In my quest to organize the large amount of components piling up on my workbench, I’ve gone through dozens of Chinese websites and eBay listings in search of the perfect storage cabinets. What I came across was either perfect but too expensive, or low cost but mediocre quality. Surprisingly I ended up finding what I was looking for at an unlikely place for cheap stuff – Farnell element14.
This mailbag has something for everyone. A nice case for my Arduino Uno R3, new stackable headers for my Raspberry Pi B+, and radio modules for my alarm clock project.
Today’s mail is a pretty mixed bag, which came from several different eBay sellers, consisting of LEDs, SO to DIP adapter boards, tactile switch caps, a distance sensor and a flux pen. I ordered these items during my initial 2-month long buying spree with the primary goal of getting all of the basics, and sampling any interesting sensors and gadgets I came across.
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.
For months my poor Raspberry Pi B+ had to sit on my desk without a case. Naked, slipping around on the glass surface and in danger of being smothered by a layer of dust. No longer! I finally found the perfect case, or as close to perfect as I could get for only $5.
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.
Pluxx's Magitech Golem Parts Emporium 