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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2008-05-21, 23:23

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
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Anyone else here have much experience with wiring up little projects like this? It seems to be a dying art, or at least as would seem that way given how impossible it is to find parts. Except for Radio Shack, which is literally a magnitude overpriced for many parts, I couldn't find any local parts stores in the Raleigh/Cary, NC area. Maybe I just don't know where to look? Any tips from you pros?

turtle? WLP? It looks like you guys have some basic EE skills.
That's gonna look very cool on your project I'm sure.

In my area I use Priest Electronics. I avoid Radio Shack at all costs unless no other option exists and time is critical which is rare. On the site for Priest they list covering the Caraolinas so you might have something local. Plus, with that area being what it is, I find it hard to believe there isn't a good local electronics supplier. A quick Google came up with Allied Electronics. You might want to give them a shot.

My biggest tip for you would be to start of with projects and build up from there. As you're doing these things you'll gain the understanding of what is going on. Electronics can be very daunting if you get into the engineering side without a clue. So the quick projects (like your lights here) are a great way to get started and build up from there. You can get projects from the web or book/magazines.

Sadly, this does seem to be a dying art. I'm sure it because most things are "black box" now. Most things aren't user serviceable and are just thrown away or whole modules replaced rather than repaired. It's a whole lot of fun though, IMO. Especially when you mess up, troubleshoot it, and fix it! I love that victory.

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