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Buying wide range values of resistor pack from ebay

vick5821

Jan 22, 2012
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Hey guys, I plan to buy a wide range values of resistor from ebay soon.

Can anyone give me your advice on should I buy a very wide range of resistor value ? Cause I see from ebay there are 140++ values too and I saw some is 56 values only. So based on your experience, which one is better ? Or can anyone provide me with ebay link that you think it is worth buying for the pack ?

Thank you :)
 

CocaCola

Apr 7, 2012
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IMO since you are paying a premium for the set and it's likely going to be used for prototyping get the set with 140... Why short change your prototyping options?

Something to consider, as I did/do this myself... When I'm placing a small order for parts (generally with Mouser or Digikey) and know I'm going to get hit with the minimum shipping price anyway, I generally always toss in a few different values of resistors in 200 lots... Why 200 you might ask, well that is generally the point where the volume discounts really start to kick in and makes it cost effective... After a few years you will have resistors galore!
 

vick5821

Jan 22, 2012
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IMO since you are paying a premium for the set and it's likely going to be used for prototyping get the set with 140... Why short change your prototyping options?

Something to consider, as I did/do this myself... When I'm placing a small order for parts (generally with Mouser or Digikey) and know I'm going to get hit with the minimum shipping price anyway, I generally always toss in a few different values of resistors in 200 lots... Why 200 you might ask, well that is generally the point where the volume discounts really start to kick in and makes it cost effective... After a few years you will have resistors galore!

All free shipping anyway :) If buy 140 values, will all of them be used ?
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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All free shipping anyway :) If buy 140 values, will all of them be used ?

Very unlikely.

However, you aren't going to know ahead of time what values you're not going to use.

Not having a value you need is more inconvenient than having a value you never use.

Of course it's wasteful to have a whole range of values you won't use (I suspect you don't need many values under an ohm or over a couple of meg), and E12 or E24 values are probably sufficient.
 

vick5821

Jan 22, 2012
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Very unlikely.

However, you aren't going to know ahead of time what values you're not going to use.

Not having a value you need is more inconvenient than having a value you never use.

Of course it's wasteful to have a whole range of values you won't use (I suspect you don't need many values under an ohm or over a couple of meg), and E12 or E24 values are probably sufficient.

I agree to your statement. So thats why I do not know which to buy :( No experience in buying from ebay :(
 

CocaCola

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All free shipping anyway :)

Same when I pad an existing order where minimum shipping is already paid, a few hundred resistors almost never bumps the shipping up any, thus the reason I do it on those small orders... As I suggested it's just a way to build up your collection over time without putting a big dent in the pocket book... I do the same thing checking for 'clearance' items when I place orders... Recently I picked up 1000s of electrolytic capacitors from a company I was ordering from... They had them on clearance 1000 of them for $5, grabbed a few of the common values like 1uf, 4.7uf, 10uf, 22uf and 100uf, just couldn't turn down the deal...

If buy 140 values, will all of them be used ?

Probably not, but if you get the 56 values you can almost bet that you will need a value you don't have and end up making it work with some series or parallel configuration ;)
 

vick5821

Jan 22, 2012
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Same when I pad an existing order where minimum shipping is already paid, a few hundred resistors almost never bumps the shipping up any, thus the reason I do it on those small orders... As I suggested it's just a way to build up your collection over time without putting a big dent in the pocket book... I do the same thing checking for 'clearance' items when I place orders... Recently I picked up 1000s of electrolytic capacitors from a company I was ordering from... They had them on clearance 1000 of them for $5, grabbed a few of the common values like 1uf, 4.7uf, 10uf, 22uf and 100uf, just couldn't turn down the deal...



Probably not, but if you get the 56 values you can almost bet that you will need a value you don't have and end up making it work with some series or parallel configuration ;)

Wow..which company ?? So good ? I would like to get those things where an electronic engineering student will be using. Like common resistor value :) You mean free shipping will cause late and slow shipping ?
 

(*steve*)

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I have had many many more good experiences from ebay than bad ones.

I would go for the 140 values. I just looked at a few auctions for 50 or 56 values between 1R and several meg and they skipped every other value (or more). Murphy's law will mean you need a value that's skipped :D

After you've been doing stuff for a while you'll recognise what values you use lots of and you can buy more of them. I've seen some sellers that allow you to pick the values they send, and that may be useful.

The resistors you'll get are not likely to be very high spec, but for most purposes that isnt going to matter at all. For higher power, you can connect some in series or parallel
 

CocaCola

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Wow..which company ??

In this particular case it was Jameco, they just happened to be blowing out a bunch of electrolytics a few months back, heck they still are but not the same ones I purchased... They always have closeout sales so anytime I place an order with them I browse around their sales...
 

KJ6EAD

Aug 13, 2011
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I'd get a full E24 set (168 values) from 1Ω through 9.1M.
 

KJ6EAD

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You're still only getting 50 values. I can get an E12 set (61 values, 10 each) for $7 retail.
 

davenn

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Please recomen me which to buy. I need a minimum of 20 pcs for each values.

Thank you

hi Vic

just go for as many values as you can afford. resistors are extremely cheap a few $ will buy several 100 of them. As said by some one earlier doesnt matter which ones you get you will always need a value that you didnt buy .... its called "Murphy's Law"

But if you really need a starting list .....

10, 47, 100, 220, 470, 680 Ohms
1k, 4k7, 10k, 22k, 33k, 47k, 68k, 100k,
220k, 330k, 470k, 680k
1M, 2M2, 4M7

you can fill in the gaps in the values at a later date

cheers
Dave
 
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