Thinking of liquidating all of my parts/spares, etc

[Mbira]

Today I had a beautifully freeing realization that I think I want to get rid of all of the resistors, caps, transformers, etc, etc, etc that I have in all these parts drawers.  This stuff takes up SO MUCH ROOM and a lot of this stuff has been here over 10 years at least. 

I just went through a really busy time building a lot of modular synth modules-many from kits that came with parts and many boards and panels and I just ordered everything I needed from the BOMs.  Most of this stuff is SMD stuff, and in the first few kits I did what I usually do with through-hole stuff and I ordered a bunch of extra resistors, etc, so I could build up my stock...all with the idea that I will be able to save a little money on the next build....

But at the end of the day there is ALWAYS something that I need to still order from Mouser and then I spend a bunch of time going through my old parts to see what I need to order and what I don't...

I have come to the conclusion that moving forward I think I want to get rid of all my parts and then just order only what I need for the specific project I am building.  I think I'm going to be so much more productive that way and it's going to clean up so much space! 

It'd be different if I was one of those guys sitting around designing stuff and swapping out one cap value for another value to perfect my eq, but the truth is that I'm not that guy.  I build things that other have designed already and when I do design things, I'm just building off of existing ideas anyway.

Has anyone else taken this plunge?

 

[okgb]

I haven't been brave enough yet , so bravo to you
I have waay slowed down my building or any buying , and push myself to actually play music instead
what usually happens to me when ordering parts is I go for the better value wherever the price break is
10 , 50  whatever  and EXACTLY  that happens , need 6 order 10 , have 4 left , next time I need  5 , have to order more!
Good luck !  I've also started throwing out used things , besides space it also takes up allot of attention in various ways

 

[ruffrecords]

I am also trying to do this because I do not want my new log cabin workshop to end up with component clutter. I am thinking of donating all these miscellaneous parts to a local maker space or amateur radio club.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Rochey]

I am also trying to do this because I do not want my new log cabin workshop to end up with component clutter. I am thinking of donating all these miscellaneous parts to a local maker space or amateur radio club.

Cheers

Ian

youd be amazed how much the makerspaces throw away, because they have hte same issue with unsorted/unwanted parts. Dallas Makerspace was donated a TON of parts, they sat on them for about 6-8 months and ended up dumping a ton, because none of the electronics room users really used them. It's often easier to order the parts you need from Mouser and get them delivered next day.
Sad really.

On the counterside, they also had a vending machine with useful tools/parts - e.g. arduinos, servo's, USB power bricks and cables etc.

 

[ruffrecords]

youd be amazed how much the makerspaces throw away, because they have hte same issue with unsorted/unwanted parts. Dallas Makerspace was donated a TON of parts, they sat on them for about 6-8 months and ended up dumping a ton, because none of the electronics room users really used them. It's often easier to order the parts you need from Mouser and get them delivered next day.
Sad really.

On the counterside, they also had a vending machine with useful tools/parts - e.g. arduinos, servo's, USB power bricks and cables etc.

Seems a shame to dump them. When I was a lad, parts were hard to come by. I used to strip down scrap TV sets for components. I guess it is a reflection of the throw away society we live in.

Cheers

Ian

 

[shot]

I used to strip down scrap TV sets for components...

Haha! I still do that!
And I'm proud of my small collection of obsoletes!
Few days ago I racked Scamp module using only scrap parts I had in my collection! Spent zero money on it!
I even had matching connector for this type of module so I avoided soldering signal wires directly to the Scamp module.
That's probably a combination of east european mentality (don't throw it away - fix it again and again) and the fact that we have local electronic shops with very limited stock.



Luka

 

[Mbira]

When I was a lad, parts were hard to come by. I used to strip down scrap TV sets for components.

I first got in to all this by repairing tube guitar amps.  When I left one of my first tech jobs my boss/mentor kind of gave me free reign over a whole bunch of old parts, etc.  I carried an unsorted box of thousands of carbon comp resistors because I thought some day I would sort them!  I guess as we get older time becomes one of our more precious commodities and it just seems easier to order parts as needed. 

 

[Gene Pink]

Haha! I still do that!

That's probably a combination of east european mentality (don't throw it away - fix it again and again) and the fact that we have local electronic shops with very limited stock.

This phenomena is not exclusive to over there, I have been doing that since the 60's as a kid. Wish I thought to drill out the rivets and harvest all those NuVistor sockets that match the drawer full of them. Didn't know about tube mics back then.

My parents went through "the great depression" in the '30's, and instilled in me the values of "save everything, waste nothing". Dad would pull nails out of something and straighten them, and save the wood. I use drywall screws these days, but save the wood. And the screws.... Uh-oh.

I have a pact with a good friend of similar mentality; whoever dies first, gets to use the phrase: "Wait, don't throw that away, I can use it for something" on one of our tombstones.

Of course, this storage takes up space, a lot of it, but the advantage is, if I need a replacement part now, whatever it is, there is almost always one or a hundred here, it is nice to get something on and off the fix-it bench in less than an hour, due to in-house stock. 8)

Recently, a philosophical question was posed to me: "If you know you have it, but don't know where it is and can't physically lay your hands on it, do you really have it?"

Speaking of parts supply, our local Radio Shack is gone, and in the same space is a new hobbyshop, so I went in and looked around. They have more electronic parts, gizmos, gezatas, friznats and wiggets than the Radio Shack did since the '80's. And a much better selection of cool drones, I just gotta get me one of them there fancy flying machine camera thingies.

Gene Pink, pack-rat extraordinaire.

