What are must have cheap small electronics from China?

Off-topic Chatter
1

The last couple of days I’ve been repairing small electronics, with parts bought from Ebay.
What cheap small electronics should every self respecting tinkerer have in his/hers possession?

Some examples are: Resistors, Leds, Battery holders and Wires.

Edit: to clarify I’m asking people for items that they think any tinkerer should have.

2

Its cheaper to buy components from China Before you need them than to spend 5X more plus shipping when you need them fast.
Basics you have listed but most of what is needed these days are SMD components in 1206 or 0805 form factor.
Resistors are necessary but trying to predict what values you may need will be difficult. I bought a large variety pack and my first need was for an R100 which was not in my “kit”. So I had to buy some from Digikey here in USA. I also included R120 and R140 in 1206 size. Good to have for increasing driver amps. Yesterday I also used a 1R0 on a driver and it went from 0.9A on high to 1.3A which was perfect for the light it was in.

Older components I have needed were electrolytic capacitors that swelled or diodes on power boards.

Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to buy from a place like Digikey because I have more choices of the brands and ratings of the components. And honestly I get Digikey orders in 2 days. Perhaps you can find a supplier that offers choices and sorta local to you for fast deliveries.

3

That is precisely why I’m asking :money_mouth_face:

4

You could get a voltage reference board to check accuracy of your DMM. I bought one from the US because I didn’t feel like waiting, but they are much cheaper from China. I think I paid around $16.

5

Never heard of that can you give an explanation on how it works and how you know it is precise?

6

The board comes with readings from a high precision Agilent voltage meter. You compare those readings to what you get when you hook up your own DMM to see how far off yours is. You can actually adjust some cheap DMMs to bring them closer to what where they should be. Other DMMs you can’t, but at least you’ll know how far off they are and you can account for that.

Not a “must have” type of a thing, but for a tinkerer… why not?

Or you can buy an expensive Fluke DMM. :slight_smile:

7

Hmmm yeah sounds like a nice thng to have. Problem I see is that you never know if it’s for real or just crap.

8

Isn’t that a risk in general when buying stuff from China?

9

Sure but you’ll find out fast enough if it’s crap, this is different. Unless you got a very prcise and correct DMM you can never find out but then there’s no need for a ref. board if you got such a DMM.
I would like to know how correct my DMM is so this might be an option….

10

And you can buy the needed electronics from Huangqiangbei,Shenzhen.It is much cheaper than that you buy from your country.

11

As to this question, I think it partly depends on the quality of the item,itself.But in whole,it is convenient to buy the stuff from China, which you can be assured.

12

Hi maryzhu!

Let me be the first to welcome you to the forum :crown:

I’m also honored, to have your first 2 posts be on my thread!

13

Hi Buzzing Bulb,

Thanks for your reply. I am a seoer,always posting a new article on website, which is my work.

14

Hi Buzzing Bulb,

In reply to your question, in fact buying from China is the same as buying from the Internet,outline shopping.I think if the item you want to buy is common in your local market and the price is relevantly same as that on the net,you can buy it in your country.In this case, it is much cheaper and more convenient than online shopping.What do you think ? Do you agree with my opinion ?

15

I surely agree with you and I have bought many items from China.

What would you say is a must have item from Shenzhen, that anyone on this forum should have?

16

As I have known, Shenzhen is known as one of the tourist site, Huaqiangbei.It is the biggest electronic market in China and there’re many electronic appliances that you can buy.I can responsibly say that the electronic appliances you bought from China largely come from Shenzhen.Before shipping,every electronic appliances have to be strictly tested.You can explore news about Huaqiangbei on the baidu browser and found something different.By the way,can you please do me a favor ?

17

Hi Buzzing Bulb,

I want to know if you’re online now.Thanks in advance.

18

In the US, most of us buy everything flashlight related online, regardless of where it is coming from. The difference is that if you order from US, you get it in 2-3 days. If you order it from China, you get it in 3-4 weeks, sometimes even longer. Granted, most of this stuff is a hobby and not life critical, so it’s OK to wait. However, some of us have been spoiled and want to get our goods quickly. Sometimes it costs only a little bit more to buy from the US with fast shipping. Sometimes it doesn’t.

19

Thanks for your comment.What you have said makes sense and it is indeed the fact.However I want to say that damage in transit is unavoidable, so I think if the stuff is fragile to be broken,I suggest you should buy it in US,otherwise once this case happens, it is not good either for sellers or buyers.But sellers from China will take full responsibilities of this case.In the logistics,shipment is the big issue, which sellers can not control.

20

I also suggest that if there is the stuff in the local market and it is much cheaper than that on net,you should buy it in US.It is more convenient,isn’t it ? After all, you don’t need to pay the postage for it.