bd139, I'd like to hear more about the unknown Asian parts you've found that you liked or didn't like and why.
I'm relatively early in the journey. So far we have:
1. No brand MLCC C0G/NP0 caps. Cheapest they have on LCSC. As good as Vishay mono-kap C0G in VFO applications. I managed to get VFO drift of only 18Hz/hour out of them. That is better than the other generic MLCC ones I've used which are supposedly C0G/MP0.
2. HT7550 from Guandong Hottech. I've tried a sample of these (10 off) with stupid loads (long bits of wire with caps on the end, reels of wire with resistors on end) and they are rock solid. I managed to get MCP1700s to oscillate and a TI part I can't remember to do that too. Cheap ones, not a sausage. I checked dropout under varying load conditions, all good. I checked short circuit handling, transients. All good.
3. Cheap resistors. Nothing in them. They just work. Tempco seems about right. If I wave the board over a gas cooker there's little change in resistance even though it toasted my Pomona leads
4. Changzhou Starsea Elec LL4148. £0.0073 each. Tested in switching function and breakdown - seem as good as any other parts.
I have a couple of boxes of parts in flight which I will evaluate.
I bought some LEDs as well. Those were fine but I'm not sure they met the brightness spec but that may be because there's no diffuser.
The point is really this:
1. LCSC: LL4148 x50 = £0.365.
2. RS: £24.00 -
You can pick major brands as well if you need to. I bought some ON semi MMBF4416's for £0.08 each. Same as UK disties but I don't want min quantity 100 off