![]() But not particularly legibly! I don't regret it, but I had to spend some time relabeling them all, including testing those for which I was unsure. Each value is on tape, and the value hand-written on the tape. I bought some SMD ceramic cap and resistor assortments from an Ebay seller. When (if) you finally do, you will typically find lots of oddball parts and values, that you'll then feel obliged to spend time organizing when it will probably never benefit you. No matter how incredibly cheap they may be. I will also warn against buying random part assortments where the parts are not already sorted/separated and clearly labelled. The alternative is chaos and a lot more wasted time. It takes a while to collect many different parts for a project, but at least I always know exactly where those parts are. Power resistors and large potentiometers would take up too much room in the 3600's, so they all get bagged and binned. The medium "diode" bag goes into a Rubbermaid bin for "semiconductors", along with transistors and such (not including IC's, I have enough of those they get their own bin). For example, I have a medium bag for diodes, containing smaller bags for switching, rectifier, fast recovery, varactor, and Schottky and each of those containing tiny bags for each part # and value. 3b) For lesser-used or bulky parts, I use a nested bag system. Another partition for current measurement shunts. I have fewer 1/2W leaded, those get just a couple of partitions with bags. The individual values are kept in bags within the appropriate partition. For example, I have a 3600 for most resistors. ![]() 3a) For frequently-used parts, I still use the Plano 3600's. And I have a Brother label printer to make nice self-adhesive labels. Sometimes I don't get all the air out, so I typically poke a little hole in the bags to let the air escape, pressed out by the weight of other bags. These waste virtually no space, if you press the air out before sealing. 3) I'm gradually migrating to use of a lot of Ziploc-style bags, of many different sizes, some quite small. Also, when my parts collection grew, moving around partitions, boxes, and parts to keep similar items together became quite a chore. All similar replacements didn't fit as well, and were much more expensive. But eventually I ran out, and though I searched extensively, I couldn't find the same item. At some point I got a few hundred smaller hinged-top plastic boxes, cheap via surplus outlet, that fit well and further subdivided the space. Though each partitioned area may still waste a lot of space. Apparently not sold separately anymore, included only with a larger organizer that holds 4x boxes, which I also use if interested, I can look up the model #. The specific variety that can be partitioned in up to 24 areas per box. 2) Next system - Plano Stowaway #3600 series boxes. Parts traveled surprisingly easily between drawers and partitions, getting mixed together. Some drawers got jammed by parts so badly I had to destroy the drawers to remove them. And they don't travel well! I took them in the car once, and they got tipped over. They're ok for rapid access to a few parts, but each separate area tends to waste a lot of space. It may undergo many revisions, with each successive migration taking more time: 1) I started out with those common part organizers, the ones with lots of pull-out drawers, that can be partitioned in half. Give some serious thought to your organizational system. The more parts you have, the more critical it becomes. ![]() I think kits like these are just good deals: If you can, get some op amps, comparators, instrumentation amplifiers, 16/24 bit ADCs, 16 bit DACs, digipots, LED drivers, clocks, microcontrollers, etc. For me it is ATMega328P-PU, ATTiny88, 74HC595, MAX7219 (cheap clone from eBay), certain connectors, hardware and project boards. You will know what other parts you end up using a lot. Again, a small kit of different values doesn't hurt. At least a few dozen adjustable and 5V regulators. At least a few dozen 16Mhz and 20Mhz crystals and a kit of a few each of different values doesn't hurt. At least a few hundred 5mm LEDs, a few different colors, red, green, white are probably the best. Through hole smaller value electrolytic caps kit. 1uF and 1uF are not bad to have because your will use those everywhere and those are very cheap. Through-hole ceramic caps kit A few hundred of. Kits to have: 1/4 watt through hole resistor kit. That would make me unhappy, so I make sure it doesn't. You don't want to have to stop prototyping and wait even 24 hours for a part, especially when it will cost you $25 to overnight a 50 cent crystal or some caps. Having kits of resistors and capacitors is just a must.
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