Mailbag #3: Stackable headers, mini breadboards, tactile switches

Today’s mailbag is slightly out of order. I still haven’t caught up with all the mail I received over the last few months, but it feels wrong to keep the new shipments lying around for so long. I think I’ll just intersperse the pile of waiting mailbags with these newly arrived ones to keep things more current.

This is another mailbag from Tayda Electronics, one of my favorite cheap electronics companies from Thailand. The best thing about Tayda, besides their low prices, is their packing method. Each component type comes in its own labeled plastic bag. All of the smaller bags are combined in a larger plastic bag, and shipped in a padded envelope. My Tayda orders are a great source of spare bags and bubblewrap.

Mailbag #1: Storage box, breadboard, RGB LEDs

For the first few weeks, organizing my components mostly consisted of storing them in separate bags. This works well for larger parts like jumper wires and LCDs. Smaller components require a different approach, or you’ll either end up with shelves filled with piles of plastic bags, each tiny bag containing just a few LEDs or tactile switches, or large bags full of resistors that you’ll have to dig through for 10 minutes whenever you need a specific value.