Cheap Component Search

They have a few more now

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YAY! good news for all would-be furby organ makers!

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Should be enough for now, I suppose

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This isn’t really a “component,” but this step drill bit is surprisingly cheap (under $15) and doesn’t appear to be counterfeit (at least, it works well and the package seemed legit): https://a.co/d/bLGv17z

Couldn’t find them less than $75 locally, or in that size at all (1/8 to 1/2, so most mounting holes on a DIY panel).

$75 sounds ridiculously expensive. I was able to get a decent (HSS 4241 titanium nitride coated steel, whatever that means…) step drill bit at 1/10 of that locally, and the price even included a hefty 24% VAT.

“Locally” means a lot of different things, depending on the speaker; my “local” doesn’t have VAT, it just has Fentanyl and gun crime.

Also, IMO, imperial drilling for metric-spec’d hardware gives the tolerance you need (3.2mm is about 1/8", for example.)

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I don’t think I can justify paying extra for imperial measurement hand tools since there is no way I can be that accurate. Plus, I probably wouldn’t be able to notice an 1mm difference, let alone 0.2mm. :man_shrugging:

For what it’s worth, Harbor Freight has this
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on up to this price point
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I have some cheap Harbor Freight step drills, they work fine for sheet aluminum.

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Are these components from AlieXpress? If so then yes you can build very cheap. I try to support our local electronics shops and therefore the costs are not that important to me so i pay a bit more.:shushing_face:

+1 for supporting local shops from me. Fortunately, shops around here were never of the big chain kind so they survived pretty well (with a few exceptions, some shops close because of retirement after all). The oldest I know of is still going strong since 1958, and there are a few from the early 1960s who do very well. Even when I turn up at 9:10 am, and with three employees servicing customers, I have to wait for a few minutes until it’s my turn!

However, as a newcomer to the whole AE shebang I find their stuff unbeatable sometimes. For example, the shop closest to my office doesn’t stock ceramic capacitors at all, and their price for 100 1% resistors is EUR 7. I rather buy those from AE for a small fraction of the price and, instead, give them my money for those NOS through hole LM13700s, the metal can CA3080, the bulky transformers made from locally sourced copper, or the early 1970s still-in-shrink-wrapped-box television tubes.

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i am searching for 3.5mm stereo jacks for a project i’m working on. I am having a hard time finding them with my requirements. they should be functional idetical with the “big jacks” commonly used (by LMNC) in Kosmo modules.

  • 3.5mm
  • standing (vertical)
  • switching contacts
  • in stock
  • deliverable for reasonable prices
  • deliverable in reasonable quantities
  • deliverable to europe (germany)
  • [optional] mono (3 contacts) i only need on signal line

any sugestions?
i found multiple variants for horizontal mountig… but for vertical mounting the selection is limited :frowning:

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Yes, for some bizarre reason 3.5mm vertical jack units are often more expensive and I found are more likely to fail.

If your design can keep the jacks together then you could mount horizontal jacks on a board with right angle headers to your main board.

The galvanised banding builders use, (the strip with holes) is handy for changing the orientation of jacks but needs washer reinforcement or doubling up. Strut or slotted channel (3 sided bar with holes) is also good for changing horizontal to vertical.

If you have any Meccano, ah Meccano, then wrap it up carefully and send it to me :grin:

What’s the project?

i am staying on thetopic of game boys. i think i can fit a gb pocket between eurorack rails…
this is going to be tight, i already ordered a (custom made) shorter mgb card. the cv injectors in this project need the switched jacks.

Gameboy oscillator documentation - DIY STUFF - Look Mum No Computer Thingies



this is the part of the circuit on the “big-DMG” variant. for the regular (non switched) connections e.g. L audio out i’ll use one of the available “simple” 3.5mm connectors.
i also thought about rotating vertical connectors, do the fit in the space usualy created by the height of switches and pots behind the face palte or are they higher? (as in too high to fit the nut on pots and switches)

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Cool. The Gameboy builds are outside my wheelhouse.

I’ve seen open switched 3.5mm jack sockets mounted in plastic tubes (like thick walled straws)

Perhaps a separate interface panel alongside?

I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out

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not sure if these meet your needs but I have used these

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/523-ACJMMV352S

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