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Hey everybody,
I am ordering some parts to start making things with. I already have a good background in electronics and everything, I'm just starting to get serious and actually buy some real things.
I'm wanting to order some of the standard parts such as resistors and capacitors and everything but I don't know which values I should get. Like I know I should get quite a few of 0.1uF caps, but like other values, and different types (electrolytic, etc...) I don't Know.
If anyone could shed some light on the most standard and used values I would greatly appreciate it. I realize that there are probably some times that I will need a special value or whatever, but I'm just looking for the most useful so far.
Also if there's anything else that I've skipped over that I will need, I would be thankful for such information.
Here's what I have so far. Please correct me if any of these are probably not good.
Resistors:
220
470
1K
4.7K
10K
Capacitors:
0.1uF Ceramic (?)
Crystals (for microcontrollers):
?
Anything else?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Pianokid1994
P.S. Is it just me, or does anybody else have the same problem. Whenever I type a post on this forum, once I get to a certain length, the text i'm currently typing goes below the text entry window. Every time I type a character, it jumps back up real fast and then drops below again. I don't know if I have a setting wrong or something...
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Thanks for posting this because I was wondering the same thing.
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Something to add to the list.
Timer 555
OpAmps
LCD
Switches
Voltage regulators: LM7805, LM7812, LM7905, LM7912, LM317
22pF capacitors for the XTAL osc on the microcontroller
LEDs
Electrolitic capacitor: 10uF, 100uF, 22uF, 47uF at least 25 v
Diode 1A
Potentiometers: 5K, 10 K, 50K
well and more.... -
Some electronics stores sell 'grab bags' of common components. It's not a bad idea getting some of these, just to have every 5% resistor value on hand. Same goes for ceramic and electrolytic capacitors. eBay is a good place to find these at very low prices. Values like 10nF and 100nF ceramics, and 10uF tantalums are handy and never go out of style.
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There's a few good threads somewhere, try searching for 'jelly bean' and see what pops up.
Knowledge of the E series system will help you understand why resistors and caps have the value spreads they do. Sometimes you can find kits of a full series, though they tend to be expensive.
I always recommend salvaging parts from old electronics if you have the time. I find it relaxing and a great way to stock up, but many folks would rather spend their time building than destroying. It's good practice desoldering though.
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I always recommend salvaging parts from old electronics if you have the time. I find it relaxing and a great way to stock up, but many folks would rather spend their time building than destroying. It's good practice desoldering though.
++ to salvaging parts. It's fun and can be a good source of components and ideas, although how much 'useful' stuff you get will vary by device.
I usually desolder with a heat gun as it goes many times faster.
Still, new resistors/caps with full leads are much easier to work (especially breadboard) with. I just buy kits off ebay as well.
Other stuff:
transistors
relays
battery holders
0.1" Headers/connectors (get some single rows, i never have the damn things when i need to connect an lcd)
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Resistors and capacitors are made in a standard set of preferred values.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferred_number#E_series:_Capacitors_and_resistors
99% of all resistor values used in circuits are E24 values, which are within 5% of the desired value and is near enough for most applications.
If you buy a set of E12 values from 10R to 1M you will have the most common values.
Vellemen sell such a kit which is available from my local supplier.
http://www.velleman.eu/distributor/products/view/?id=350890
http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/Resistors-Potentiometer/Carbon-Film-Resistors/E12-Series-610-piece-carbon-film-resistor-kit/74262
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it depends on what your going to do, some resistor and capacitor kits will get you started, as for active parts it depends on what your going to to
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I don't know that I would start out buy buying a ton of parts.
I would suggest you find three or four projects that you'd like to build and then get those parts, but buy extras!
Unless it's an expensive part, I usually order the first price break level of anything. Electrolytic caps might be 25 pieces, Resistors might be 50 or 100. Voltage regs, transistors might be 5 or 10. Build your stock based on what you want to build. At any rate they are cheap and you're already paying shipping. Also when you're placing an order, you might throw in some more common values of things to round out your stock.
Trust me ... before you know it you'll be studying the "storage solutions" thread on the forum.
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I don't have too much experience in building my own projects yet but from what I've learned:
try and get the E12/E24 series resistor values - full spectrum (i.e. 1ohm - 10Mohms)
stock up on basic npn transistors - 100 of BC547 here
don't get carried away with those cristalls - microcontrollers aren't cheap so why bother to level up a project's cost? Plus the internal oscillators (1MHz for avr dunno about PIC) will suit most of a beginners needs
try and get a few basic op-amps - I think the TL07X or TL08X series could be good.
