How do you guys organize your resistors, caps, etc

[purplepencil]

I would definitely reccomend using small envelopes in some kind of storage box. Just recently I've done this with all my resistors, makes everything so much easier. Bought some small letter envelopes, and a "card file box" or whatever it is. It's designed to hold little cards that have people's addresses on. It has a clear lid that swings back. Using envelopes is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying lots of those parts bins, and you can also resort things and add values when you need to. I'd advise this for components with lots of values (resistors, ceramic and electrolytic caps etc.) Then for your small quantity items (ICs, switches, jacks etc.) I use large flat clear plastic boxes with dividers. Picked up four of them with 28 compartments each! Handy!


Dave

[drewl]

Luckily I got a few of these parts bins from a place I used to work as they were throwing them away.
Extra bonus: They had a bunch of 1/4w resistors and some caps and transistors and IC's etc.
But you can buy these for like $10 each.

[kurtlives]

I put all my parts in those little drug baggies....above 30K in one drawer, below 30K in another, then caps, transistors, hardware, pots etc all have thier own drawer.

[Jrfatboyeffects]

One of my son's stoner friends took a big hit off of a can of air and form tackled my parts bin and ruined everything I'd taken years to organize. Most of it's still in a bucket all loose.

Wear a condom.

RDV

last random post, i remember this vividly and those parts are still in a bucket ahahahahah

[R.G.]

I also use the envelopes and silverware drawer organizers from WalMart. They fit the envelopes perfectly and I can link the edges of several bins together. (one bin for resistors, one for caps, etc.) I write the component values at the top, keep them in order, and it's easy to flip through and find what I need quickly.

I got the envelopes at Office Depot, but they were only in boxes of 500. I've got about 300 left if anyone wants to buy part of a box...

Very nice.

I've used a shoebox with coin envelopes lying on their sides for about 30 years now. The nice thing about shoeboxes is that you get a lid, which cuts down on (me!) spilling the whole mess. I can get 100-200 1/4W resistors in a coin envelope, so I buy from Mouser in those lots and dump the whole batch into the coiln envelope to replenish. One shoe box = all the values I've ever used, 10 ohms to 4.3M, plus an envelope of 1N4148s and 1N4007s.

Only problem with shoeboxes is that you really need a size 4 1/2 coin envelope, which tends to be an order-only item. It took me over 25 years to start wearing out the 1K's, 10Ks, 100Ks, 1Ms, etc. so I had to order 250? 500? whatever. Few bucks.

Capacitors are too bulky for this. I put them in binned plastic lidded boxes from Harbor Freight, about 35 bins per container; these were on sale for $6 one day and I nabbed about a half dozed. I put my transistor stocks in a one of them. ICs stay in the tubes.

[karbomusic]

Capacitors are too bulky for this. I put them in binned plastic lidded boxes from Harbor Freight, about 35 bins per container; these were on sale for $6 one day and I nabbed about a half dozed. I put my transistor stocks in a one of them.

I use the bins for most everything now except ICs. I have drawers for pots but caps/transistors/resistors/jacks/leds/small hardware all have those plastic organizer deals. On the top I write the value and on the sides I write the range .01uF - 10uf etc so that I can stack them in big stacks and know which one of the 5 capacitor boxes for example contains the one I want.

[vigilante397]

When I first started I had 5 drawers: Resistors, Capacitors, ICs/Transistors/Diodes, Hardware, and Miscellaneous. I know have what I call "the 240 drawers of glory." Four 60-drawer bins for about $24 each on eBay, labelled per value. Now the set of five drawers is just to organize jacks and switches.

[slashandburn]

I'm surprised there's not more discussion on this, Perhaps I'm just chronically untidy. Looking at the workspaces here that could well be true.

It's resistors more than anything else for me. Everything else I've worked out some sort of a system for. My resistors all just get dumped into two drawers. Looking for specific values besides the ones that came with my last order is a nightmare. Definitely something I need to sort out.   I don't think the envelopes or paper dividers thing would work for me. Though it's a good idea and I might start collecting all those sleeves that guitar strings come individually packaged incase I tidy up my act and adopt this.