 

[sahib]

Seems a shame to dump them. When I was a lad, parts were hard to come by. I used to strip down scrap TV sets for components. I guess it is a reflection of the throw away society we live in.

Cheers

Ian

I have,  two boxes weighting almost 5Kg in total full of transistors, small signal and power, four plastic containers each weighing around 2Kg full of film capacitors, a box full of power resistors, a box probably weighs another 5Kg, full of mains filter inductors, another box full of potentiometers  all of which are removed from discarded/old equipment. Wires, wires wires. I have six plastic containers full of hook up and screened signal wires. Screws? You got it.  I have ten boxes of those McVitie's Family Circle red plastic biscuit tabs full of them. Any screws type you can think of.  I even keep the excess resistor leads. I'll never be able to use all of them in my life time but they'll stay as long as I am alive.

The only thing I regret scrapping were the mains transformers. In fact there were also about thirty 100V/200W line transformers that came out of  Avalon PA amps.  I don't remember exactly what they came to but almost half a ton. I was moving out and  I just could not carry them with me.

 

[Scodiddly]

The biggest thing I did a few years back was to actually sort out and catalog (in a spreadsheet) all of my parts, down to each resistor. That has since saved me much more hassle than it took, because I know if truly need to order something. 

Aside from some nice Cinemag input transformers that I doubt I'll ever get around to using, I really just have two carefully organized tubs full of relatively inexpensive parts.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I am an old pack rat, and have spent probably the last decade forcing myself to give away, or throw stuff away... I literally can not remember ever wishing that I didn't throw something away because I found a use for it later.

I still have some bulk parts in decent shape from my old kit business ('70s) and sundry projects since then. Actually a room full. I gave a bunch to a friend to sell and he converted some to dollars, but hardly worth the trouble, or dented my big pile o' parts. Not much value in old electrolytic caps from decades ago so those go straight to the dumpster. 

These days the shipping cost to ship an empty box is several dollars, making it hardly worth it to share even free parts.  Add in the labor or any fair valuation for your own time handling parts and it is ridiculous.

JR

 

[Whoops]

Mbire, maybe that will work better for you, I guess it depends on the user.

Organization is the Key,
I started doing DIY electronic stuff in 2006, and one thing that really pissed me off and set me back in the projects was to have to wait for parts.
I would be motivated for a project and in the middle of it I had to stop because I needed a specific, resistor, screw, capacitor or transistor. So I had to wait then 3 days to 2 weeks for parts to arrive and when they arrived the motivation went elsewhere.

So from that point until now I've been building a nice stock, but done in a reasonable matter, at the moment I have the resistor, transistors and capacitors sorted out and I love to be able to fix something in minutes without having to go to a local electronic shop or having to wait for an order.
It's also nice when I need to do a small project that I have all the parts available and I can finish it in some hours.

Having a well though and not exaggerated stock works for me, the key think is organization,
it took me some time organizing everything in small drawers,  but after it was done work started to be a breeze.

Like Scodiddly I started also to catalog some parts in a Spreadsheet, still didnt finish but that works great, using the search function you can know straigh away if you have the part or not.
I dont use it for capacitors, resistors,  because those I can quicly check on the propper drawer,
but it's great to search for transistors, Tubes, IC's, Diodes, transformers that you might have in stock

After organizing everything, I would say cleaning and getting rid of excess stuff and junk is fundamental also.

If I have stuff that I didnt touch in the last 4/5 years I evaluate if I really need it, and I get rid of it, I sell it or give it away

 

[audiomixer]

every once in a while I need a transistor, so I look up my excel sheet listing the different types, and find myself ordering a few new ones because I have no match.... bummer!
My wife would love your idea (I can't fit a Ian like cabin in the garden), and to be honest I should really consider going through my stash with your post in mind. the only reason I don't throw away all thru hole parts is that experimenting on a vero board is just that much easier with TH components. but it is true that I usually don't have the parts I really need. last time I was at the electronics shop over here I looked at the 1/4w restistors and had trouble not to start snipping 50 pcs. of the 'usual suspect' values. these ammo band resistors are so sexy....

reconsidering my electronics stash should go on my todo list.... damn so crowded over there. thanks for making me rethink.

- michael

 

[Whoops]

every once in a while I need a transistor, so I look up my excel sheet listing the different types, and find myself ordering a few new ones because I have no match.... bummer!

An helpfull thing to do with transistors besides having you stock on a spreadsheet, is to add in each transistor entry fields for similar transistors, equivalents, transistors it might normally replace on the same line. That way even if you don't have the exact transistor you might have a transistor in stock that can perfectly substitute it

 

[JohnRoberts]

An helpfull thing to do with transistors besides having you stock on a spreadsheet, is to add in each transistor entry fields for similar transistors, equivalents, transistors it might normally replace on the same line. That way even if you don't have the exact transistor you might have a transistor in stock that can perfectly substitute it

When doing scratch designs you can pretty much use the transistors you stock. I still have bags of general purpose NPN/PNP (3904.3906) , and higher voltage NPN/PNPs (MPSA06/A56).

I misplaced my bag of very low noise PNPs, been looking for them for over 10 years.  I need to throw more junk away.

JR

 

[Rocinante]

I just recently liquidated a bunch of stuff super cheap getting rid of a lot. I had tons of odd resistors values and obscure capacitors from when i tbought id be possibly building several of whatever and from going through scraped pro audio stuff.  I had a problem with wanting to dig through every scrap piece of FX processor or old radio looking for some magic part. Basically I got a bunch of audio work , was finishing my bands album,and was separating from my partner so was forced to get rid of some stuff as it won't fit in the new studio. I still have too much but one step at a time, i still need to finish the friggin mixer i built.