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I'm in Toronto, where can I get cheap electronic components?

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dominic_909

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Hey everyone, I just signed up. Where would you guys consider the best place to get electronic parts to be? Am I better off buying online? If so, please let me know your favorite sites. Also, if anyone else lives around Toronto, what stores do you go to?

Thanks a lot everyone. :)
 
I have a place local that is like my own personal playground, huge shop racks and racks and racks full of surplus new and used parts of every type you could imagine.

Shops like that are very uncommon though and may require a lot of hunting to find in your area, you should try to find like minded people in your area and as if they get stuff locally. Aside from that you can get pretty much everything you need online. Search the forums here using Google's advanced search function and limit the results to Electronic Circuits Projects Diagrams Schematics Electronics Circuit Project search for parts suppliers. You should find several threads that have dozens of suggestions. The forums search function is hit or miss, but you can try that as well, I tend to use google because it's much better.
 
I go to Sayal and Active for individual parts, if I need ones and twos of basic items and chemicals. I'm located out East, though.

It's hard if you are just starting out, because you generally don't know the basics of what you are going to need. I've bought so much unusable stuff, it's not funny.

Any brick and mortar store you will be paying way over what you will online and your selection is limited. If you know what you want your best bet is big orders online.

Mouser used to have outstanding shipping prices to Canada, it was like $5, then it went though the roof, and now it's somewhat normal. I don't remember what my last shipping cost was, but it was definitely more than Digikey.

E-Bay for assorted parts bins if you are new and you're not in any hurry to get them.

Otherwise Digikey is the place to go. You just need to have a big enough order to offset the shipping price. Good thing about it, though is it's overnight. Hundreds of resistors for a couple dollars, cheap bulk capacitors, large selection, and you can search for specific odd parts that you need, like low ESR caps, or 0603 270ohm ferrite beads and stuff like that. One issue of Digikey or Mouser though is that there's so much there, if you don't know specifically what you are looking for you are going to be assailed be a huge assortment of stuff you have no idea how to narrow it down.

There was another thread here a while ago about stocking up a starting electronics bench.
 
Sorry to bring up an old thread but I have recently been looking for a particular part and neither sayal or active have such a thing. I prefer to get it locally because it is cheaper and I really only need 1 of them. I am very new to electronics so if there is something you think sayal/active maybe offer that will work then by all means I would appreciate your advice.

What I'm looking for is a 1.8V regulator. I'm following a guide on making this circuit and they have listed the following product on digikey:
MCP1700-1802E/TO

I don't really want to buy from there because I only need 1 and shipping is ridiculous, I've already tried looking on ebay for this but no luck. Also, because of my lack in knowledge of electronics, I prefer to get a fixed regulator unless the variable is very easy to setup.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
An LM317 is adjustable to that voltage with just 2 resistors.
It is good up to 1.5 Amps.

If your current is Less than 100ma, than use an LM317LZ.

You Don't say Where you live, but If your in Canada, I could mail you one for free.

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I have recently been looking for a particular part and neither sayal or active have such a thing. I prefer to get it locally because it is cheaper and I really only need 1 of them. I am very new to electronics so if there is something you think sayal/active maybe offer that will work then by all means I would appreciate your advice.

What I'm looking for is a 1.8V regulator. I'm following a guide on making this circuit and they have listed the following product on digikey:
MCP1700-1802E/TO

I don't really want to buy from there because I only need 1 and shipping is ridiculous, I've already tried looking on ebay for this but no luck. Also, because of my lack in knowledge of electronics, I prefer to get a fixed regulator unless the variable is very easy to setup.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Newark have reduced their shipping cost to Canada.
 

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I agree with bryan, dipmicro is fast and cheap (I used to use them but forgot that I did) -- thanks for the reminder.
 
Thanks for all the help guys! dipmicro seems like a very good source because prices are very cheap (on par with ebay) and shipping is very cheap as well. so far i've bought my stuff from ebay with free shipping but it takes almost a month so i will definitely look at dipmicro next time. unfortunately they don't carry the part i require either.

chemelec: thanks for offering your advice and shipment. i might have a friend that can i can grab some of those from as well that i recently connected with. if not i will definitely let you know. the main problem is that i don't know what the current requirement for my application is because i'm basically just following this online guide for this project, its my first time trying something like this, so i want to stick as close to the guide as possible in terms of parts.
 
Yes, too bad they don't have the greatest selection, but for the most commonly needed parts they are great.
 
I am in Mississauga and there is
www.a1parts.com // surplus store, across from Sherway Gardens, just behind TigerDirect
www.sayal.com // several locations, one is on Matheson Blvd and Dixie
for example.

at the same place (Matheson Blvd and Dixie) there is AAA electronics, RTC electronics and while ago there was Active (gone now)

then there are online stores like Newark, Mouser, Digikey, etc. For variety of other parts or modules check futurelec.com

finally there are companies that manufacture parts, (TI, ST, Microchip etc.) and many will be happy to send occasional free sample.
samples including shipping etc are 100% free from the mentioned ones. others (Analog etc.) provide parts for example but you pay in some degree for shipping or duties.

Active was nice but expensive, could not compete with Sayal. My previous company was just around the corner and we liked convenience of getting things right away. But physical stores can't compete with online retailers when it comes to unit price or selection.
 
For just one piece, why don't you apply free sample from microchip, you gonna receive it in two days.

I have applied a lots of free samples before...
 
Far experienced member audioguru is also from exactly from Toronto and he used to say that he can get each electronics parts in inexpensive rate there. You are lucky and can get everything there in Toronto. I am from opposite part of the world and I just can find some BC547 and some 555 ICs.
finally there are companies that manufacture parts, (TI, ST, Microchip etc.) and many will be happy to send occasional free sample.
samples including shipping etc are 100% free from the mentioned ones.
&
For just one piece, why don't you apply free sample from microchip, you gonna receive it in two days.

I have applied a lots of free samples before...

Will they ship out of America and many times too? I am always too much excited to get even general parts due to lack of availability!
 
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Look here for places in general.

Rumor has it that if you pay DigiKey by check the shipping is free to the US at least. Digi-key generally has to use a box, no matter the size of the part.
 
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