Subject: List of Mail Order Electronics Companies [This is an update of my list from last year. If you have any places you've dealt with that you'd like to mention, post them or send me mail, and I'll add them to the next revision.] Here is my list of companies which will sell electronic components in small quantities. Most of these places I have bought from, a couple I haven't. Being a ham radio operator, I am most interested in RF components, and in particular, air variable capacitors, which tend to be scarce (and tend to be used or surplus even if I've otherwise labelled the seller as "NEW"). I apologize in advance for disparaging remarks about what happens when parts suppliers start selling computers, but anyone who has watched Jameco over the years will know just what I mean. Categories are: NEW COMPONENTS Distributors and sellers of new components, or "new and some used" in a couple of cases. SURPLUS ELECTRONICS Usually overstocks, occasionally used equipment. Ideal for stocking the junkbox, usually have dependable stock lines of resistors, capacitors, and some semiconductors, but won't have those LCD modules forever... An invaluable resource, don't shy away from them. SPECIALTY COMPONENTS In particular, crystals and toroidal cores. KITS Ham radio kits, random electronic kits, whatever they have. LITTLE GUYS Separated out because of some twisted sentimentality, I suppose. Intended to honor one or two ham spare-bedroom operations, though I think K2AW is actually bigger than that. PUBLICATIONS Two publications which are essentially all want-ads, plus the address for SAMS PHOTOFACTS because everyone always asks about it on sci.electronics. NEW COMPONENTS: Ocean State Electronics P.O. Box 1458 Westerly RI 02891 (800)-866-6626 (orders) (401)-596-3080 (401)-596-3590 (FAX) Minimum $5, S&H $4, free catalog. Wide array of RF parts, especially air variables and B&W coils, plus kits for most QST projects since 1976. "Non cataloged items gladly ordered." Fast shipping, unless (like me) you don't pay attention to their request that you CALL about air variables and they hold your order for a couple of weeks while they see if they can scrounge up one that they've just gone out of stock on... Radiokit (store is located at:) P.O.Box 973 169 Jeremy Hill Rd. Pelham NH 03076 Pelham NH 03076 (603) 635-2235 No minimum ($3 service charge if under $20), many kits, lots of J. W. Miller chokes & coils, B&W coils, RF switches, Millen variable capacitors, lots of parts in general. They seem to want $1 for the catalog. The store also seems to move around a lot. Circuit Specialists Inc P. O. Box 3047 Scottsdale AZ 85271-3047 (800) 528-1417 No minimum with check or money order, $15 otherwise. $3 S&H. New electronics, good RF assortment, increasing infestation of computers. Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics 11433 Woodside Ave. 2401 Highway 287 North 12 Emery Ave. Santee CA 92071 Mansfield TX 76063 Randolf NJ 07869 Mouser Electronics 370 Tomkins Court Gilroy CA 95020 Catalog Subscriptions: (800) 992-9943 (Continental US only) Sales & Service: (800) 34-MOUSER (800-346-6873) (US, Puerto R., Canada) Very complete catalog of brand-new components (though no air variables). Quick service, $20 "minimum" ($5 charge under $20). Digi-Key 701 Brooks Ave. South P.O.Box 677 Thief River Falls, MN 56701-0677 1-800-DIGI-KEY No minimum, $5 handling under $25, free and very complete catalog, very nice indeed. Prices aren't always the best, but rarely excessive. Weak on RF specialty parts (though they now have the ever-popular NE602N), but they do have blue LEDs. Active Electronics 11 Cummings Park Woburn MA 01801 (800)-677-8899 (800)-363-7601 (Canada) (800)-363-6592 (Lucky Canadians get two 800 numbers) $25 minimum, $5 S&H UPS, free catalog. They have 8 stores in the US (Santa Clara CA; Chicago IL; Baltimore MD; Woburn MA; Detroit MI; Mt. Laurel NJ; Long Island NY; Seattle WA) and 9 stores in Canada (Quebec City; Montreal (2); Ottawa; Mississuaga; Winnipeg; Calgary; Edmonton; Vancouver BC). Lots of stuff, oriented more toward supplying last-minute requirements of companies than hobbyists, but perfectly happy to take your money in small doses (stores have no minimum order or shipping&handling). Some items in their catalog are subject to a $25 per ITEM minimum, which is kind of a drag. Newark