General > General Technical Chat
Is Electronics Worth It Any More?
Zero999:
--- Quote from: Wilksey on March 29, 2022, 11:34:59 am ---I do wonder if it will ever get back on track again or if something else will come along and cause more hassle, when I was in college many moons back I had to design a small amplifier board for my final project, no idea what you have to design now maybe it is free choice, but the company I work for is having a hard time getting PICs and AVRs lead times on some parts are over a year with customers wanting their devices by mid April, it is almost a case of design around the parts you can get and buy everything you can whilst available, but long standing legacy products that are still being built are up the creak without a paddle.
And as I have said in my original post the cost of components have astronomically grown in a few years, just makes hobby stuff and low volume in most cases unviable, at least with a decent margin on. A 2x16 LCD that I used to buy was £3 odd postage included, now the cheapest I can get the same display is £12.99 + £2 postage, it's cheaper to buy a "module" from China and get the LCD than it is to buy an LCD, whilst this has been true for some parts in the past (MAX LED driver) it has never been the case for LCDs (not for me anyway).
--- End quote ---
You must be joking. Parts are much cheaper than when I started 30 years ago. I remember seeing red LEDs for £1 for a packet of 2, plain old BJTs for £0.79 each, jellybean ICs such as the 555 timer or 741 for £1 each, electret microphone capsules for £2.50 each, at my local Tandy. Nowadays I can buy red LEDs for £0.32 each, a 555 for £0.43 each, even from RS Components. They're cheaper in larger quantities, even less from ebay.
themadhippy:
--- Quote ---at my local Tandy.
--- End quote ---
Tandys were never the cheapest,for a better idea of prices the old back issues of electronic mags give you a better idea,for example in march 1991 (https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Everyday-Electronics/90s/Everyday-Electronics-1991-03-S-OCR.pdf) you could get 12 leds,15 BC182 or 5 555s for a £1
--- Quote --- A 2x16 LCD that I used to buy was £3 odd postage included, now the cheapest I can get the same display is £12.99 + £2 postage
--- End quote ---
Unless it has something special theres still a fair few 16 x 2 lcd displays for under a fiver,even cpc have a few to chose from.
madires:
Let's check current prices. 2x16 text LCD at local online shop: 9 bucks, AliExpress: 2 bucks. A few years ago the cheapest one at the local online shop was 7 bucks or so.
Zero999:
--- Quote from: themadhippy on March 29, 2022, 01:18:08 pm ---
--- Quote ---at my local Tandy.
--- End quote ---
Tandys were never the cheapest,for a better idea of prices the old back issues of electronic mags give you a better idea,for example in march 1991 (https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Everyday-Electronics/90s/Everyday-Electronics-1991-03-S-OCR.pdf) you could get 12 leds,15 BC182 or 5 555s for a £1.
--- End quote ---
I was 8 when I started, so Tandy was the only place to go.
RS aren't the cheapest and it's still often cheaper than the prices listed in that magazine, given inflation.
Wilksey:
--- Quote from: madires on March 29, 2022, 02:16:46 pm ---Let's check current prices. 2x16 text LCD at local online shop: 9 bucks, AliExpress: 2 bucks. A few years ago the cheapest one at the local online shop was 7 bucks or so.
--- End quote ---
I was referring to the exact same LCD as sold, that was the current price.
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