a few LEDs will be a good idea - they're the basic way of communication between the user and the circuit
someone before mentioned stabilizers like the LM7805 etc - get a few of each type (imo 7805 are most common - most micros and TTL devices work on this voltage)
don't stock up on electrolytic caps - they may dry over time and the operating voltage differs much (no use of a 25 volt cap when powering a 40 volt audio amp)
also don't stock on integrated circuits like TTL's and CMOS - they're not always used and there are many ways to solve problems using different chips
If you're into microcontrollers try and hunt for some good prices every now and then. Atmel tend to run short of their supplies which causes the prices to go through the roof (again I don't know anything about PICs)
maybe stock up on micro switches/tact switches - I tend to use them very often and run short every time i start a project. (about 50-100 will do for a longer period)
hope i helped a bit
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don't get carried away with those cristalls - microcontrollers are
Corrected.n'tcheap so why bother to level up a project's cost? Plus the internal oscillators (1MHz for avr dunno about PIC) will suit most of a beginners needsQuotedon't stock up on electrolytic caps - they may dry over time and the operating voltage differs much (no use of a 25 volt cap when powering a 40 volt audio amp)
I've heard about this but I've never experienced it myself with capacitors in storage, only in service.
In short I disagree, it's always good to have a supply of the most commonly used electrolytic capacitors and as far as working voltage is concerned: you can always use a higher voltage rated capacitor at a lower voltage i.e. a 50V capacitor in a 12V application.
It's probably a good idea to at least keep all the decade values from 1µF to 1000µF, possibly even 10,000µF if you build high current power supplies. If you have the E3 values from 1µF to 10,000µF you'll be covered for 90% of cases, the E6 series will cover you for 99% of cases. For the smaller capacitors (?100µF), there's no need to get any voltage under 50V because they're so cheap, for the larger capacitors you might be constrained to lower voltages due to budget limitations but it depends on what you're doing, it's better to get more expensive components, as and when you need them anyway.Quotealso don't stock on integrated circuits like TTL's and CMOS - they're not always used and there are many ways to solve problems using different chips
True to some extent but I've found some basic logic gates to be very handy, although I agree it's questionable whether one should want loads of them in their inventory.
CMOS and HC quad NAND/NOR/NOT gates i.e. CD4001/4011/4069 and 74HC00/02/08 have numerous uses from oscillators and timers to even linear amplifiers/analogue comparators and are certainly more useful than crappy components such as the 555 timer or 741 op-amp, I know you didn't suggest these but many people do.
Other useful CMOS ICs include:
CD4013, 74HC74 - dual flip-flop, useful for building timers, oscillators and a basic on-off switch.
74HC14 - hex Schmitt trigger inverter, useful for oscillator/timers and de-bouncing switches.
74HC/CD4017 - a decade counter with 10 decoded outputs: can be used for multiplexing switches/displays with an MCU - have 10 switches connected to just three MCU pins!
CD4007 - some MOSFETs, nothing great but they're all on the same IC which means they're matched which can be useful for analogue applications.
74HC/CD4046 - a cheap phase-lock-loop which can be used as a tone detector (better than the NE567) .
Analogue switches and multiplexers:
CD/74HC4066 - a cheap analogue switch, the 74HC version has a lower maximum operating voltage but much lower resistance, useful for switching components in and out of feedback loops.
CD/74HC4067 - a cheap analogue multiplexer.
CD/74HC4097 - as above but differential.
I'd also recommend some comparator ICs, although they're integrated into MCUS nowadays, they're still useful for simple circuits where an MCU isn't worth it.
LM311 - a single comparator with am output capable of driving up to 50mA meaning it can directly drive a small relay.
LM393 - a dual comparator.
LM339 - a quad version of the above.
Single supply op-amps:
LM324 quad
LM358 dual
I know they're better ICs than the above but they're cheap/easy to get hold of and are still useful. -
Hero999 the correction you've made isn't valid for Poland - Atmel had a problem with continuous supply of their chips so the prices in my local electronics stores have doubled. Big players like Farnell also have high prices atm
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prices for MCU's will vary and will be more expensive than old fashioned IC's you can get a 555 timer cheaper than the 12F pics like the 609, 615, 675 and others and stuff like comparators are much cheaper than MCU's of course if you use an MCU to replace a whole load of circuitry yea it's cheaper but then thats not building up a stock of generic parts as you just replaced them all with an MCU
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Hero999 the correction you've made isn't valid for Poland - Atmel had a problem with continuous supply of their chips so the prices in my local electronics stores have doubled.
Simple, go with Microchip, their parts still seem to be reasonably priced, the cheapest MCU I could find the 12F508 which is what one would use to emulate a few 555s or logic gate ICs and costs just 57p from Farnel. Big players like Farnell also have high prices atm
http://uk.farnell.com/microchip/pic12f508-i-p/8bit-flash-mcu-12f508-dip8/dp/1123006prices for MCU's will vary and will be more expensive than old fashioned IC's you can get a 555 timer cheaper than the 12F pics like the 609, 615, 675 and others and stuff like comparators are much cheaper than MCU's of course if you use an MCU to replace a whole load of circuitry yea it's cheaper but then thats not building up a stock of generic parts as you just replaced them all with an MCU
I suppose MCUs have other disadvantages such as the maximum supply voltage of only 5.5V and limited output drive which means other components such as voltage regulators and driver transistors are often necessary.
Nevertheless isn't it still more convenient to have a stock of more generic parts rather than many different parts?