Electronics Send catalog requests to: Newark Electronics ATTENTION CATALOG DEPARTMENT 4801 N. Ravenswood Ave. Chicago IL 60640-4496 (312) 784-5100 They don't have a single mail address or phone; instead, one is supposed to call the closest of three pages worth of branch offices. I don't feel like typing in the entire list (it's copyrighted, anyway :-), so send email for your "local" distributor, or call their administrative offices at the number above. They have a $25 minimum order; while they are a Real Distributor, and are probably most comfortable with gigantic orders, they (used to) say they welcome every customer, regardless of size, and were certainly happy to take my $30 order last year. They carry LOTS of stuff; in particular, semiconductors from Motorola, RCA, Sprague, TI, American Power Devices, Fagor, GE, International Devices INC, Intersil, International Rectifier, Precision Monolithics, Powerex, and others. They are very complete, except, of course, for my favorite scarce item, the air-variable capacitor... Arrow Electronics, Inc. Catalog requests to: Catalog Division Catalog Division 1860 Smithtown Ave. 25 Hub Drive Ronkonkoma NY 11779 Melville NY 11747-9828 (800) 93-ARROW Minimum $25, catalog cover price is $25 but if you convince them you're with a company they'll probably send one free. They are a Real Distribitor, but also didn't mind my placing a personal order for about $30, even though their catalog doesn't trumpet this with pride. MCM Electronics 650 Congress Park Drive Centerville OH 45459-4072 (800) 543-4330 Minimum $20 ($25 for charges, and they don't take personal checks), handling $1.95 + shipping. Oriented toward repair technicians, really heavy on VCR parts and somewhat overpriced doodads, lots of useful stuff not easily found elsewhere. Fordham Radio Supply 260 Motor Parkway Haupauge NH 11788-5134 (800)695-4848 Tools for technicians. One or two items are not outrageously overpriced. Jameco 1355 Shoreway Road Belmost CA 94002 (415) 592-8097 $50 minimum order(!), >$5 shipping & handling. Rapidly dumping components in favor of dinking around with computers. Listed for completeness, mostly. Not yet completely irrelevant to the electronic hobbyist, but getting there. JDR Microdevices 2233 Branham Lane San Jose CA 95124 Orders: 800-538-5000 Cust. Service: 800-538-5001 $10 minimum, $5+ shipping. Mostly computers now, but they haven't yet decided to abandon components. Johnson Shop Products P.O.Box 160113 Cupertino CA 95016 (408)257-8614 (408)996-3240 Catalog $1. No minimum. Shipping charge is based on UPS; very small orders that can be sensibly shipped in a first-class letter, include money for first-class postage. New and some used electronic parts. DC Electronics P. O. Box 3203 Scottsdale AZ 85271-3203 (800) 423-0070 (orders) (602) 945-7736 (stock/price checks) $15 minimum charge order, no minimum for checks, $3 min. shipping&handling. Wide array of ICs, good assortment of electronic components. SURPLUS ELECTRONICS: BCD Electro P. O. Box 450207 Garland TX 75045-0207 (214) 343-1770 $1 for 1-year subscription to catalogs, no minimum, $0.95 for under $30, $2.90 shipping. Surplus electronics, pretty random looking assortment. Marlin P. Jones & Assoc. P.O. Box 12685 Lake Park FL 33403-0685 (407) 848-8236 No minimum ($1 fee for under $10), shipping per UPS. Surplus electronics. All Electronics Corp. P. O. Box 567 Van Nuys CA 91408-0567 (800) 826-5432 $10 minimum, $3.50 S&H. New and surplus electronics. R&D Electronics 1224 Prospect Ave. Cleveland OH 44115 orders: (800) 642-1123 (tues - fri 9am-4pm sat. 9am-3pm EST) info: (216) 621-1121 $10 minimum. Surplus electronics. Hosfelt Electronics 2700 Sunset Blvd. Steubenville OH 43952 (800) 524-6464 No minimum, $3.75 S&H. Surplus electronics. Surplus Sales of Nebraska 1315 Jones Street Omaha, Nebraska 68102 (402) 346-4750 New and surplus radio electronics. Wide selection: air variables. At this writing (8 Mar 91), they are producing a new catalog (and, I gather, out of old ones). JerryCo 601 Linden Place Evanston IL 60202 (708) 475-8440 Surplus. *The* surplus place. Lots and lots of surplus. WWII gun cameras, velcro, laser disk chassis, 6 volt VW wipers motors, LEDs, rubber brains, you name it, they've had it. Catalogs are a really good time. $12.50 minimum order (which includes the $4 shipping