gunrunnerjohn posted:George, you miss out on a valuable resource if you ignore places like Digikey and Mouser, they have an incredible inventory and are my "go to" places when I need a part. Once you learn to navigate around them, it's really not that hard to use if you go there knowing what you want. AllElectronics is fine, but they have a fraction of the parts, they are first and foremost a surplus shop, so their inventory changes with the seasons.
I hear you, John. The problem is determining what I need. I'm not an EE or electronics hardware expert, so designing or building a circuit to do something other than produce smoke is an issue. I'm a software guy with some exposure to hardware. That's why I ask people about circuits.
Best analogy I can think of is the old Unix "man" pages. If you knew what you were looking for, great. But if you didn't know the cryptic and byzantine name assigned to something, welcome to the snipe hunt. 
George
