From no parts to decent stockpile, best approach?

[rx8pilot]

I 3D print most of my storage boxes, but i have found floppy disk boxes and recipe card boxes from goodwill useful as well.

I'm a huge fan of cardboard bin boxes.  Available from any warehouse supply/shipping company for little money.  Available in standard sizes, fit easily onto cheap shelving, and a big flat surface to put labels or just write on.

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I have many hundreds of those keeping my mini-factory organized. Very low cost. Very effective.

[Fredled]

Isn't actually the worst thing in piling up tons of compenents the fact, that whenever you have an idea and want start from the scratch a new project, you realize, that this is missing and that is missing
.....

It simply never ends

Always buy your components as you go. 90% of projects can be done with only five different values of resistor and  three different values of capacitors. If you need something special, just buy it. Then you get exactely what you need.
Yet, it's a good idea to buy by 100 (or at least by 10 for expensive stuffs) because you tend to use the same things again and again. But there is no "to have" list because each developer has its own needs.

One time I bought 500 THT leds on aliexpress  for $3 or something, just to realize that I will use only SMD leds...

It's impossible to start a new project and already have everything in your drawers. But it's very easy to fill them with things you never use.

[enjoy.cowboy]

It's impossible to start a new project and already have everything in your drawers. But it's very easy to fill them with things you never use.

Obviously you cant have everything, unless you set up shop in a digikey warehouse. But you can more or less cover your bases: Signal transistors (bjt and fet), power transistors, e24 1/4W resistors and capacitors, lots of wires, a handful of opamps and a handful of 74 series chips, some 555s, a big hammer, some jellybean regulators (7805s, LM317s), fast diodes (1n4148 and the like) and bulky diodes (1n4001). This ought to get you started at least to the point you realize you need something specific.

[revscott]

A recent change in my life has made it impossible for me to keep my electronics hobby going (also my cigar box guitar hobby). Therefore, I'm getting rid of my stuff. I'm not looking for money for the stuff, I just want it to go to a good home. The stuff I have isn't the greatest, but it's too good to just throw out. Below is a general list of things I'm getting rid of. If you are interested I can send images. If you pay postage it's yours. Items: Wooden project boxes, tin boxes (various sizes and shapes), cigar boxes, metal enclosures (used), a few motors of various kinds, a few transformers, various computer fans, lots and lots of speakers (tiny to large) a few vintage table radios, a few vintage car radios, a variac, a few variable power supplies, power supplies from used equipment, a vintage metal detector, meters/multimeters, magnets, lenses, cables, a BUNCH of electronic components (new/used), a few electronic books, capacitance substitution box, resistance substation box, tube oscilloscope, through-hole boards for harvesting components, wire, and some hand tools. Email me if you are interested in any of this. I'm boxing things up these next few weeks. I'm serious, it's all free, but I can't afford to pay shipping.

[Teno]

I'm facing the same issue, Argentina economy forced me to live in a single room apartment, and I'm moving my electronics, in boxes, to a place to rest, until new notice.
I hate this.
Cheers.

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

About storage of parts...

If you expect lots of small parts some people store them in loose leaf binders. You can buy the sheets with pockets on e bay.
But the Significant Other has a better suggestion:
Get some plastic sheet protectors and a We R Memory Keepers FUSE kit.
This is a scrapbook company. The Fuse tips are rotary tips that function like a cutter or welder on a solder gun like handle.  Look it up on Google, Plenty of videos. You can make all sorts of different size pockets for SMD type parts. You can make the pockets bit enough to contain a readable label. You can have several binders on a shelf, like an encyclopedia of parts. You can make the sleeve fit the part you have.
This is nice for small parts. Especially a length of SMD parts in their tape.
I actually just ordered the roller tips and used a  machine tool tap to fit them to an adjustable soldering iron.
For larger thru hole parts I like old card file boxes with the same size envelopes instead of cards..

If you try to get plastic bin type boxes they will eventually force you out of your house...I already have too many....
Advice from others here is good about just getting a assortment of resistors and caps to start with.. however I do not know if you need SMD or thru hole parts
Wally KC9INK

[rvalente]

For 1206 and 0805 (i do not use 0603 for prototypes) i find the strips a pain, so I store them in a 3 or 5ml eppendorf tube, label and sorted every decade in a parts box. Very simple and easy.