charge). SPECIALTY COMPONENTS: JAN Crystals 2341 Crystal Drive P.O. Box 06017 Fort Myers FL 33906-6017 (800) JAN-XTAL (Monday through Thursday) They make crystals. Minimum order is $10, which might be one crystal, or might be two. Crystek Corporation 2351/2371 Crystal Drive P.O. Box 06135 Fort Myers FL 33906-6135 (800) 237-3061 (M-F) They make crystals too. They were the cheapest last time I ordered, but I don't have an up-to-date price list. It took about 4 weeks, and they had said it would take 6. ICM (International Crystal Manufacturing Co., Inc.) 701 W. Sheridan PO Box 26330 Oklahoma City OK 73126-0330 (800) 426-9825 More crystals. They were more expensive, but they have lots of pre-made crystals for various rigs, so they would probably be faster. Amidon Associates 12033 Otsego Street N. Hollywood CA 91607 Toroid cores and related things. Very fast service. K2AW's Silicon Alley 175 Friends Lane Westbury NY 11590 516-334-7024 Free catalog, $10 minimum order. Semiconductors, in particular high-voltage diodes. Small Parts, Inc. 6891 N.E. Third Avenue P.O.Box 381966 Miami FL 33238-9980 (305)751-0856 $12 minimum. Mechanical parts, metal stock, Teflon(R) sheets. KITS: Ramsey Electronics 793 Canning Parkway Victor NY 14564 (716) 924-4560 Amateur radio and hobby kits. The ham kits are all pretty simple and pretty inexpensive, and you get about what you pay for. A&A Engineering 2521 W. LaPalma, Unit K Anaheim CA 92801 (714) 952-2114 Kits, some components, some books. S&H $4.50, catalog is free with SASE (2 oz postage). Circuit Board Specialists P. O. Box 951 Pueblo CO 81002 (303) 542-4525 As the name implies, they specialize in circuit boards; they have circuit boards for a variety of QST articles and ARRL Handbook construction articles. They also have partial kits for most of their boards. The catalog is free, but I had to request it a couple of times. {See also RadioKit, Oak Hills Research} LITTLE GUYS: Oak Hills Research P.O.Box 250 Luther MI 49656 This is W1FB (Doug DeMaw). Send a SASE for a flyer. When last I got a flyer, he had a number of random parts aimed at QRP rig building; he also has a couple of kits for QRP transmitters. KA7QJY Components Box 7970 Jackson WY 83001 (307)739-1634 evenings Send a business-size SASE for a current list of parts. RF parts, including vernier drives and air variables. $2.75 shipping, no minimum. My last order took two weeks from when I mailed it and included a note apologizing for the delay! PUBLICATIONS: NUTS & VOLTS MAGAZINE P. O. Box 1111 Placentia CA 92670 1-800-783-4624 (subscriptions) issues are $2.00 (at least, that's the price on the cover), subscriptions are (third class mail, USA:) $12/1 year, $21/2 years, $60/life, (first class mail USA) $20/1 year, (Canada/Mexico) US$22, (other foreign, air mail) US$55. A subscription also entitles you to one free classified ad of 40 words. Ham Trader Yellow Sheets PO Box 15142 Seattle WA 98115 "SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S.: 24 Issues(1 yr) $16.50 50 Issues(2 yrs + 2 issues) $32. 75(3 Yrs + 3) $48. CANADA & MEXICO: 24/$17. 50/$34. 75/$50. FOREIGN: $38 a year sent Airmail. Published 2 ISSUES A MONTH sent 1st Class Mail... NO LONG WAIT FOR AD CIRCULATE! NOTE: A $4/4 issue MINI-SUBSCRIPTION may be ordered by potential subscribers, or WITH AN AD to qualify for the Special Subscriber Ad Rates given below:" Non-subscriber ads $1/{word,number,group} per insertion; subscribers: businesses or other for-profit sales $0.75 per word; ads involving items solely from or for your own use $0.35 a word; hamfest ads $0.35. Ads and ads with subscriptions should be sent to POB 10253 Sarasota FL 34278 during the winter; spring through fall they go to POBox 2057, Glen Ellyn IL 60138. Howard W. Sams & Company P.O. Box 7092 Indianapolis, IN 26207-7092 (800)-428-SAMS Publishers of SAMS PHOTOFACTS and many other electronics books. There is an Annual Index of SAMS PHOTOFACTS whose cost I have forgotten. In-print Photofacts run between $14.95 to $39.95 (for computer Photofacts); they will photocopy out-of-print Photofacts for $11.95 + $2.50S&H for one page, plus $.55 per page thereafter. OTHER NOTES: Small Parts Center, listed in the previous version of this message, is now closed, according to a note I just got from them. They say that Oak Hills Research is selling some of their old kits now.