DSE ESR meter - Page 2

Hi Dave,

You're right, the mark-up is massive. As for the proportion of sales,
everyone here knows Woolies is hell bent on clearing any line that isn't
earning its keep on the shop floor so I believe the sales of those items
are meeting expectations and no doubt the GP still helps to balance out the
bottom line from selling low GP consumer elect items.

From a personal point of view we ( in our store ) sell quite a reasonable
quantity of components considering. Obviously I can't speak for the other
DSE stores and have idea of what their component sales may be, but we seem
to do ok. I think we're lucky though, the guys I work with aren't pimply
faced 16 year olds, we're all old enough to know that a record was once
something played on an amplifier with phono inputs :) Myself and the
manager have component knowledge while the other staff can at least point
people to the right area of the store or get one of us to assist. None of
us claim to be electronics gurus but we try to help where and when we can.

Infact, slowly but surely, we're redoing the component section of our store
because previous management there has been less than enthusiastic about the
area and let it run down badly.

So, yes, there are still some DSE employees who care about the component
side of the business :)

Mike
 

When are they going to start training the current crop of 16 year-old
still_wet_behind_the_ears  sales staff as to what a resistor, transistor etc
actually are?  Because until that happens, component buyers will stay away in
droves to avoid the pain.

    It was probably > 20 years ago that I was waiting in line at the
cash register at the local DSE store. The bloke in front of me put a
handful of components on the counter, and a 1/4W resistor rolled off the
edge.
    The helpful salesgirl said, "One of your diodes just fell on the
floor!".
    Things haven't improved since then. That's why I'm also very curious
as to why DSE would discontinue kits which have the catalog numbers on
the cartons to make it easy for the salespersons, but increase their
range of components which are a total mystery to them.
    Maybe they'll start selling resistors and everything else at even
higher prices in little plastic bubble packs like Tandy used to?

"rebel"




**  What pain  ???

Long as  YOU  know what you are after and have the common sense to make sure
it is listed in the DSE catalogue -  all the staff have to do it take your
money.

If a particular store is out of stock -  then any staffer can check the DSE
on line database as to stock levels held at other stores.  Even the female
staffers seem very adept and obliging at this.

BTW:

Ill mannered geeks have always been a right pain in the arse to electronics
store staffers.

OTOH  -  polite geeks with cat numbers on hand generally get royal
treatment.




.......   Phil

 > any staffer can check the DSE online database as to
 > stock levels held at other stores. Even the female
 > staffers seem very adept and obliging at this.

Gosh, who'd have thought that females could manage that?

Peter

Well they do have smaller feet.

DSE

Shame the database is often wrong and they send you to a store with no stock
though.

MrT.

That's what the phone is for. On being told in Box Hill that the last two
stocked EPROM programmer kits were on the shelves in Broadmeadows, I used
the phone. Half an hour later, I got a call back saying yes, they were in
the computer, but they couldn't find them anywhere. The happy ending is
that the computer also said that 69 units were still in the distribution
centre, and all I had to do was ask the local store manager to have one
sent down :-).

Clifford Heath.

stock

That's my point. The computer based web stock list is worthless and the old
fashioned "ring them and get someone to look on the shelf", is still the
only reliable method.

MrT.

I dont bother asking them for advice on resistors and transistors & I
assume that they don't know.   Even if you trained them to recognise
some components by sight, to the average non-tech person, a
transistor, FET, triac, SCR, voltage regulator, high speed diode pack,
oftan all come in the same looking packages, and can easily be
mistaken for each other by people without some knowlege of
electronics.

Based on some of their telephone sales people in the past, I doubt
that some WES staff would know what a resistor is either ;)

With component stores like DSE, I just go and get them myself, write
down the catalog number when I do, and go to the counter and give them
the list and pay for them.  I think if someone has no idea what a
resistor looks like, (or can't read the labels on the little component
drawers) maybe they shouldnt be buying one.



Simple, no problem

    I agree with you and Phil - write a list of the catalog numbers, get
the parts (if they can be found) and give the list to the staff to key
into their terminal.
    Thinking back over my recent common-component buying patterns
though, I've always gone to Jaycar without even considering that the DSE
store up the road might stock the same parts.


