untitled

Web site is the clear and helpful project/circuit tutorials. You can also find

links for educational books on topics such as robotics and microcontrollers.

Hobby Engineering.......................................................................................

http://www.hobbyengineering.com

As its name suggests, Hobby Engineering is slanted toward the hobbyist. This

firm carries some useful items that can prove hard to find from suppliers who

cater toward the corporate customer.

Hobby Engineering offers a good supply of microcontrollers, robot kits and

parts, and miscellaneous components and tools.

Jameco...........................................................................................................

http://www.jameco.com

We like Jameco’s catalog. It’s not so big that you suspect a forest was sacri-

ficed in its making, and it has great color photos with relatively easy-to-find

components.

This is one of those suppliers that offers a low price guarantee, which means

that if you can show a part offered for less, the lesser price is honored.

Jameco offers lower-priced generic products as well as name brands.

Digi-Key..........................................................................................................

http://www.digikey.com

Digi-Key is a large distributor of components from various manufacturers,

offering a huge catalog (we’re talking about 1,600 pages) with lots of choices.

However, the trade-off is that the catalog uses such small print that it can be

hard to read. The catalog includes line drawings but no part photos.

However, Digi-Key does a good job of clearly labeling parts.

Bottom line:Digi-Key might give you more choices than a smaller supplier,

so you might be able to find a part you couldn’t find at other suppliers

although it might take some looking to find the right part.

Chapter 15: Ten Great Parts Suppliers 365