RS (was: Re: Maplin Woes)

[jhaible]

> RS are horrendously expensive if you dont have a business account
>
> Farnell will send you huge free catalogues:   www.farnell.com
> and have a good range.

I used to think that both, RS and Farnell, were too expensive, but
meanwhile I find myself buying quite often from them (and much
more from RS than from Farnell).
Why ?
RS is very fast (often I get the stuff the next day delivered to my door),
and very relyable. From other companies, I often get components
with the manufacturer not specified. I even got a bunch of 74HC40xx
when I ordered 40xx once - you can imagine what happens on 15V
supply. Not with RS. You have the coice between several manufacturers
in the RS catalogue to begin with, and when they once sent a replacement
for a 7815 (not that critical, compared with CMOS vs. HCMOS), they
put a big WARNING sticker on the bag, and the option to return the
components.
The bottom line is quality has its price, and sometimes you want that
quality.

My main source for general electronic components is Reichelt
(www.reichelt.de). Also quite fast on delivery (2-3 days),
quite reliable in most cases, and much cheaper, of course.

JH.