Need a list of places to get electrical components,other than online!!!

Itc Electronic and Tehnotrinik and Sprint... But that's in my countrie, which is on the other side if the world comparing to America... :)

I have the exact same problem most of what I have are from things people throw out ,old tv's A track players once ,also I go to a second hand store and buy electronic devices and get the parts out of them that is mostly the cheap way of getting parts ,but the catch is not all the parts are useful some ic's have "house" numbers or are just to old to look up for there data sheets resistors are always good easy to test & they are practically everywhere capacitors are a different matter some ceramic caps have 3 num on them and I have no idea what they mean ,the voltage is easy though. The internet well for me I have no other choice there are no radio shack in canada anymore and they hardly have anything beyond basics wire zip ties ect. So I have been ordering from goldmine it is very inexpensive but I still have to pay 20 for shipping but I can get a lot for very little the other place is parts-express.com a little more expensive but for a spcific item it's is not bad but I pay duty on everything I order no matter where (there both in the US ) (so much for free trade !) ,the nice thing about parts express is the discount you can get if you order a perticular amount well I like them any way for that. + there heat shrink kit is 3 times cheaper then 5 4" peaces for 2.89 cnd (canadian tire i think it is only in canada ) I hoe this helps you. & if you wish to make things easy on your self get one of those credit cards that only alows you to spend what you have put into the card and try not to make really large orders ,I personally keep it around 44 + or - this way your losses will be small but the ones i named are really good!

I wish I could help. I truly do. When I was little, the Tandy stores had parts and staff who could actually answer design questions with more than a blank look. Radio shack, too. There was a chain store called "Lexington" something. You could walk into any of those places and tell them what you were trying to make and they could help you pick out parts based on what you already had on hand. Hehhe.. They used slide rules, too, to do the calculations working from formula crib sheets. I feel sorry for anyone wanting get started in DIY/experimental electronics. Looks like you picked the wrong century to take it up. Look in the yellow pages under the sections for salvage, liquidators, and scrap. You might not get new parts, but you might score some good components or bulk parts leftover from store closings or leftovers from manufacturing runs.

The BEST place in the world for anyone who loves this site is www. sciplus.com !!! They have a mailorder catalog too; American Science and Surplus phone (888)724-7587 They have stores in Chicago and Milwaukee. I've done business with them for over 20 years and they are great, honest and CHEAP. Here's some teasers:aircraft cable,$3/15ft, desktop Wimhurst generators and Tesla coils, radiation meters, lab equipment,rare earth magnets,LEDs, motors,odd gears, electronic 'take-outs',tools, medical equipment,and just plain weird stuff like housefly powered paper airplanes. You will be hooked,BEWARE!!

transistor,capacitors, etc

Most of the time you find componants like these at little local Electronics stores. Where I lived, there was one besides RS, and they went out of business.

I know how you feel though, because even the local RS doesn't carry a 4049 hex inverter anymore.....and I NEED one real soon. I hate to overnight a $1 part paying another $5-8 for shipping *sigh*

You can go to the dump and pick up some waste electronic devices and take it home. Then pull it all apart then you got a lot of free electronic parts! Does that help?

I'd help if you gave a location... its hard to find local stores without your location :P

Honestly, I have ordered most of my components from catalogs (extending back before "the web" :-)
Places like Jameco
or
Digikey
were my main suppliers. Also got a lot of things from Mouser again, from catalogs, pre-web and during the infamous "bulletin board" era :-) I still occasionally get their catalogs in the mail

Does "other than online" also eliminate "mail order"? Many of the online sellers originated as mail order dealers, and will still be happy to accept your paper order and check in an envelope, sent my snail mail... I don't think there has been an "acceptable" "local" store for electronics parts since the explosion in the variety of them. Even when I was a kid, the "local" parts dealer was a 45-minute drive away, rather expensive, and didn't have a lot of "modern" electronics. If you live in an area where there is a lot of high-tech industry, you MIGHT be able to find a surplus dealer that has a good selection of stuff (so check in the YP under "surplus" as well as "electronics" :-) But even with a high-tech industrial base, that doesn't mean there are local component suppliers; most assembly happens by getting distributers (like digikey, arrow, etc) to "kit" the needed parts and send them directly to the place that does the assembly, which might be the company itself, or might be ... china.

When you ask for stores in your area, it generally helps to mention where you live. But good luck, since these items are low & sparratic demand, its not exactly a business is going into ;-)

y do you need to go in?

. Try The Yellow Pages (print or online) under Electric and/or Electronic. . Radio/TV/stereo repair shops. They may sell you parts (or give you some scrap equipment). Probably know the places around you that sell parts. . Ask other hobbyists in your area.

the source.

1. Radioshack (just kidding) 2. Lowes or Home Depot (maybe simple stuff like a multimeter, fuses, switches, etc) 3. Walmart That's all I can think of right now.