How do you organize your component bins?

[German_EE]

Through-hole components are stored in value order in plastic boxes divided into 35 compartments. Fifteen years ago I went to the hardware store and bought twenty of them and it was probably one of the best investments I ever made.

SMD components are all stored in two ring binders using 35mm negative holders.

Everything else (stuff too large for the above) is stored in labelled boxes then I use 40cm x 70cm x 12cm plastic delivery trays to keep the boxes in reasonable order.

Rule #1, never throw anything away.

"To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk". Thomas A Edison

[Red Squirrel]

Rule #1, never throw anything away.

So true... there is so much stuff I have thrown away or let get thrown away that I regret now.

Even recently we had 4 32" CRT TVs get thrown away at work, I regret not salvaging the circuit boards at least.  And maybe one or two fly back transformers.   

[nctnico]

You need to be carefull with what you keep. I used to keep way too much so in the last decade I have started to throw a lot of stuff away. The problem is that you can't keep track on what you have so you end up buying new anyway.

[c4757p]

Rule #1, never throw anything away.

For small things, I agree. I always seem to go through a "Why the hell did I keep this? I'm throwing these out!" phase, and then I invariably end up needing something I threw out. I think that for little bits like SMD parts and small PTH, it's likely best to come up with a way of quickly cataloging them so you know what you have, and then just tossing them in a bin. They don't take up much space.

For larger things - I probably won't ever use those couple of 5" video CRTs I've got, or that hard drive controller ISA card, etc etc etc.

[Jeroen3]

Rule #1, never throw anything away.

Follow this stream to see what happens when you follow Rule #1.
https://www.dropcam.com/p/Lvh0CG

Every once in a while you have to break Rule #1, because it will result in an infinitely expanding space requirement.

[German_EE]

I am sticking with rule #1 because the secret is to store your riches after disassembly  in an orderly manner where they can be found. All the switches together, all the connectors together, each sorted by type.

Old TV sets don't stay around too long because they get pulled apart for all of the useful items including large HV capacitors, power transistors and heatsinks, all of which then get filed away. Do I need the rest? Probably not, the uses for a SCART socket are few but I do have four in a box (with four plugs) just in case.

ISA hard drive controllers are handled in the same manner unless you know someone who works with older PCs in which case you may do them a favor. Anyone using the Manhattan method of construction knows what to do with the gold plated fingers on ISA cards as they are just the right pitch for mounting ICs on copper substrate.

Finally, a good example of Rule #1. Years ago I purchased a 20-way switch that moved around using a solenoid and a ratchet, it looked interesting but sat unused for years in the switch and relay box. Last year a fellow ham was building an automatic antenna tuner and he was looking for a way to switch the inductor taps. That switch was sold for twenty times its purchase cost and he still went away happy.

[ataradov]

I don't know if you hear about the Chipseasy

Yes, I've heard. It is garbage.

[all_repair]

I don't know if you hear about the Chipseasy

Yes, I've heard. It is garbage.

Nice, but fit for school kids doing school project.  Not practical for most people.

[ataradov]

Nice, but fit for school kids doing school project.  Not practical for most people.

Not practical for anyone.

I was just trolling the spammer. I've never heard of this thing, but still look like garbage.

[Mattjd]

dawg...those smd bins are $30 a pop on amazon. The price to pay for organization...