Aiight, help for me and everyone else

[Nostrafus]

Okay, wanted to know if everyone could pull all their resources and help the community get free stuff.

Since some of us like me may not have the spare cash, anyone here got links to places that send free samples, of any kind, copper clads, resistors, caps, fuses, motors, ic's, project boxes, microphones, connectors, standoffs, perfboard, small solar panels, anything that could help our stock levels.

The only catch is it has to be one of the One-time-only ones with no strings attatched (No feedback, no shipping charges, no hidden fees, no phonecalls, none of that) the only places I know of for the IC's I want charge shipping, want a company name, how many more you plan to order, how to contact you, if you want other parts for a reduced fee, if you plan on being a steady customer, want feedback, etc.

All my searches have turned up like that, or they're for stuff like a free wristwatch, plus shipping (And extorted shipping at that... $10 for a watch... a crappy one at that...) or free t-shirts for the electronics company... stuff I don't really need... if the wristwatch I found had no shipping, hells yeah, free battery, send one to me, my brother, my mother, my father, my uncle, my grandmother, maybe I can get 30v of free batteries, but no...

Any help would be appreciated by me and most likely everyone else.

Free stuff is always cool, as long as it has some use.

I'd even do it if it was 1 resistor and I had to wait 4-8 weeks...

 

[sbayeta]

Free sampling is a really good service some companies offer, as it lets you evaluate some products before purchasing. When people abuse of this service just for the fun of receiving free stuff, the companies are compeled to stop the service, and all the people that really beneffits from it loosses.
It's hard to believe that you cannot afford to buy the electronics for your projects when you have access to a computer and an internet connection. All the ICs offered for free sampling are worth a few dollars, so unless you are a homeless person, I'm sure you can afford them.

 

[Nostrafus]

Sure, I could afford a few dollars if I could find the stuff at a local hobby shop or radio shack, but there are none around, and shipping on some of these IC's are outrageous, like 100% of the cost, so if I'm shipping 15 IC's for $2 each, it can get up to like $60-80 if I purchased each of them from different companies (yes I have actually seen $2-5 shipping on a single IC, but I was like... hells no...). And That's about 1/3 of a paycheck for me since I work at a crappy job.

 

[sbayeta]

Get a better job then

 

[Nostrafus]

Can't, job availability in maryland is terrible, no IT jobs in the entire state open expect APG (Aberdeen Proving Ground) and first day they posted they got 500+ applicants with higher qualifications than me, so I'm stuck as a convenience store clerk.

And the population in the area is about 4x the job availability, took me about 30 applications and interviews until I finally got my job, and at this one I make about $5 an hour less than what's needed to get a 1 bedroom apartment with no luxuries.

Yeah, my job sucks.

The only other thing I can think of is to pimp myself out, I've been told I'm worth about $100 an hour.

 

[Nostrafus]

Oh, and before you post "Move..."... I don't have a car... I can't afford insurance on one of those... so I have to get a job that's walking distance from my home, and pays at least $12-$15 an hour to live comfortably around here.

Which there are none.

Basically right now, in order for me to get a 2 bedroom apartment with my fiance and her daughter, I have to sell all my stuff, my comics, my games, my stereo, my weapons, and my electronics stuff. Which I won't do, so I'm continuing to save money for the next 6 months, and hopefully construct some stuff I can sell, so I can afford 4 months rent so I can spend that time looking for a car and a new job.

 

[sbayeta]

Oh, no. I was not going to tell you to move. I was going to suggest you post a picture of your self an go for the pimping thing.

Cheers!!

 

[Roff]

Oh, no. I was not going to tell you to move. I was going to suggest you post a picture of your self an go for the pimping thing.

Cheers!!

LOL!

 

[Nostrafus]

I would, but my fiance would kill me... twice before I hit the ground... one bad thing about having guns in the house is they can be used against you.

 

[stevez]

I use my electronics knowledge in numerous ways including ham radio. There are other "electronics" based hobbies (robotics, radio control, etc). As a result of personal, professional and "hobby" activities I've become aquainted with numerous individuals in the area. My junk box has grown as a result of frugal purchases at ham radio flea markets (hamfests), grabbing discarded equipment and most importantly, stuff given to me by fellow amateurs or hobbyists. The people who give me things are generally the people I've shared my junkbox with. Sometimes people send stuff my way because they know I'll use it - or at least some of it - or because I give things away to others. Like other things in life it's a give and take situation.

So, along with the free samples, networking locally via ham radio, robotics or other electronics intensive groups is a way. Look up hamfests on the ARRL website - there may be some in your area. Now and then you'll run into someone who just wants the stuff he/she has accumulated to go to a good home (a good home being someone who might actually use the stuff) for a very few dollars.

 

[lavenatti]

I spent a lot of time unsoldering parts from junk boards when I started playing with electronics. You'd be surprised what you accumulate. You may not find PIC microcontrollers you can use, but one really old computer full of TTL chips in sockets is a goldmine. You also learn how to recognize a lot of stuff if you pay a little attention while disassembling.

 

[Axe_Murderer]

Microchip.com has free samples. The trouble is that their catalog is so big I can't pick just 5! :lol:

In fact, most IC makers offer some kind of samples on their web sites.