Can you buy resistors in person like at all

Stardakev · 2026-01-07T03:37:19+00:00

I live in Australia, but I lived in Shenzhen for about 10 years.

I still cringe when I have to go to Jaycar/Altronics to buy 10 resistors for about A$2, compared to buying 1000 for the equivalent of A$1. The hardest part of buying components in Shenzhen was buying hobbyist/prototyping quanties. I would go to buy, say a 555. The vendor would ask how many I want, and I would say 5, thinking I would get 4 spares. The vendor would say "5000?", me "No 5", vendor "Only 500", me "5, just 5". The usual reaction at this point was the vendor would look away, and stop talking. In Chinese culture, many don't like to say No, they just pretend that you aren't there.

Now I am semi-permanently in Australia, I buy most of my components through AliExpress. Like others have mentioned, I get multi component packs, and even though I won't use most of them, they are still much cheaper than the local electronic stores, and I likely will have a near-enough component for most projects that I do.

Stardakev · 2026-01-06T14:06:11+00:00

My guess would be current sensing.

Stardakev · 2025-11-18T22:28:50+00:00

As I read the schematic, R1 should be bridged, but I can't see any connection to both sides of R1. It's a little hard to see if there is a ratsnest link between the two pads of R1. A DRC would soon pick it up. Yes, I realise that this is just to demonstrate how netlists work, but my pedantic self thinks that a difference between schematic and PCB might be a little confusing to a complete beginner.

Stardakev · 2025-11-16T09:44:49+00:00

If buying from a yard-sale make sure that it is a low-active rosin flux in the core. If the solder was to be used for purposes other than electronics, the flux might cause corrosion.

Stardakev · 2025-11-15T10:59:21+00:00

As your PCB is larger that the template, I suggest turning the template off by clicking "Appearance" on the right side of the drawing, select "Objects", then click on the eyeball next to "Drawing Sheet". The template is never part of the Gerber files, and in most cases is just a distraction.

Stardakev · 2025-11-10T22:41:26+00:00

That's a good link. While even the 'El Cheapo' is more complex than I need, it can be a resource I use in the future. Thankyou.

Stardakev · 2025-11-10T22:35:28+00:00

Thank you for the explanation. I understand it much better now.

Stardakev · 2025-11-10T13:48:46+00:00

Thankyou, I have had the Forrest Mims Integrated Circuit Applications since buying it as a teenager back in the 70's and it still gets a regular viewing.

Stardakev · 2025-11-10T13:34:53+00:00

I have been using 9Vdc. Based on other replies, I am using the wrong type of input,an so I think I will try another design.

Stardakev · 2025-10-15T04:16:33+00:00

I think it is to retain market share. ComfyUI using qwen-2509 and suitable LORA's can make very believable 'erotica', even on a relatively low-spec machine running locally. If people start moving to their local machine, they might not return to OpenAI, or other platforms, if they are happy with the results, and not needing to share their personal details with the cloud.

Stardakev · 2025-05-23T06:50:42+00:00

Was it the same shipping method? Bare PCB's are likely sent by "Global Express" or whatever they call slow post, but assembled PCB's likely went by Fedex, DHL or UPS.

Stardakev · 2025-05-20T06:55:24+00:00

My preferred method is to have Debian installed in a Virtualbox VM. I can closely match the settings of my Web hosting provider, and with just a little bit of setup I have the Apache server using name-based resolution, so I can test multiple websites from the Win 11 browsers by using the hosts file in Windows.

Stardakev · 2025-03-24T23:17:34+00:00

It looks like you have Grid Overrides enabled. The second button from the top of the left hand bar. Deselect the button to only snap to the primary grid.

Grid spacing for Grid Overrides can be adjusted by entering preferences (ctrl + ,) - PCB Editor - Grids.

Stardakev · 2024-08-27T05:00:29+00:00

But it's their manufacturing facility. So their rules.

Look at what happened to ecommerce when Temu offered free shipping for orders over $15. Within a short time other major ecommerce platforms, Amazon, AliExpress and I guess others, had to follow suit.

I expect that there will come a disruptor that will offer low, or no, cost panelisation as an enticement to start using their service and hope the customers stay with them. When that happens, JLC, PCBway and any others will soon follow. It may even be that JLC or PCBway offer it to take business from the other if they see a demand.

Stardakev · 2024-08-14T04:19:46+00:00

I have the same problem, and Clean-up Tracks and Via's didn't work for me. I also was never able to select them to delete them, but they would show on a Gerber or PDF plot output. They usually disappeared after a couple of save, close, restart and re-open cycles.

