[sdiy] Carbon film resistors

[mskala at northcoastsynthesis.com]

On Thu, 19 May 2022, Tom Wiltshire wrote:

> Still, Farnell know one end of a resistor from the other, so I'm sure

Interesting turn of phrase.

Newark Avnet seems to be the Canadian branch.  I'm not sure exactly what
their relationship is with the Element14 empire; they used to be "Newark
Element14" and then they changed, so they might have been spun off, but
they still sell Multicomp parts and ship some from the UK, so I think
there's still a connection.  And I think of them as the "ass with both
hands" disributor because of their frequent mistakes, delays, and other
issues.  Most recently, a batch of anti-static foam was packed into a box
that was simply too small to contain it.  I wouldn't rank them high on the
list for knowing what they're doing, relative to others.

I'm still working my way through a 5000-unit ammo pack of Multicomp 100k
metal film resistors that Newark Avnet shipped me by mistake.  All the
paperwork said two packs of 500 and what was actually in the box was one
pack of 500 and one of 5000.  I felt obligated to email them explaining
the situation, and I offered to pay the difference, but after a couple of
attempts with no response, I figured it was okay to just keep the extras.
Resolving other mistakes they made that were not in my favour has cost me
more than the value involved on that one.

I have only used the metal film Multicomp resistors, not carbon film, but
they seem perfectly acceptable.  They are a noticeably different lighter
shade of blue from other brands of metal film resistors, and stand out
visually on the board.

-- 
Matthew Skala
North Coast Synthesis Ltd.