Cheap vs expensive ic's and trannys
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heh... this may not be the popular opinion, but the way I see it if you pay $5 for a handful of chips and they turn out to be crap, it's just $5, really not a big deal.. If they turn out to be good (and they most often have, in my experience) then SCORE!
Just don't ever ever ever buy LARGE batches at an unbelievable price from a source you don't know and your friends/building community doesn't know, unless you're okay with getting scammed for big bucks. Still, I'll gamble on a small potatoes deal. You kind of get a feel for it after a while.. Like I can spot BS 1n34As a mile away now, but I never really lost all that much in the process.. PLUS the non-germanium 1n34As are still useful, just not for what I bought them for, heh. If you add up the deals I've gotten for good legit stuff, it far outweighs the bad. |
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Would you guys recommend that I steer clear of something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CD4000-Series-CMOS-Logic-IC-Assortment-Kit-CD4001-CD4094-30Types-/391442099540?hash=item5b23c46d54:g:B1wAAOSwl8NVacR9 I need a bunch of CMOS ICs like these for builds I'm planning for. The auction description says "Manufacturer are:TI,ST,NXP". How trustworthy is this statement?.. And while I do know that Texas Inst is a solid brand, are ST and NXP (which is Phillips, right? If so they're alright) just as reliable? If anyone else has gone for one of these variety sets, did they have good luck or poor luck with it? |
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If you're building up some stock and think 'I might use that in the future, I might give it a try now', then yes, your approach has merit. If you're building something and you absofraggin'lutely need to have a working IC soon then no, stay the f*** away from those shady Chinese, better to spend some extra money on a reliable vendor and know what you will get will work. NXP is the former IC division from Philips, sold off to a sort of hedgefund. My rule of thumb is, as long as the IC's are still in production then you can take a chance. I always get my CD4000 IC's from Tayda and they work fine. If they're no longer in production then buyer extremely beware, because the chance of fakes increases exponentially the rarer and thus more expensive an IC becomes. |
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In reply to this post by notnews
"I need a bunch of CMOS ICs like these for builds I'm planning for. The auction description says "Manufacturer are:TI,ST,NXP". How trustworthy is this statement?.. And while I do know that Texas Inst is a solid brand, are ST and NXP (which is Phillips, right? If so they're alright) just as reliable?"
Unfortunately, only the seller knows how reliable that statement is so... If you have a specific need for each of these chips, it's (IMO) probably worth a go. As there is only one of each type, and you may only end up using a few of these (the rest might be unsuitable for your intended use), they might work out as quite an expensive way to buy them. Just my two cents worth, but I've bought grab bags of parts before, most of which are still unused, and the ones I did use, I wanted in greater quantities. |
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In reply to this post by Muadzin
That's where different outlooks come into play. I'd rather wait 2 weeks to get a chip at a fair price than buy it from SmallBear (great guy, don't get me wrong) and pay 3-4 times the price and an unholy amount of shipping on top of that. That's why I don't bother with Mammothelectronics.com anymore. It was useful when I didn't know what I was doing, but now I know that I don't have to pay $0.50 a piece for capacitors. Seriously, I realized a couple of days later that I forgot to add a $0.60 jack on an order from SB. According to tracking it had not been shipped yet, so I emailed and asked him if I could buy it and have him throw it in that order. Nope. A $0.60 jack was going to cost me $5 in shipping. I absolutely CRINGE when they are the only place I can get a certain part. I REFUSE to pay unfair amounts for stuff. People can say "unfair" is subjective or "well, that's what it's going for." Bullshit. I'll order 3 of the same part from China, one of them a POS counterfeit, and still have only paid about half of what most of these "reputable" electronics sellers charge for 1. I've placed around a hundred orders from Chinese ebayers for electronics. I've gotten screwed ONCE, and that was because I let my guard down and bought a couple of MN3005 chips for cheap. I knew better. I'm not sure where people are getting their mini/low-profile electrolytic caps from, but I'm getting them from China. Sad thing is, almost all of those parts you guys buy from "Western" sellers were made in China. They buy them cheap and then sell them to you for an exorbitant mark up. As far as cheap and mid-priced ICs, silicon transistors, passives, etc. there's absolutely no reason to worry overmuch about getting Chinese fakes. On the rare chance you do, boohoo you lost out on $3 and maybe have to put that project aside for a bit. Yeah, it sucks, but in the bigger picture it's just not that big of a deal. Avoid known expensive chips for cheap, yes. Avoid Chinese germanium if you are at all concerned about how they measure. Here's an example. I think Barry from GuitarPCB.com is a fantastic guy. I buy from him a lot. However, I'll burn in hell before I pay $3.50 a piece for PT2399 chips. For newbies it's probably worth the ease and the "pre-tested good" guarantee. $8.95 a piece for MN3007 chips? Not in this lifetime. I love Tayda. But even they have "to be avoided" items. Don't buy their 1n34A diodes expecting to get germanium. Their monolithic caps can be WILDLY out of spec. I bought 40 47u electo caps from them, none of which test within 10% of the labeled value. Shit happens. The price at which I get stuff from them, the vast majority of it being excellent, is worth the few inexpensive little burns. Plus the manage to ship stuff as fast or faster than any local-ish company I order from. I could order from them, SmallBear, Mammoth, etc. on the same day and I'll generally get the Tayda package first. |
Re: Cheap vs expensive ic's and trannys
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I've had bad luck with 2n5457s and 2N5952s from Polida, a Chinese company that folks here have praised in the past.
OTOH, I just put a 1N34 from Tayda in a circuit a couple of nights ago. The forward voltage was about 250 millivolts, and it sure looks like a Ge diode (big glass body). Interestingly, Tayda got a lot of grief about fake J201s and 2n5457s awhile ago, and they haven't restocked them since. Based on my relatively small experience, then, Tayda at least tries to sell real stuff, even if it is seemingly unobtainium, but it's not clear that anybody else does at those prices. |
Re: Cheap vs expensive ic's and trannys
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In reply to this post by Heath
Heath - like you I have gotten tons of good stuff from eBay sellers. I did get screwed on 1n34as (not sure where from, but I have about 100, but they probably only cost me about $4). They work, but they aren't Ge (however, they sound as good as an In914 in most cases, so...)
I have gotten a lot of good stuff from G&K in the past. Lately however I have noticed some Chinese sellers where it takes 6-8 weeks for delivery. These are the guys not to trust. I rarely buy from anyone but Tayda. But their selection is surprisingly limited. Their electrolytics are never low-profile - always 11mm tall despite the pictures they show you. They only carry greeny or box caps - no red panasonics. Their tantalums are limited also. Bottom line, I feel like I have everything I need to buy from them. When it comes to eBay you can find some great bargains. For example I love these 1/4" jacks from China - very sturdy and small profile. I paid over $2 apiece for these last year but I just found them (I think they are the same kind) for about $.30 apiece. http://www.ebay.com/itm/171961656725?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT (I know they are the same because of the sand on the threads - these were made in true Chinese style (I have been there) - where the products are made "dirt cheap" but the build quality is there. You just need to clean them up before you use them - seriously, these have been great for me - where a lot of 1/4" jacks strip when you tighten them). I just made an order from Tayda - I got 25 In34a and 1n270 diodes - because I have a feeling you won't see the real things around much longer. I was looking at my eBay buys - and I did get 50 J201s from China last year that are all good for $15 total. Guess I got lucky. |
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