On Thursday 07 July 2005 06:30 pm, Greg Codori wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> I am designing a PCB following a schematic designed by someone living
> in Europe, and while he supplied a nice schematic and partlist, I am
> having trouble finding certain parts in America with the same
> specifications. The part list has part numbers for a supplier called
> Elfa (www.elfa.se). I have been able to convert most of the parts
> listed in Elfa to parts here in the US. But some I can't find...
This is why I tend to try and stick with the most generic parts possible when
I'm designing or building something. Going to the more specialized stuff
makes more sense for a manufacturer where shaving a few pennies off here and
there can make a lot of difference, but for the likes of us hobbyists the
shipping costs will be more than the difference in price most times.
> This is making it difficult to design a board design using parts I
> can't purchase here. In fact, there are a couple parts which are not
> available at all to consumers (I have found some military and OEM
> suppliers who are willing to take a RFQ, but I only need one piece).
I've bumped into those web sites from time to time and as soon as I realize
that's what I'm looking at I go elsewhere, those sites are okay for a mfr.
but not for hobby use.
> How do those of you who live in America deal with designs from other
> countries which have different part suppliers?
Take a look at
http://yourpage.blazenet.net/rtellason/parts.html and maybe
download the pages for reference, and you'll get an idea. :-)
> I have tried digikey, jameco, allecetronics, newarkinone, and
> others. Does anyone know of parts in America that match the ones
> described below?
>
> http://www.elfa.se/pdf/71/07104979.pdf
> bc337b - Philips general purpose transistor
> elfa #71-072-46
> $0.21 EU
I show that as being an NPN Silicon transistor with a Vce of 45V, an Ic(max)
of 800mA, a power rating of 625mW, and a beta range of 160-400 for the
generic BC337. The way those numbers work is that the letter on the end is
indicative of different segments of that beta range, so a "c" there would
tend toward the higher end. Without looking at the schematic you're working
from I'm not sure what would be a good substitute -- a 2N2222A has that kind
of current capability but I don't think it has as much gain. Whether this
will matter or not I can't say.
> http://www.vishay.com/docs/88501/1500z.pdf
> b40c1500r - 1.5a bridge rectifier
> elfa#70-050-93
> $1.08 EU
Bridge rectifiers are fairly generic parts. If I was looking for one for a
repair then beside the specs I'd be looking at what kind of a package it was
in. Some have all four wires in line, some have them arranged in a square,
and if nothing else you could always make one up using four individual
diodes. I use 1N4000 series parts for anything with 1A or less of a
requirement (and that ∗might∗ work for what you're doing but again it depends
on the circuit), 1N5408 for heavier-duty (3A) stuff. You also used to be
able to find a fair selection of them at radio shack of all places, though I
haven't looked lately.
> I would be most appreciative if someone could find parts that match
> the specs. As this is for a power source, the specs can't be "close
> enough" (I've found plenty of parts that are close but not quite).
You can always exceed the specs in some ways, particularly with the bridge
rectifier. How critical the transistor is I can't say without looking at a
schematic.
> I would even entertain the idea of sending funds via paypal for
> someone in europe to snail mail over these two items (cost of items
> and postage). Elfa wants 18-70 EU ($21 - 83USD) for delivery outside
> of the EU. That's more than the project costs for the rest of the
> parts!
>
> Any good ideas?
See above. And feel free to point me at a schematic someplace (if it's
online) or shoot me a copy in email (if it's not) and we'll take it from
there.