[dbctronic]

Tayda:

Yup, I've ordered from Tayda several times and have always been happy, except for the time I tried to find a working XR2206 waveform generator (**DON'T BUY THEM ANYWHERE!! All the ones left are defective Chinese knockoffs with a totally garbage sine wave output! This includes those little WFG kits with the bright red circuit board!***). But I bought them from several other places and they were all bad. Oh well, nobody's perfect...
Yeah-- 1% resistors for 1-2 cents, gobs of caps for 1-5 cents, multipole rotary switches for an incredible 89 cents, superbright LEDs for pennies, pots, semiconductors... That's where I got my jellybean inventory going when I got back into electronics.

Jameco:

One step up from jellybean stock is stuff for semipermanent assembly and making custom shop equipment. For that, Jameco has a couple of hundred types of power supplies for US$ 2-15, which I will be ordering soon for a few immediate projects plus future ones. They are SMPS with maybe 100-200mV ripple, so output filter caps (Tayda - 10,000 uF 16V - US$ 0.49) are a good grab too. I'm getting the Jameco 5V 10A supply (US$ 14.30) for an adjustable constant current source. Rectifiers, filter caps, and LDO regulators are all easy to get, but I'm getting sick of shopping/scrounging for stepdown transformers!!

Mouser:

Mouser is the first place I look when something I want is discontinued at DIGIKEY-1-ND. They seem to hang onto some stuff a little longer, and have a far larger inventory than the hobby/surplus places like Tayda, who have what they can get their hands on. Just wish they'd replace their gibberish part numbering system!! 

[Codealot]

What ICs would you suggest for an average hobbyist? My current list includes the following: amps, timers, opamps, oscillators, voltage regulators, boolean logic.
Anything you'd suggest to add?

[dbctronic]

It sounds like you have some idea what jellybean parts to start with. As many others have said here (and I agree), there's no better way to find out what to buy than to get yourself thoroughly stuck in a circuit design or modification problem, and buy stuff that you think will help you prototype, test, and make that circuit. Whether you are designing from scratch or adapting circuit designs you find online, let wise shopping be your guide. It really works, if you make a science of it.

Need a cheap, accurate frequency to voltage converter? The NJM4151 works... up to 10 kHz. Hmmm... a CD4024 binary ripple counter can reduce 800 kHz down to 6.25 kHz. Another one, or a dual flipflop, extends that range up to a few MHz. You might end up making yourself a little frequency divider on a piece of protoboard and keep it handy for similar projects, so buy several. That reminds me... getting low on 1 uF supply bypass capacitors... Need a MAX038 waveform generator? Oh, sorry, no longer available except on scary eBay... Update that shopping list.

Solving your problem causes you to go parts shopping. The big distributors make it as easy as it can be to shop for parts, discover new ones you didn't know existed, and most importantly,see what's currently available and what has become obsolete! This process makes many valuable additions to your shopping list, as well as deletions. And of course, keep track of the total order cost. That makes you think very hard about what to buy, which forces you to investigate several solutions to the original problem. When posting questions on this forum, you will make interesting posts that get responses. Your shopping list will make you find those solution ideas.

Download datasheets for every part you are interested in. Your next project design will have fewer nasty surprises. There is just too much to read, and wise shopping helps you focus on which component parameters you need to learn next. Your next round of jellybean part shopping will be well tailored to your needs.

Happy wise shopping!

[madires]

What ICs would you suggest for an average hobbyist? My current list includes the following: amps, timers, opamps, oscillators, voltage regulators, boolean logic.

Just NE555, a few jelly bean OPamps and some LM78xx/79xx. Any other IC only when needed. Otherwise you'd waste money on ICs which you never will use possibly.

[eugenenine]

What ICs would you suggest for an average hobbyist? My current list includes the following: amps, timers, opamps, oscillators, voltage regulators, boolean logic.
Anything you'd suggest to add?

depends on what you want to do?  Analog, digital, microprocessor, robotics, etc

[Codealot]

depends on what you want to do?  Analog, digital, microprocessor, robotics, etc

Mostly interested in robots and FPGA.

[Codealot]

but I'm getting sick of shopping/scrounging for stepdown transformers!!