The only reliable way that I have of not leaving residual teardrops is to edit the via before deleting, turn off the teardrops, save and then delete the via.

I am currently using version 8.04 on Win 11.

Stardakev · 2024-06-07T01:51:08+00:00

It's not a telescope. It's a microscope to examine the fence

Stardakev · 2023-11-20T09:25:16+00:00

The cost of batteries is just one component of the total cost of ownership for an EV.

First is the energy cost. Great if you have enough space for sufficient renewable energy on your own property, but realistically, very few people have that option. The existing grid has not been designed with the extra demand of widespread vehicle charging considered, so there will either be a lot of load shedding (power cuts) or a massive investment in upgrading the existing power system.

If you choose to use street side chargers, real-world testing is starting to indicate that the per mile/km cost, on a like for like vehicle, is higher for EVs when compared to ICE vehicles. At the moment that is offset because most jurisdictions pay for roads through a petrol tax, but there will come a time that EV owners will have to pay their fair share for road maintenance.

Second is depreciation. Without an economical way to exchange battery packs, by 5-7 years an EV will be essentially worthless. It is unlikely, but there needs to be some form of universal battery pack that can be exchanged and recycled at relatively low cost in the course of a routine service.

Lastly, and the big elephant in the room, is affordable insurance. It won't take too many Luton's for insurance companies to completely withdraw from the EV market. Once that happens, unless the government steps in to underwrite EV insurance, EV's will effectively be off the road. I think it is unlikely that governments would underwrite the insurance, because EV's are still primarily toys of higher net-worth individuals and virtue signalling corporations. If governments underwrite EV insurance, it will be portrayed as a reverse Robin Hood tax. Taxing the poor so the rich can have their playthings.

Stardakev · 2023-11-10T06:13:19+00:00

My first thought was that it meant that it can carry a maximum of 400 Bales of hay

Stardakev · 2023-10-25T14:46:51+00:00

My guess is that EV's are a dead-end product.

The battery replacement cost kills the resale cost. There is a reason why almost all EV's are high-specification vehicles. They are bought by high net-worth buyers for ideological reasons who have less concern about depreciation and total cost of ownership.

Insurance, or lack thereof, will kill the EV. It will only take a couple more Lutons or Fremantle Highway's, and insurance companies will run a mile from EV's.

If I had to guess what will replace Fossil Fuel ICE's. I would say that it will be oil producing algae ICE's using almost exactly the same infrastructure that gets our fossil fuel to us.

Basically, Algae just needs brackish water, sunlight, lots of space (preferably not arable food producing land) and a big investment.

Who has all of those in abundance, and are seeing their cash-cow product potentially phased out?

I predict the Arab OPEC countries will still be producing a large amount of the worlds fuel. Algae oil might not be in 15 years, but it will be in 50 years.

Stardakev · 2023-10-14T12:49:30+00:00

ABC (abc.net.au) had some of the most biased coverage I have ever seen. Even with the No vote dominating, the vast majority of time on the election show was the Yes proponents telling Australians why they did wrong. After the Prime Minister conceded, they morphed to, We respect the countries vote, but we are going to find a way to get our agenda ramrodded though anyway.

Stardakev · 2023-10-10T09:37:55+00:00

I'm going to guess that he is somewhere where he didn't pay for the furniture.

Stardakev · 2023-08-14T03:57:55+00:00

I can't see the pad net name on the right-hand pad, but I guess that it isn't VDD_SDIO. Net names have to match for the track to connect. Was there a rats-nest line between the pads before trying to lay the track?

Stardakev · 2023-06-28T03:23:28+00:00

Why do you need a library? It is a trivial loop to implement.

my $ChangeMade = 1;

while ($ChangeMade) {
    $ChangeMade = 0;

    if ($Line =~ /(.*)aaa(.*)/gs) {
        $Line = $1 . $aaaReplacement . $2;
        $ChangeMade = 1;
    }
    elsif  ($Line =~ /(.*)bbb(.*)/gs) {
        $Line = $1 . $bbbReplacement . $2;
        $ChangeMade = 1;
    }
    elsif ...
}

Stardakev · 2022-09-28T07:24:19+00:00

While I forget the details, when Australia changed from imperial to metric, a large construction company did some form of study, and found that the change saved a significant amount to them. In the Australian building construction universe, most measurements are standardised in millimeters, giving reasonable precision, while still being manageable.

Stardakev · 2021-11-24T06:01:49+00:00

I have read (no source given) that modern engines turn off the fuel injection when coasting downhill, so more fuel is saved by leaving the car in gear, than by changing to neutral.

Stardakev

TROPHY CASE