Any regulars from the USA order from Arrow ?

[picbits]

I'm after a couple of IC's which Arrow have in stock but would be far easier if someone from the US could order them and pop them in the post for me.

Ta
Dom

 

[Ian Rogers]

Does digikey stock them? I have deliveries now and then from here...

 

[jpanhalt]

I tried to order from Arrow several years ago and found it to be rather difficult, despite the fact that it has a Cleveland branch. If you can give the IC part numbers and volume needed, someone may find them from other US sources that are more small-order friendly.

John

 

[picbits]

Unfortunately it appears not They have them listed but it is a "call for price" so probably a large minimum order.

It is the STA310 decoder IC - discontinued but Arrow have 190 in stock at a reasonable price (I only need two !)

 

[tunedwolf]

There are plenty of good semiconductor distributors on Alibaba/ AliExpress that will do just a couple of devices for reasonable money. I find it's often quicker in terms of general low rate shipping to just bring stuff in from the Far East rather than the US, not to mention usually much cheaper. If you need the devices very quickly, most suppliers also do DHL or EMS etc. Also, these guys usually have a decent stock pool to hand, even for obsolete devices like this one. Pick a supplier with a good reputation that uses escrow and you should have no trouble with the order

 

[House0Fwax]

Good old eBay has them, err, in Hong Kong;
**broken link removed**

 

[picbits]

Indeed but trying to stay away from eBay if possible as there seem to be a few fakes sold by the three people who "stock" the STA310.

I'll use eBay as a last ditch resort but want to try and get one from a reputable supplier first. If you look at the pictures of the STA310's on eBay a couple of them look a bit suspect.

 

[jpanhalt]

eBay can be difficult to deal with, but in the years I have dealt with it, there has only been one instance of fraudulent merchandise (a US seller). eBay refunded my money completely, and I didn't have to return the worthless merchandise. The only thing I lost was a little time getting the right thing. Now, dealing with China can be a slow process, but some items make it to the US in a remarkably short time (like 2 weeks). I don't know whether the prolonged time in shipping affects the ability of eBay to give refunds. That dealer has over 2000 sales.

Called Arrow (1-800-833-3557) and it confirmed 190 units in stock at $8.65 each, minimum 1 (not sure of the package). The sales person said they ship worldwide. Shipping from Reno, Nevada to Cleveland, Ohio and from Cleveland to UK (I assume international will be about $14 to $20) might cost more than direct shipping to you. The agent said there was no minimum. I would recommend getting more than the minimum you need.

Let us know how you want to proceed.

John

 

[picbits]

Thanks for doing that for me John - much appreciated. I'm not in a desperate hurry for the item as it's for making a "wife friendly" AV receiver to go with the new telly - she's not into big remote controls, lots of buttons and a zillion settings. I need to make her a receiver that turns on with the telly, has a loud and quiet setting and that's about it

The problem with ordering directly from the USA to the UK is that if UK Customs spot the package and it is above a certain value you get hit with up to a $30 "handling and VAT fee" which makes ordering small parts like this potentially very expensive.

I might just try the Chinese seller with the chip that looks the most genuine and keep my fingers crossed. Not great amounts of ££/$$ to lose but one of those tricky ones to work out where to buy from. Getting chips wrapped in cellophane instead of antistatic packaging is also very commonplace with Chinese eBay sellers.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Farnell Asia has a few (4?) https://au.element14.com/stmicroele...der-audio-6-2ch-80-tqfp/dp/1842566?Ntt=sta310