Good Canadian supplier of breadboards and breadboardable parts?

[dentaku]

The first breadboard I ever bought was inexpensive and is quite bad. It doesn't make good connections anymore.

I'm looking for a Canadian company that sells good quality breadboards and while I'm at it I'd like to get some useful pots and various connectors from the same place.
http://dx.com does seem to have a bunch of the stuff I want but is there anywhere else in Canada that people could recommend?
ASLO: I'm tired of running pots soldered to hookup wire onto breadboards. What kind of pots are good for plugging directly into breadboards sticking straight up? I'd like to order some of those too.

This summer I got this old dirty little breadboard off of an old Digital Experimenter XK 200 made of nice hard plastic and it works very well compared to the soft plastic ones with the black text and red an blue stripes you see everywhere.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/22/aa53.jpg
It looks like a slightly shorter version of this one http://dx.com/p/840-point-solderless-breadboard-118355
Someone recently gave me an old InterTAN (RadioShack) 300 in one electronic lab thing that also has a pretty good round holed (not that round holes are a big deal) breadboard that makes by first el-cheapo board seem ridiculous too.
I see that Alan W2AEW has one of those really nice 3M ones but they seem ridiculously expensive for their size.

[Fsck]

http://www.dipmicro.com/store/ is pretty good. it's where I got my breadboards.

they also have pots that you can plug into the board in a large kit.

[plesa]

I bought following (reasonable price I suppose)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200668490915

[dentaku]

That's actually where I got my cheapo breadboard I'm annoyed at
http://www.dipmicro.com/store/ZY-204

I'm thinking I'm probably going to have to order the bigger stuff from one place (good breadboard, jumper wires, pots) and since I have a few opamps, regulators and such I'd also like to get they will probably need to come from somewhere else.

http://www.dipmicro.com/store/ is pretty good. it's where I got my breadboards.

they also have pots that you can plug into the board in a large kit.

[Fsck]

what's your issue with it?
I'm guessing consistency is a problem with "generic" brands.

[dentaku]

Why not just get them off Digikey or Newark?

Both places charge only 8 bucks for overnight delivery free if you are over 1 or 200 bucks. I think they both snail mail for even cheaper too.

I found some nice 3M breadboards on Digikey a while ago and found they were quite expensive but I've been looking around on the site and see they have a large amount of pots that interest me. The 9mm blue plastic Bourns ones that stick straight up if you plug them into a breadboard look useful but I don't have any way of knowing the qualty.
I guess if I want a reliable breadboard I might as well pay what it's worth. The 3M ACE 309 looks nice http://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/922309/922309-ND/180287

later
Hmmm, they're even cheaper at Newark now that I do some comparison
http://canada.newark.com/bourns/3310y-001-104l/potentiometer-rotary-100kohm-250mw/dp/43K2393

Oh well, I guess it's time to do some comparison shopping.

I mostly mess with oscillators, filters and synthesizer related stuff so pots are important to me I guess

[dentaku]

Yup. It got loose quite fast. The power strips along the sides are especially finicky.

what's your issue with it?
I'm guessing consistency is a problem with "generic" brands.

[Bored@Work]

Yup. It got loose quite fast. The power strips along the sides are especially finicky.

what's your issue with it?
I'm guessing consistency is a problem with "generic" brands.

The thing is, even the good breadboards, like 3M, are in the end just consumables. They don't last forever. They all wear out sooner or later. Later for the good ones.

What kills every breadboard is plugging in too thick stuff. E.g. rectangular 2.54 mm headers are convenient, but too thick. Machined (round pin) headers are better, but are typically not used on modules or other things you want to plug into a breadboard. And even if you plug in only wires, pins, headers of the right size, a breadboard wears out.

This makes it into a strange number game. Does a bunch of cheap breadboards, for the total price of one quality breadboard, last in total longer than that quality breadboard? I don't know. 3M boards being 10 times more expensive than no-names I'd try the no-names. See later posting.

[staxquad]

Abra has Global and K &H breadboards, and more


http://www.abra-electronics.com/categories/Boards/Breadboards%252dGlobal/

[dentaku]

They've got some decent stuff there.
I've already ordered a 3M breadboard from Newark but it's good to know about that store.

Abra has Global and K &H breadboards, and more


http://www.abra-electronics.com/categories/Boards/Breadboards%252dGlobal/

[Prime73]

Sayal Electronics seems to me a decent place to buy electronics parts, etc.

[TimNJ]

Yup. It got loose quite fast. The power strips along the sides are especially finicky.

what's your issue with it?
I'm guessing consistency is a problem with "generic" brands.

The thing is, even the good breadboards, like 3M, are in the end just consumables. They don't last forever. They all wear out sooner or later. Later for the good ones.

What kills every breadboard is plugging in too thick stuff. E.g. rectangular 2.54 mm headers are convenient, but too thick. Machined (round pin) headers are better, but are typically not used on modules or other things you want to plug into a breadboard. And even if you plug in only wires, pins, headers of the right size, a breadboard wears out.

This makes it into a strange number game. Does a bunch of cheap breadboards, for the total price of one quality breadboard, last in total longer than that quality breadboard? I don't know.

I've pondered the same question...I've always like the idea of having a "proper" 3M breadboard but if I can buy 3 breadboards for the cost of 1 3M board, which makes more economical sense?

[Len]

I've pondered the same question...I've always like the idea of having a "proper" 3M breadboard but if I can buy 3 breadboards for the cost of 1 3M board, which makes more economical sense?

