Electronics > Beginners
Where to buy breadboards and prototype boards ?
KL27x:
You saying Canada doesn't have Digikey, Mouser, Newark, Arrow, ...
Design, buy, build. Buy extra when it is practical, for the price breaks. Stock the leftovers. If you buy stuff because you like to "have the ability to build stuff whenever I want," you are deluded in the time it takes for the design phase.
I have a few solderless breadboards, just for testing stuff I'm not 100% sure off. I wouldn't build anything big or complicated solely on breadboard. If I need 14 breadboards for some project, I'll know when I am undertaking the project. And I think I have a week to kill sorting out other details while the breadboards are being shipped.
You're in a phase. Some people go all out in this phase and amass giant labs filled with raaco drawers of parts. They or their families eventually rid this junk in firesales.
The entire awesomeness of electronics over mechanical machines is the ability to recreate or mass produce insanely complex things rather easily. But if you are hodge-podging things together in a breadboard and protoboard, you will have to debug your own mistakes in order to reproduce them. You shall learn to use CAD to make schematics and PCBs, eventually, and have ERC/DRC checks. You will also change over to SMD components. Or you are simply doing it wrong.
Almost every analog circuit that you might ever "discover" by sitting in a room full of components and randomly plugging them together has already discovered 50 years ago. And it now available in an integrated circuit in 2000 variations.
Don't fall down this rabbit hole. It's a phase.
Kasper:
You're in Canada? So am I. I get custom PCBs in a few days from AP Circuits. I usually order from seeed though and wait 2 weeks so I can get 10 for the cost of 2 from AP Circuits.
Parts from digikey in a couple days with $8 shipping and no surprise duties charges. 1 day if I order before noonish.
I have 1 big bread board and 1 small one. Rarely use either.
If you really want to play around and try various stuff quickly I recommend getting familiar with a simulator (if you aren't already). LT Spice seems pretty popular.
lordvader88:
Mouser/etc in Canada still cost a lot, especially for hobby parts. I can get 1,000 1/4W resistors for $4US on ebay, or $12 +$14 shipping from Mouser. Even if I ordered it all there for free shipping, it's way more expensive.
For quality caps, and real IC's etc, I should get a big order from somewhere legit, I guess it will cost a fortune tho.
KL27x:
--- Quote ---$4US on ebay, or $12 +$14 shipping from Mouser.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote --- I should get a big order
--- End quote ---
Don't micromanage yourself. Consider what it costs in your time and effort to design and test and tune or debug the entire circuit. The shipping charge for this part or that is what your surgical assistant costs. The sooner you get over it, the faster you will learn and grow. You don't know what set of compromises you will ultimately end up settling at when you first start the project.
If you think you are going to save money by buying in bulk, your short term future will be in learning to organize and retrieve stuff. And your long term future will be in deciding when inventory is actually just junk.
Buriedcode:
I tihnk quite a few people have been telling you about "buying parts as and when you need them". The idea of buying up a lot of parts and tools "just in case" will only cost money.
Also you mentioned how cheap breadboards are on aliexpress and ebay - those cheaper ones are frustrating to work with, very difficult to insert component legs making them effectively useless. Unless you're running a college or school I don't know anyone who would require 100 breadboards. Or even 10. There is no reason to leave circuits/ideas on a breadboard when PCB manufacture, and even prototyping boards are so cheap, more rugged and more reliable. (I say, with 3 breadboarded circuits on my desk right now...)
We are spoiled for choice these days, and we can get almost any part qw want within a day or two, so there really isn't much of a need to add more "stuff" to my stock just in case, I already have a huge surplus, so please - order stuff when you know you need it. If you want free shipping from mouser/digikey/newark then create a spreadsheet or list, and as you start projects, add what parts you need to that list. Once the total price goes over the threshold, send the order.
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