Bob

why not just use Farnell? their pricing is pretty good, and the stock
levels are slightly higher :)

plus of course they have smt stuff.

Cheers
Terry

"Terry Given"






** Shame how Farnell want $516 + gst for the exact same 10 MHz CRO that DSE
sell for $98 inc.

Shame how DSE, not Farnell sell Brother laser printers for $95 inc.

Shame how DSE, not Farnell sell top kits like Bob's famous ESR meter for as
little as $25 inc.

Shame how DSE, not Farnell has no minimum purchase quantities.

Shame how DSE, not Farnell let you peruse any of their stock before making a
purchase.

Shame how Farnell want $10 ( or more)  per order delivery charge every time.

Shame .......




......   Phil

who would want a cruddy little scope like that? Its better than a
multimeter I suppose, but still just a toy.

My favourite was always the $600 wooden plank that RS used to sell
(havent checked lately).

OTOH Farnell periodically sell expensive stuff at better-than-reasonable
prices. I've bought both the Hakko 474 desoldering staion and the 850
smt station for ~ NZ$800, along with a whole bunch of fluke 87s.

AFAICT its becuase the stock sits around for a long time at silly prices.



I got mine frm Harvey Norman.



hopefully mine will turn up in a day or two.



true, but the MOQ is usually pretty small, and I never buy one of anything.



this is very important, as DSE cant tell you exactly what any of it is,
you have to look for yourself (and even then that wont necessarily help you)

OTOH if I want a Welwyn WA84 resistor, I can just order one from Farnell
and *know* thats what I will get.



all good points. to be honest I dont know why Farnell even bothers with
the consumer stuff, their prices are indeed just silly.

I should have written "why not just use Farnell for COMPONENTS"


I have 6 DSE lab supplies (3 x 0-30V 6A, 3 x 3-15V 25A), bought in two
lots when the price dropped to $200

of course its a shame how DSE wouldnt know anti-static if it leapt up
and bit them, has no SMT stuff at all, and by comparison has ~ 0
different parts.

IMHO the biggest problem with DSE (Jaycar too) is you have NO IDEA what
parts you will get. I ran into a problem with an LED last year. the
Jaycar LED I used magically changed shape and efficiency, whilst
retaining the same part number. And nobody could tell me who made it.

if you can get me the peak-pulse-power handling data for a resistor from
DSE, I'll print out a copy of this post and eat it.

I guess I'm in a slightly different position, as I simply pass component
charges on to my customers; I could in theory try and get the cheapest
possible components, but the labour costs dwarf the component costs.


I'll take it as read you will respond with a tirade of filth; save the BW :)

Cheers
Terry

    It sorta depends on what kind of parts you're after. I can often get
everything I need by mail from Rockby Electronics who have a fairly good
range of stuff [http://www.rockby.com.au ] and if I'm not in a big hurry.
    Farnell are good when you absolutely need to have something,
especially industrial/professional parts, *now*.


Rgds
Bob

Hi Bob,

I got my ESR meter in the mail this morning, built it and it works well.
  Its a lot faster than using the HP3577 network analyser, and a hell of
a lot quieter (although the cat wont be able to sleep on top of the ESR
meter). Plus of course I can lift it with one hand ;)

All up, a job well done!


Cheers
Terry

Hi Terry
    Thanks for the good news. I hope you'll find a lot of defective
electrolytics with it down the track.
    I gotta confess that I never considered making it 'cat-friendly'. :)

Cheers
Bob

what would be really handy is something nice and easy that lets me
measure 10 milliOhms max down to 10 microOhms.

I'm doing some transformer windings at the moment that have a DC
resistance of (calculated) 25uOhms. thats a real pain to measure, even
when I stick 100A thru it - which is why I use 1000A, but I have to be
fairly quick about it; although the winding only dissipates 25W or so,
the gear I use to generate the 1kA gets HOT, fast! I might have to
invest in a 6.5 digit keithley voltmeter, but thats a lot of money for
one measurement.

Cheers
Terry

What uncertainty do you want at 25 microhm?
What do you need the measurement for?

MrT.

I'd be happy with 10% (its better than I get now), but 1% would be fabulous.

a good uVolt meter would do the trick, but they are expensive.



so I know the DC resistance. Dont you measure things after you've
designed them, to make sure they (or you) were right?



Cheers
Terry