Electronics is a fascinating hobby — but like most hobbies, it often requires parts and tools that can’t always be found at the local Wal-Mart or Target. Here, listed in rough order of preference, are a few of my favorite sources for electronics parts, development boards, modules, and tools, along with a description of the pros and cons of each.
| Sparkfun is pretty much my go-to source for electronics components, except bulk parts. Although their prices aren’t always as rock-bottom as some other sources, they always have a fascinating selection of components at reasonable prices, most of which are fairly well-documented and easy to integrate into projects. Sparkfun caters to electronics hobbyists, and they are deservedly known for their good selection of breakout boards, allowing hobbyists to easily use modern surface-mount components in standard 0.1″ spacing breadboards. In short, they “get” DIY electronics. | ||
| Literally started in her MIT dorm room by electronics guru Limor (“Lady Ada”) Fried, Adafruit Industries is not only a good source for components and dev boards, but an innovator, as well. Limor and her fellow engineers at Adafruit emphasize electronics education and DIY supplies, tools, and tutorials. Their projects and “merit badges” provide a good, fun way to learn more about electronics. | ||
| Digi-Key is more of an industrial electronics supply house than a hobbyist-centric vendor. They’re known for their excellent selection, fast, reliable shipping, decent prices, and good documentation (datasheets and photos) for most parts that they stock. For large orders of industry-standard parts, they tend to be less expensive than hobbyist stores — although the reverse can be true with dev boards etc. If I needed a thousand 555 timer chips in SOIC form factor by tomorrow afternoon, Digi-Key would be where I’d look first. | ||
| Microchip Direct is both my first stop for information on PIC microcontrollers, as well as the best place to get PICs quickly and inexpensively. Their prices are typically even better than their distributors’, and they’re known for their cheap and relatively fast shipping from their factory in Thailand. If you need a couple hundred 12F683s by next week, they can make that happen. They also stock other Microchip products, such as serial EEPROMs. Microchip also has a good sample program, providing sample quantities of many parts for a small handling fee or for free. | ||
| Jameco is a discount electronics parts provider. They tend to have nearly as good a selection as Digi-Key or Mouser, but often with slightly lower prices. In my experience, they offer nearly as fast service as Digi-Key with a good selection. For a large order, they’re one of a few sites I keep in mind for price comparison. It’s not unusual to be able to save a few percent on an order vs. other suppliers, while still remaining confident that your order will be processed correctly and efficiently. | ||
| MPJA is a fun site to browse; it reminds me of shopping at places like Grand Junquetion in Virginia Beach, years ago. MPJA stocks a few basic staples (their prices on 830-hole breadboards and jumper wire kits are outstanding), but apparently specializes in whatever their buyers found a great deal on recently. I’ve picked up toy motor assemblies for a dollar or two, 16×2 LCD displays for a few bucks, and an assortment of interesting, inexpensive tools. What you see on their site is what you get; I shop there periodically to find cool things I didn’t know I needed. | ||
| Years ago, Radio Shack was THE local electronics store, selling their 150-in-one and similar electronics kits as well as cool gear like the PC-6 pocket computer. As a hobbyist store, they basically sat the 1990s and early 2000s out, carrying fewer and fewer parts and tools. Recently, though, they’ve begun to rejoin the DIY electronics movement, carrying better tools as well as Arduinos and electronics project kits. They’re also still just about the only way to get a 2N3904 transistor RIGHT NOW when FedEx Overnight is just too slow. It’s a pity their prices on components are so high. | ||
| Digilent makes interesting, useful, and relatively inexpensive development boards for Xilinx FPGAs as well as various microcontrollers. Some of their innovations, such as their PMOD accessory modules, make prototyping with their boards much easier. In addition to the hardware, Digilent provides example source code for many applications. | ||
| Buying components on eBay is an art form, but the cost savings can be spectacular. Standard components such as LCD text displays can be found at significant discounts. If you need parts in a timely manner, though, you may want to filter by location; parts from suppliers in China can take several weeks to reach the US and clear customs. | ||
| Mouser is another well-regarded electronics industry supply house. Their site is relatively easy to navigate, and once you drill down to the product category you want, they have a good filtering system to help you narrow their selection down to the best part. | ||
| Futurlec is a deep-discount Chinese supplier. They often have impressively low prices on components and tools, including some innovative ones (like an RGB LED array) that you might not see elsewhere. Shipping can take several weeks, though. | ||
| eDooMart often has insanely low prices on components, boards, and tools — for example, Bluetooth OBD-II modules for US$20. As is the case with many Chinese vendors, though, their website is sometimes hard to navigate and shipping to the US can be quite slow, sometimes taking a month or more for products to arrive. For such low prices, though, it can be worth it. |
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of these vendors, except as an occasional customer.
