# Website for electronic parts?



## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

Any recommendations? I'm looking for mini switches to wire up all my remote turnouts I have now. I dug around a while back and found one place that was cheap, but for the life of me I cant remember how I found it or what teh website name was.

So where do you hobbyists shop?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

What switches do you want?
SPST, SPDT, DPST, DPDT, Push Buttons? and how many?
I've got a lot SPST toggle switches if you could use those.
I bought all mine from an electronics surplus for cheap!
These are good suppliers.
_www.DigiKey.com_
_www.mouser.com_


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Electrical components on ebay is good you just ned to find the right supplire. One dealer had a lot for 50 DPDT a for 50 bucks with shipping They are momentary. Others that are not spring loaded are about half the price.

I have an order for 200 1.8 mm LEDS that was shipped on the 16th.
I think e bay has most of the common electical stuff.

Plus I found a relay board with two relays for 10 bucks that runs on 12 volts.
Already made !!!!!!!! The thing has 2 bucks of terminal connectors on it!!!!
I printed the schematic.


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

NIMT, I'll need DPDT center off mini toggle switches and momentary pushbutton switches. The idea is to replace the cheap (and unreliable) slide switches that come with the Bachmann remote turnouts. 

T-man I dont know why I didnt think of ebay I should have since everything else I buy is usually from there.

I could just use the slide switches, but I personally dont like them and my plan is to mount them on a panel with a small diagram of the layout (like everyone else does) and have the toggles face the direction of the two tracks. This way the kids can figure out easily which way the toggle goes to move the turnout. Eventually I'll use a color code (probably not a prototype standard) that they can follow, but with the addition of 12 new turnouts I dont need them second guessing what they are doing.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, before you jump into eBay for common electrical components, give the others NIMT mentioned, I use both Digikey and Mouser regularly.

I like the C&K momentary toggles for switches.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I have to admit I get overwhelmed by mouser and digikey selection.
I look for one thing, and I don't find it user friendly for the electrically challenged. As I learn, the parts are available there. To date I have only one order from a US parts supplier I had to get a quote and only bought it as a one shot deal. I have heard that both these companies are very good .
I have learned about bulk purchasing and have been slowly weened from Radio Shack. If only I lived next door to Fry's.hwell:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The thing about both Mouser and Digikey is they don't rape you on shipping. I just ordered some TVS diodes and silicon diodes from Digikey, the shipping is $1.90. My last order from Mouser, the shipping was less than $3.


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

Mouser is the one I had visited before but couldnt remember the name. 

Sadly, I used to work for RS and I try to avoid them at all costs. If I dont need it right away, I'll order it online. But sometimes I just need a bulb or a switch or something like that to get something working again, and RS is about the only place in town for small stuff so I"m kinda stuck.

Thanks for the websites guys. I knew I could count on you to come through :thumbsup:


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## the_train_nut (Feb 14, 2011)

Try Electronix Express. My last order was as follows:

100 Bipolar LED Red To Green $0.20 $20.00

100 LED Mounting Clips $0.08 $8.00

2 RSR Meter Movement 0-15VDC $10.25 each $20.50

Shipping was $6.00!

I have no arguments with the quality of the items -- same as RS and another supplier I use locally. The prices I paid were a little lower than the catalog shows because of the quantities I ordered.
Shipping was super fast; I received the items two days after I ordered them, but I live only a few miles away from the supplier's location.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I just ordered 50 red/green LED's from Mouser, and they were 18 cents each. For 100, they'd be 15 cents.

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Kingbright/WP59EGC/?qs=58z0TXQGVSSHQLEk/julYA==


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## the_train_nut (Feb 14, 2011)

The Mouser units are three-wired. The ones I order from Electronix Express are two-wire, so I save that third piece of wire.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

another good supplier is newark. thats where i shop for items i can't find on ebay


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

the_train_nut said:


> The Mouser units are three-wired. The ones I order from Electronix Express are two-wire, so I save that third piece of wire.


However, you have to reverse polarity on those to get the other color, they're really a different device. I didn't look for those, since I wanted the three wire ones.


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## the_train_nut (Feb 14, 2011)

That's why I use DPDT switches on all my power blocks and not the reverse polarity switch on the transformer. The LED's are wired to the wiring for each power block and change color to indicate polarity as well as ensuring the polarity of each section is paralled electrically in one direction.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, that doesn't work well with O-scale and TMCC!  Of course, there is no "direction" for the track sections.


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