I see that there are a few Canadians out there. I'm in Saskatoon, and was wondering if there were any really good suppliers for boxes and electronics in Canada that would be well-stocked for DIY stompboxing. Especially for boxes, but in general, are there any good suppliers around here?

I don't know about your area, but generally pick mine up from local stores, Active for one, and I've found another one locally in Ottawa call A.D.D Electronics that carry a lot of stuff, surplus, new, components for speakers, cable, etc. They have a pile of Hammond boxes on the shelf. I always thought it was a TV repair place until I walked in ...

Active have a web site, so you could order that way

http://www.active-tech.ca/b2c/redirect.cfm?pn=2

When I'm in Toronto I like to go to Electrosonic, they are HUGE, though they sell to industry, they have a parts counter, you can pick up anyting current there! They have sales offices around Canada and they have a web site, but I think you need to create an account with them to place orders.  I haven't been to the website in years ...

http://www.e-sonic.com/electrosonic/home.asp

you could also check www.digikey.ca it lists prices in CDN$ and they pay the brokerage fees when shipping to Canada. Don't remember if they have a minimum order for that...

That's all I have ...

Active isn't bad, but they seem to be under some sort of ownership transition now and the transitional period has impacted on how much stock they have and ordering.  They used to have MUCH more selection in passive components, at least it has in my experience.  My favourite place to get parts is Supremetronic in Toronto.  Lots of everything DIY-ers need, even BBDs and stompswitches!  About as close to buying from Small Bear as you can get in Canada (without the germanium, the vactrols, or the service, though).  Although they have a web-site (www.supremetronic.com), orders for shipping need to be placed by phone or fax.  Prepare yourself for the accent.  Honest as the day is long, though.  Pity they don't have pictures of the inside.  The on-line listings are extensive but there is so much there that you couldn't know they have from the listing, like caps, resistors, and pots.

Get in touch with Dean Hazelwanter, who is out your way.  He may have some ideas about local sources, and maybe you two can go in on purchases.  If you come to town for the Grey Cup this year, we'll set you up good.

Yup, I'm from Saskatoon too.

As for suppliers, you probably already have the (short) list. EP Supply (wholesale only - right by Princess Auto), and B&E Electronics on Faithful Ave. Both have their strengths.

What's your last name Ryan? It's quite possible that we've seen each other around if you've been into electronics for awhile. Feel free to drop me a line at dean.hazelwanter@sasktel.net or dhazelwanter@scs.sk.ca

Mark's right about Supremetronics, it's like being a kid set free in a candy store. Plan on an hour or two to disappear.  Just about everything you need except Hammond boxes and J201's.

Electrosonic has Hammond boxes and transformers, Switchcraft and Neutrik jacks and plugs, Behlen wire, Fluke etc. etc... OK prices and next day delivery to my door.

Digikey is reasonable and they always get my orders here the next day. The shipping from Digikey is less then what it would cost to go into Toronto for the day so they get alot of my orders for caps, resistors and various ic's.

Has anybody any experience with Tip Top Electronics in Winnipeg. They have the best prices I've seen for Hammond boxes and transformers and since I'm out of province I shouldn't have to pay PST.

http//:www.tiptopelectronics.com/

How are their shipping costs and stock availability, I haven't been able to find that on their site.

Anybody know of a Canadian source for j201's. Newark have them but you'd need to order alot to meet their minimum.   Plus I've never ordered from them either.

thanks, Dave

Mark, re: Active ... that explains things! I've noticed that their re-stocking was kind of "slow", and now it seems that a lot of their components have gone NTE for replacements ...

Later,

Active Electronics (not to be confused with Active Surplus in T.O.) has not been very good in the last few years with it's ICs which was about the only thing they were good for. They now have the BAD habit of miss-labeling or freely substituting IC in their packages. I have seen them use different IC, and sometimes incompatible, families to replace what is labeled on the package. You now have to look at the ICs in the package to be sure of what you are getting.

I noew use mainly Digikey for ICs. That way I get exactly what I want. There is no minimum order. There is a $6.50 handling charge for orders under $32.50 I belive. Shipping is usually $8.00. Orders are shipped the same day if recieved by 8pm EST. The best all around option I think. If only they would carry more Carling and some Alpha stuff they would be a near one stop shop DIYers.

Andrew