What about these ones? https://www.amazon.com/LM2596-Converter-3-0-40V-1-5-35V-Supply/dp/B07RT95J4Q/

[eugenenine]

depends on what you want to do?  Analog, digital, microprocessor, robotics, etc

Mostly interested in robots and FPGA.

So you might not need any amps, timers, opamps, oscillators from your list.  You may want to focus more on microcontrollers, motor drivers, etc

[wizard69]

depends on what you want to do?  Analog, digital, microprocessor, robotics, etc

Mostly interested in robots and FPGA.

Don't buy anything IC wise, until you have a project to pursue.   The only other thing worth buying, without a specific project at hand, is a microprocessor, possibly a development board, to learn programming on.   When getting started it is very easy to waste money on things with little immediate use.   You can easily blow enough money on IC's to buy a very good multimeter and  then not use them (at least not right away).

Discretes are a bit different in my opinion.   Resistors, diodes, capacitors, and such are not bad to have in bulk as long as they are in common values.   Even here you have to be careful as capacitors will age and can be expensive if you don't need them.   So look to caps commonly used for bypass and in the more reliable types.

[wizard69]

A short introduction:  I'm involved in various hobbies from wood working, to machining, to electronics and over the years have developed some opinions on "parts".   This prompted me to respond to the original posters question/subject.   So here it is:

Don't waste your money on building up a stockpile right at the beginning, it just wastes money!   Buy stuff to get started of course, and buy in reasonable quantities.  However don't shell out money for expensive parts you don't have an immediate need for.   Blowing ones budget on parts with which you have no immediate need is just foolish.   Eventually the stockpile comes leading to the next issue.

The second bit of advice and frankly this is learned the hard way, is to have a way to organize parts and specialty items.   Actually you will need multiple "ways" due to the variety one might find in a home shop.   Many of those ways have already been mentioned in this thread so  no point in rehashing.   But maybe what hasn't been covered well is labeling.  Parts storage is no good if you can't find the parts or put them back properly.    At the very least come up with a consistent way to label your bins/boxes/sleeves/jars or whatever you are using.   This is frankly not something easy for my particular personality but in the end you end up with such a stockpile that you can't find things otherwise.

Third for the truly organized consider and inventory system for your PC.   Yes this might seem excessive to some but it can be helpful, especially if your stockpile takes up a good portion of a wall.   You probably need a bit of OCD to go this route though.    The only good thing here is that such software these days isn't especially difficult.

When at all possible consider alternative avenues for getting materials and parts.   Auctions are in fact a good source of goods as is salvage, and the used market.   Paying market rates for one hobbies is sometimes very hard on the wallet.   Sadly finding stores selling surplus electronics is getting harder and harder but do look for these.

[ekchatzi]

I have made this mistake multiple times. There is no reason to buy any components unless you need them. Most of the time, the components just sit in a drawer and do nothing.

That being said, having some basic components doesn't hurt.
You can get some "collections"from Aliexpress (leds, resistor assortments, capacitor assortments, transistors, etc) in reasonable quantities for cheap prices

For anything else, you can use Mouser or Digikey . As long as you spend more than 50$ per order, there is free shipping (In Greece, for Mouser you don't have to pay customs). So you can "batch" order components. Keep a list of components somewhere, and as soon as you get 50$ worth of things, make an order.

Also, super important. NEVER buy one of anything (unless too expensive, dev kits etc). A lot of things can go wrong, which means you will need another part, or you want to use the part again in a new project. since you've used it before somewhere else

[eugenenine]

I don't bother with the allexpress or ebay stuff.  for on thing you run a higher chance of fake or crap parts, but two I use assortments to add to mouser/digikey orders to make them worthwhile, they have plenty of assortment kits or you can just add 100qty of .1uF caps or 1k resistors or some LED's or something else commonly used.

[wizard69]

I have made this mistake multiple times. There is no reason to buy any components unless you need them. Most of the time, the components just sit in a drawer and do nothing.

Generally good advice

That being said, having some basic components doesn't hurt.
You can get some "collections"from Aliexpress (leds, resistor assortments, capacitor assortments, transistors, etc) in reasonable quantities for cheap prices

This can be likened to supporting a machine shop.  It pays to buy a complete set of drill bits and likewise buying a set of resistors really doesn't hurt.   Similarly you don't buy specialized cutters until you need them.

