Quote from: GuitarLord66 on July 15, 2010, 07:23:14 PMI know I have been asking a lot but what extra values of transistors, capacitors, resistors, etc, should I buy to start "tinkering" with? I don't want to make an order and think, "I should have got some of those..."
That's a tough question really. You'll always be saying, "I should have," it sort of comes with the territory! It really depends on your budget, as new parts assortments can be expensive. I get most of mine disassembling and scavenging old electronics that are on their way to the landfill anyway.
Welcome to the wonderful world of datasheets. Bookmark this. Any time you see a chip, diode, or part number you can start there and see if there's a datasheet for it. The passive components have sheets too, but you have to know part numbers or manufacturing identifiers. Use the hell out of this, and try to learn what the mysterious abbreviations and graphs mean. I'm not all the way there yet, but I've learned more from datasheets than any other single source.
Here's my take on start up parts.
Passive components
Resistors, Capacitors, and Inductors fit in here. You'll probably never have to use an inductor, and that's a good thing. These have a set of 'preferred values' called the E series. There's a company called Velleman who makes blister packs of resistors and capacitors in a few different series, and those can be a good way to stock up for the first time. I don't think you can buy direct from them, but lots of places resell the kits. You can use the Velleman part number to search around. Don't sweat tolerances too much yet, especially on capacitors. A big set of brand new 1% metal film resistors can eat into your starting budget.
Important! Learn how to use two or more caps and resistors in series and in parallel to get values you don't have handy and improve their matching (there are programs that help with this), it'll stretch an E3 cap set and an E12 resistor set to cover almost anything.
Diodes
I get heaps of these scavenging. You can divide them up into roughly three categories: rectifier, signal, and zener. The rectifier diodes are used mainly in power supplies and as protection. The most common are the 1N400X series, where X is from 1 to about 7, and their are other types designed to be fast for use in switching power supplies. Signal diodes are faster acting (usually) and designed for low power signals like logic gates and line level audio. The diodes in your distortion pedal are small signal, for example. Zener diodes are specially designed power diodes used to regulate voltage or limit a signal at a higher level than one diode drop (~0.6V). You probably won't have a big pile of these on hand until you get really serious. Consider picking up a dozen 1N400X series diodes with your order (x=4 should be ok), and a dozen spare signal diodes.
Transistors
There are about eleventeen million different types out there. They can be divided into groups by polarity (NPN vs PNP), architecture (Field Effect [FET] vs Bipolar Junction [BJT]), power rating, case style (TO92, TO220, and TO3 are most common, see chip carrier), and a dozen other ratings. For just starting I'd grab an extra half dozen 2N3904 and 2N3906 and order more as you build different things, always picking up a half dozen or so spares. They're not the best for audio work, but they'll get the job done most of the time. They are complimentary, meaning that the first is NPN and the second is it's PNP equivalent. They tend to cost about a dime each until you get into the bigger, higher current power transistors like the TIP series or larger. Transistors, especially FETs, are sensitive to Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). This means that if you build up a small static charge (smaller than makes a spark) and touch the leads it can degrade or ruin the part. That's a research topic for you, and another rant altogether for me.
ICs
There are about twentyteen billion different types out there. I'm not even going to try to state the different types, but you'll be primarily concerned with opamps. Opamps are like tiny complete amplifiers self contained in a chip package. There's a lot to learn about their use, and I can swamp you with things to read if you like. Here's some part numbers for audio opamps to run through the datasheet catalog: TL07x (x=1, 2, or 4), 4558, NE5534, LM386, LM3886 (technically an opamp, but often though of as a monolithic power amp). There's a bunch of other chips that are useful that aren't opamps, like voltage regulators (75xx [fixed regulator, last two digits = voltage], LM317 and 337 [pos and neg adjustable]), timers (NE555), gates (Don't ask, it's ugly), comparators (LM339), the list goes on. My advice would be to wait until you get to a project that uses them, buy three or so extra, and experiment.
Important! Be careful to buy exactly what you need. Chips are usually sold in multiple carriers (see chip carriers above) and it can be disappointing to order a part and have it arrive as the surface mount version when you need through hole.
Whew, and that's just a start. I really can't recommend salvage highly enough, it really cuts down the cost. Get a nice soldering/desoldering kit put together and other people's junk is your treasure!
Quote from: GuitarLord66 on July 15, 2010, 07:23:14 PMAgain, thank you so much you have been so much help
No worries. Getting started is the hard part, if you can muscle through the hard part it pays off immensely. Just keep at it!
Wow, I really rattled on this time. Hope that helps.