I was thinking a folder with pocketed sleeves or something but I'd be concerned I'd attempt to store it upside down and eveything would tip out. Sorry for digging an old mine, just didn't want to  start a new thread with my musings. Does anybody use a ring binder with some kind of clear wallets for their resistors? Other storage methods not already mentioned?

[bluebunny]

This is what I do for resistors (from an older thread):

       

It's a photo album.  (Remember "photos"??)  Everything else is in a small tower of 10 RAACO A4 assorter boxes.

[Rob Strand]

I used to arrange them serially but now I tend to use a more compact parallel arrangement.

[slashandburn]

Marc, thats a great method, should be really easy to scan through and quickly see which values you're short off when putting in an order.

You've never had a problem with them all spilling out?

I used to arrange them serially but now I tend to use a more compact parallel arrangement.

Ha.  And alphabetically rather than numerically?

[bluebunny]

It is indeed very quick to scan through.  You get a whole E24 decade on two sheets (six pockets per page side) - so you see half on that first photo.  And I've not yet managed to drop the whole lot or file it upside-down.  But there's still time...   

[StephenGiles]

Envelopes for me, but I must have up to 20 sets of components in pill containers untouched for as long as 20 years!!!

[slashandburn]

You get a whole E24 decade on two sheets (six pockets per page side)

I'm just imagining the next time relatives are visiting and the family photo albums come out. Would make for a much more interesting afternoon.

"These ones are from when had to order parts for my very first Tubescreamer,   Ah, and this one i harvested from your great-grandads CRT television set. You're too young to remember CRT televisions"

[Magnus]

Hello,
I'm an electronic-hobbyist since twelve years now
and I don't have much standard-parts in stock.
I always order my parts for some projects in parallel,
so that the shipping-costs are ok...

I think you only need a storage if you are a servicing-guy...

The only thing I always have in storage is my mojo-vintage-parts-collection 
...except some resistors in a bag, those are 17 different values
and those values are written on its plastic-bag - don't need much place for it.

Maybe not what you like to hear but these are my two cents 


Greetings
Magnus

[slashandburn]

Ah it's all good. I really just need to get my act together.

This is my current system for organising resistors:





Let's just say it's starting to get a little bit cumbersome.

[PRR]

> This is my current system for organising resistors:

Urk.

You need seven buckets. This allows sorting to 10+, 100+, 1K+, 10K+, 100K+, 1Meg+, and oddballs.

Then when you want 3.9K you go right to 1K+, and only have to sift 1/6th of the total mess.

Go ahead and make 7 piles NOW. You will see what size buckets you need, pill-bottles or 3-gallon pail.

The drawer-set was always very good to me.

[samhay]

^ that's what I do, but I have the E1 value's separate as I tend to use these much more often then anything else.

Magnus, If you like to spend time on the breadboard you need to have a reasonable size stash too.

I get by with a couple of these:
http://uk.farnell.com/raaco/126762/cabinet-organiser-44compartment/dp/1367091

[slashandburn]

It's an embarrassment really, I know. Tidying them up is easy though!

I'll get right on it after tea. It may spur me towards finally getting round to reorganising the bulk of the other stuff, too.

7 piles makes it sound workable if nothing else. I'll see what I can conjure up. I should be able to free up 7 drawers. Maybe another bigger deeper one for overflow or restocking the main drawers from.

I have one of those drawer sets Samhay linked a few columns of cheapo modular drawers I've acrued. No reason for me to be this disorganised.

[Magnus]

Hello,

Magnus, If you like to spend time on the breadboard you need to have a reasonable size stash too.

Yes, that's true, prototyping requires some more parts...

...you can use a bridged pot to test a single resistor-value too,
but often there's more to change than only one value...
...and in the end you need some resistors in stock to build it finally, thats right


Greetings
Magnus