The only time one should buy random bulk is if you are at an auction and have an opportunity to buy at ridiculously low cost.   This does happen from time to time.   So if you have the opportunity always take in local going out of business auctions.

For anything else, you can use Mouser or Digikey . As long as you spend more than 50$ per order, there is free shipping (In Greece, for Mouser you don't have to pay customs). So you can "batch" order components. Keep a list of components somewhere, and as soon as you get 50$ worth of things, make an order.

Also, super important. NEVER buy one of anything (unless too expensive, dev kits etc). A lot of things can go wrong, which means you will need another part, or you want to use the part again in a new project. since you've used it before somewhere else

The trick here i knowing how many more than one to buy.   Do you buy 10 or 100 or 1000, the answer comes with experience.   It would be helpful though for a beginner to know how many resistors to buy in lots of 100 or 1000 and when not to bother.   As some one above stated there are a few very common sizes to consider when it comes to resistors and capacitors.

[boffin]

If you're wanting to get an initial stock, for hobbyist type stuff, the inexpensive kits on Aliexpress/ebay/etc are an OK starting point.  If you're worried about quality, you can buy from a legit Chinese distributer like LCSC.
For example, in small quantities, a resistor is about half a cent each US, in relatively small quantities (50s)
https://lcsc.com/product-detail/Carbon-Film-Resistors_CCO-Chian-Chia-Elec-CF1-4W-1KR-5-T52_C120055.html

Buying 50 ea  of 100R, 220R,  470R, 1k, 2k2, 4k7, 10k, 22k, 47k, 100k, 220k, 470k is going to set you back all of $3

As a starter hobbiest I would recommend
ceramic caps, unless you're doing RF stuff, you probably won't go lower values
50x 0.1uf, 
10x: 0.01, 0.022, 0.047

electrolytic caps (@25V, no point in going lower)
10x: 1uF, 2.2uF, 4.7uF, 10uF, 22uF, 47uF, 100uF, 220uF, 470uF, 1000uF

transistors:
10x: 2N3904s and 3906s (or 4401 / 4403)  (maybe more of the NPN)
10x: 2N7000 MOSFET
5x: IRLB 8721 MOSFET


I don't know what the total of all that would be on LCSC, but I'm guessing $20-30 tops.

[Codealot]

By the way, I got this assortment kit for the starters: https://www.amazon.com/Interstellar-Electronic-Assortment-Transistors-Potentiometer/dp/B07D1HVZ15
Do you think I wasted my money?

[wizard69]

By the way, I got this assortment kit for the starters: https://www.amazon.com/Interstellar-Electronic-Assortment-Transistors-Potentiometer/dp/B07D1HVZ15
Do you think I wasted my money?

Wasted Money, that is for you to determine.   The good thing about this kit is that they give you counts of individual sizes of resistors.   That is the good thing, the bad thing is that some of those may not be used for a long time.   Like all things it depends upon where you interests goes.

So while it isn't a bad kit, I would have preferred a kit that was a little heavy in resistors used for biasing diodes and such.   

As for being worth you money, i think the simple answer here is could you buy all of this for less?   Most likely yes because it costs money to create the kits.   Sometimes it is worth it to do so to avoid the hassle of DIY.

[dbctronic]

This thread has picked up some good posts since I was last on.

If you think you will be cobbling up circuits that require precision component values, for example to make fairly accurate oscillators, get some more of the low end resistor values (say, 10 to 470 ohm). Put these in series with nominal value resistors to make precise values, which is called hand synthesis. You may also want to get some more low value capacitors to put in parallel with nominal value units, but it's not as easy to determine what values to use unless you have a capacitance meter, or the ability to measure a circuit's output and you just find trimming caps by trial and error.
For further precision, I also recommend a cheap or freeware 2D CAD program for making project front panel artwork that includes custom calibrated scales for potentiometers. With these two techniques, I can get 1% accuracy using standard cheapo pots. Start with a scale that reads from 0 to 100, and mark it with desired final markings by experimenting with the pot. Redo the scale artwork to match what you get.

[Codealot]

As for being worth you money, i think the simple answer here is could you buy all of this for less?   Most likely yes because it costs money to create the kits.

Not sure about that. It seems that some parts cost much more on DK or Mouser than in kits or on Ali, probably because of very high margin.