etc.) whose online catalog/search is mediocre.

Also Allied Electronics, whose catalog is even more limited and ponderous still; they're geared more towards industrial and automation, but they do carry a useful range of electronic components.

Tim

--
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC 
Electrical Engineering Consultation and Design 
Website: https://www.seventransistorlabs.com/

Digikey is where I go (personal and work). Sure, it can be overwhelming, but if you use their selection filters, it ge ts the job done quickly.

Just clicking "In Stock" and "Active" part usually eliminates 80% to 90% of the options. Those other parts are either special order, or (soon to be) obsolete but still in Digikey's huge inventory.

As for China resistor & capacitor kits: These are fantastic deal. I see so meone gave you some links. I do mostly through-hole for personal stuff. S o what I did was order the big assortment of through-hole, and then used li ttle coin envelopes to organize everything - otherwise they way they come f rom China on little flimsy cardboard strips will become unmanageable FAST.

Anwyay, welcome back to the hobby. :) Best of luck.

e:

t

gets the job done quickly.

of the options. Those other parts are either special order, or (soon to be ) obsolete but still in Digikey's huge inventory. Right then select for only 'one of's' (no reels or digi-reels)

My big problem with search engines is finding the right 'branch'. Something on a nearby branch may be just what you want, but you don't see it. Something that explored nearby branches, (streams :^) would be useful.

George H.

someone gave you some links. I do mostly through-hole for personal stuff. So what I did was order the big assortment of through-hole, and then used little coin envelopes to organize everything - otherwise they way they come from China on little flimsy cardboard strips will become unmanageable FAST .

I think the only thing I ever bought from Allied was a small power transformer several years back for a project, that had the old school HV and 6.3V filament winding on the same core, rated for enough current for a couple of 12AX7s say. It was about 18 bucks as I recall a good price for a seemigly-uncommon new manufacture part. Don't know if they still carry those

I think it was this one though I don't recall at the time the product page displaying explicitly it was a Hammond-manufactured part, it was just labeled Allied like the one in the pic.

Nope, I'm wrong the one I got has different colored leads and the HV secondary isn't center-tapped. I don't see it anywhere on the site now.

Three suggestions:

1. Antique Electronic Supply - will have what you're looking for, website should be easy to navigate. You might not like the prices.
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1. Consult the vendor list at
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2. Plug in a part number, value, or description at
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   It will give you suggestions as you type (e.g. '10uF 450V' will suggest 'radial' and 'axial'). The search results are organized by manufacturer and part number, with a table showing distributor prices and quantities. Clicking on the distributor part number will take you directly to the product page, bypassing their ponderous search engines. Not the best way to find tubes - some types (e.g. 12AU7) will get hits, but not at reasonable prices. No chocolate either.

Sceptre

--
sceptre@sdf.org 
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

Wow - an electronics professional (in a major market, no less) who has never heard of Avnet. Guess that just shows how far the online distributors have come (and perhaps how much the legacy distributors have shrunk).

I was going to ask you previously whether you got stuck with the fee. Did you try calling them (978-898-4834)? Maybe a human being still answers.

Sceptre

--
sceptre@sdf.org 
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

One major trend is for distributors to not stock parts; they get them from the manufacturers when you place an order. Digikey and Mouser are real, or at least partial, stocking distributors.

So is Amazon.

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics

Something on a nearby branch may be just what you want, but you don't see it. Something that explored nearby branches, (streams :^) would be useful.

I get stuck on that every so often, when I've seen, or thought of, some kind of part that I've not looked up before, and try to find some.

Sometimes it helps to search mfg sites, or the whole internet, for a chip, or type, or functionality, and find an example. Then take that example and see how it's categorized at the usual suppliers.

Tim

--
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC 
Electrical Engineering Consultation and Design 
Website: https://www.seventransistorlabs.com/

It's not really a "trend" when it's been going on for more than two decades.

It was maybe a trend back when you first whined about it here. ;-)

Tim

--
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC 
Electrical Engineering Consultation and Design 
Website: https://www.seventransistorlabs.com/

Some serious parts, like FPGAs, aren't even manufactured until they are ordered. That's worth whining about.

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 
picosecond timing   precision measurement  

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com 
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

Yeah I wikipedia them seems they've been around a long time. I was born circa 1980 and started designing stuff professionally about a decade ago, I've just always ordered from Mouser or Digi-Key I guess :)

It's a little awkward to explain but I'll get around to following up on my first attempt.

I kinda wanted to see the presentation I was expecting there to be signs or something of some kind saying where to go, it's weird wandering around and looking around in private secure office complex with employees in suits and name badges and shit and you're there in a jeans and a sweater like "Hello...Hello anyone know like...anything going on I'm supposed to be here I think"

Tim Williams wrote

I often find google search is much better than the manufacturers - or shop search page, Google will often lead me right to their product. You can be very specific in google.

The nice thing about eBay is it is so easy to get your money back on a bad deal. Usually if you make a request they just honor it. If they don't you have to bug eBay about it and when they don't contest that you get your mo ney back. If that fails, you always have two months to dispute it on your credit card. I can't recall a time I didn't get my money back. Once I bou ght a laptop and it seemed to run hot, the vendor offered me a $60 refund a s compensation. When I tried to take them up on it a few weeks later they balked and I had to ask the credit card for a full refund. So instead of $

60 I got the full price refunded. That's ok, a short while later the thing started having memory problems, lol.

I'm much happier with eBay purchases than any other way to shop on the Inte rnet.

Rick C.

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