Don't forget the frustration factor when you start getting weird failures like this:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/lm339-comparator-will-not-output-on-channel-3-all-other-channels-working/msg358149/#msg358149

I picked up one of these at my local Active store, but I haven't used it enough to know how reliable it is:
http://www.active123.com/MB102-Breadboard-166X54X9mm-830-Holes-Prodview.html

[Bored@Work]

I've always like the idea of having a "proper" 3M breadboard but if I can buy 3 breadboards for the cost of 1 3M board, which makes more economical sense?

I just checked and it is not 3:1.

Digikey is asking USD 122 for a 2700 tie point 3M breadboard. http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/922327/922327-ND/180291  A similar sized one can be had for USD 12 on eBay eBay auction: #360718672522.

That is 10:1. I seriously doubt a 3M breadboard will last 10 times longer. So scratch that 3M stuff. It should make more sense to buy a number of no-name breadboards of different sizes. E.g. a few MB102 boards (the dirt cheap, less than USD 2, Chinese breadboard power supplies typically fit these), a few tiny SYB-46 boards, some larger ones.

[TimNJ]

Sheesh that's quite a bit for a piece of plastic and some spring terminal strips 

You're probably right. I guess it's just a matter of knowing when you should replace your breadboard so you don't  when your circuit doesn't work.

[edavid]

I buy used 3M breadboards on eBay... haven't gotten a bad one yet, in fact they all seem like they were hardly used.

[dentaku]

This one's the most insane price because it's gold
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/923748-I/923748-ND/3861

I've always like the idea of having a "proper" 3M breadboard but if I can buy 3 breadboards for the cost of 1 3M board, which makes more economical sense?

I just checked and it is not 3:1.

Digikey is asking USD 122 for a 2700 tie point 3M breadboard. http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/922327/922327-ND/180291  A similar sized one can be had for USD 12 on eBay eBay auction: #360718672522.

That is 10:1. I seriously doubt a 3M breadboard will last 10 times longer. So scratch that 3M stuff. It should make more sense to buy a number of no-name breadboards of different sizes. E.g. a few MB102 boards (the dirt cheap, less than USD 2, Chinese breadboard power supplies typically fit these), a few tiny SYB-46 boards, some larger ones.

[staxquad]

This one's the most insane price because it's gold
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/923748-I/923748-ND/3861

for higher frequency use

[dentaku]

I just got my shipment yesterday. It's smaller than I imagined but stuff like this always is because product shots are macros.
It's very nice quality and comes with a little bag of very stiff 22AWG wires. I ordered a $5 breadboard from DealExtreme at the same time just to compare.

Sometimes I solder salvaged square header pins onto stranded wires for pots and 9V battery clips and I can tell that it's a bit larger than a 22AWG solid wire in a certain dimension.
I might see if I can figure out an easy way of turning those square pins into octagonal ones so they're not so thick if I try and push them in at a 45 degree angle to orientation to the hole in the breadboard if you get what I mean. The square pins are slightly thicker if you measure the cross section from opposite corners but the 4 sides of the square are pretty much the correct size for breadboarding.

It's ridiculous how many little bags and boxes a shipment from Newark/Element 14 can have.
I got one tiny 9mm pot with a washer and a nut in a ziplock bag between 2 big chunks of foam in a cadrboard box.
I ordered a bunch of little things and every different SKU got it's own little box. I even got 2 TL084 opamps in a tube in a vacuum sealed bag with a moisture reading card and 3 packs of desiccant. The packaging might be worth almost as much as the wholesale price of one opamp

I just get the cheapest one from Newark. They frequently have at least one 3M,GLOBAL or TWIN on sale. I haven't gotten one in a while though. I think I paid about five bucks last time (about a year ago) for a Global one thats 9 bucks now. Newarks prices fluctuate radically something that is ten bucks one day may be 1 buck when you check it the next day.

If you want them to last you really have to watch what you stick in them 22AWG is I think the max most are made for. I don't use them as much as I used too prefering either to make a quick PCB or Vero board. They quickly become a PITA for all but the most basic circuits. I've wasted time troubleshooting circuits on them only to find it's an intermittent connection on the board or something similiar.

[AtypicalRabbit]

Thanks for all this info!
Time to go shopping!

Aside from Sayal, and a few other "salvage/surplus" places I can't find really good local suppliers in Toronto.

[casinada]

I never had problems with dpmicro but only ordered dip to smd adapters.

[nanofrog]

I've always like the idea of having a "proper" 3M breadboard but if I can buy 3 breadboards for the cost of 1 3M board, which makes more economical sense?

I just checked and it is not 3:1.

Digikey is asking USD 122 for a 2700 tie point 3M breadboard. http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/922327/922327-ND/180291  A similar sized one can be had for USD 12 on eBay eBay auction: #360718672522.

That is 10:1. I seriously doubt a 3M breadboard will last 10 times longer. So scratch that 3M stuff. It should make more sense to buy a number of no-name breadboards of different sizes. E.g. a few MB102 boards (the dirt cheap, less than USD 2, Chinese breadboard power supplies typically fit these), a few tiny SYB-46 boards, some larger ones.

FWIW, I've got a 3M board from the '80's that's still working perfectly (ACE 127). Same board you linked, but the metal plate is blue instead of red, and one less binding post. 

That said, I usually recommend Global Specialties over 3M due to the same construction & materials for quite a bit less money. For example, the PB-104 (3060 tie points) comes in between the ACE 327 & 336 for size, and Tequipment.net sells it for $63.00, which is about half the cost of either of the 3M boards.

Global actually manufactures their boards. No experience with their Economy models though (P/N's end in E).

Wisher is another decent brand out of Taiwan from what I've heard.

[tequipment]

I have a below cost closout on some boards
http://www.tequipment.net/IWHBB300.html

get them while we have them.  Decent quality

[pickle9000]

RP isn't too bad, but not always great. It is however a real store.


http://www.rpelectronics.com/