how much money have you spent on your DIY'ing

[zener]

really.  so are you saying they are expensive.. or that your candy is not cheap........  :twisted:   lol

sorry there i had to ask..  you should check out anomys exprial metnalist. i can't rmember how to spell all that.  anyway.. he has some great resistor deals.

No, in fact I intend to say the it's way cheaper if foreign exchange rate is considered (don't know if I'm making good statement here).

The rate is $1 - P50-P55 (Philippine peso). I can buy 3 resistors for P1.00. The candy I'm talking about is priced at 3 pieces for P2.00.

If I can remember it right, resistor is $0.10 at small bear. That's why I'm very reluctant about ordering online. But of course, there's no way you cannot get any part online.

[Brian Marshall]

god, it seems like every order from mouser or small bear is in the 100 dollar range - I tend to go through projects in spurts.  I've gotten to the point where i finally have all the resistors i need, now if I only had a better stock of capacitors, transistors and ICs; and if they didn't add up in cost so quickly; i might be set not having to order for a really long time.  I don't even want to think about how much i spend (my last order was 112 dollars, to get me parts for about 6 projects [i work on too much at once]) but I'm finally at the point where most of my projects I have 80-90% of what I need already.  I got a really good deal on Switchcraft jacks from eBay - what I really need is a good mixed-lot of a caps.  I keep seeing good deals, but it's always like 1000 of the same 1uf cap or something.

ha... my last mouser order i got 100 tl072's... i go through them like water, and seem to kill them some how when ever i put one on the bread board.  I smash a pin, or drop it and step on it.  i work out in my garage, and it gets cold this time of year, so static electricity is a problem too, but mostly my hads just get cold, and i drop them... there are probably about 10 of them behind my bench, but it's too much of a pain to move it for them.. then again i know there is a bunch of film caps back there too.  Those might be worth pulling out the nails for.

[drew]

I suspect that most people who (like me) have spent untold amounts of money on DIY electronics stuff are probably (like me) sitting here trying not to think about how much money has been spent....

Speaking of which, I have a box full of half-built projects, fully-built projects that don't work, built projects that DO work and aren't in a case, and a huge load of spare wires and terminals. Any of you folks with more time than money want it? Send me an email or PM me, it's yours for $30 + shipping... has some unused Radio Shack PCBs in it, pots, vactrols, trimmers, opamps....


drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

[Zero the hero]

I've always recyced most of the components I've used in my projects, I've taken them from old radios, old computers, broken monitors, 2 video recorders, one broken deck and many other electronic devices.
I spend money only for buying PCBs, etchant, the drill (the most expensive stuff I've bought), and hard to find components, such as transistors and ICs.
I had solder, DMM and other useful stuff at home.
I've never bought an enclosure, but I've used plastic or metal boxes I got at home: the funniest box I've got is the Super Octave, I used an old US Robotics modem for the enclosure... Well, I think I've spent about 300 euros in 10 months of  DIYing for making 9 complete pedals and 10 other waiting for an home.

But, most valuable thing, I believe that everyone here had spent a well worth amount of money for one thing that nobody sells, that is the knowledge that we are earning day by day all togheter, and I'll be forever grateful for it.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

But, most valuable thing, I believe that everyone here had spent a well worth amount of money for one thing that nobody sells, that is the knowledge that we are earning day by day all togheter, and I'll be forever grateful for it.

Well said, Zero! And I might add, the best engineers I know, are the ones who built shit when they were kids... knowledge comes from doing. The beauty of FX DIY is that it covers such a wide field, metal work to programming & everything between. Go for it guys!

[smoguzbenjamin]

Programming?

Paul, are you making digital FX again? Naughty boy!

[drew]

Well put! I've been at this for something like ten years, on and off, and appreciate all the help and ideas I've gotten from folks- whether it was seeing pedal schematics online in the dark ages of the internet (which revived my interest in electronics) or getting broken stuff to work thanks to my growing knowledge of this stuff in general, it's all been great. I can't tell you how many broken synths/effects I paid almost nothing for, repaired, and either kept them in my home studio or sold them to pay for little things like going to college and rent! I know that's off topic, but perhaps it's a bit more cheery to think about than the amount that I've spent... especially spent on building stuff that didn't turn out well.



drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

[Brian Marshall]

especially spent on building stuff that didn't turn out well.

Yeah... i have a silicone fuzz i put together about a year ago that just never worked right (or at least it didnt sound right)  I have been meaning to go back and turn it in to a 5 knob fuzz, but as for right now I keep looking at the BB box like a vulture....