Free samples

[smoguzbenjamin]

Check out all the knobs those guys make! I'm gonna build an amp and I can't decide what knobs I want on it! I want to sample them all! GL5000, did you have to pay shipping on those samples?

[Somicide]

enclosures now too?  bad ass!  Now if i could get perf...

[travissk]

or if TI gave out those graphing calculators...

if you got 10 free of the OPA627 and sold them (12.25 each) you could buy a ti graphing calculator ;p

C

I know it was a joke, but everyone should keep in mind that these samples are under no circumstances for resale or use in a commercial product, unless the agreement says otherwise.

Resale is against the terms and unethcal as well; I'm sure some people do this, but if you want samples in the future it's a good idea not to exploit the system.

[GuitarLord5000]

I agree totally with you travissk.  Also, I personally get samples to actually 'sample' the products.  When doing so, I always request a quote, that way, if I find a good product, I can and WILL purchase from these suppliers, providing they have decent pricing.  Mill-max will get all my socket business from now on.  Their sockets are 100 times better than rat-shacks!

Ben...No shipping paid, bro!

[Moo]

I just ordered from Illinois Capacitor. Thanks to the person that found that out!

My next order is gonna be from KOA...I have enough TI ICs and ON transistors...

Someone should really make a list of companies and their websites that give out samples. That would help out a lot!

[Gringo]

I just ordered from Illinois Capacitor. Thanks to the person that found that out!

My next order is gonna be from KOA...I have enough TI ICs and ON transistors...

Someone should really make a list of companies and their websites that give out samples. That would help out a lot!

I already did. Check the links at my home page.

[GuitarLord5000]

Uh......check out Gringo's Home Page.  That's what clued me in on the whole free sample stuff.  Pretty interesting stuff.  I'm planning on building a diy PCB drill because of something I saw on his site.  Thank you Gringo!

[Impaler]

I stumbled onto Illinois Capacitor on accident... musta had something to do with the delirium caused by trying to figure out KOA's code system  

[vdm]

hey all,

i just got my package from TI today - 4 days from US to AUS, quite a good effort by my book, and i didn't have to pay a cent in customs (the order was only worth 10.71)

i was wondering if there is anywhere to get 3080 IC's for a small stone phaser and maestro filter sample and hold? my main problem is that i have everything else for these pedals, from other samples or donations from my school, but these chips are only 85c a piece, and i have to order them from america making them cost a hell of a lot more. btw what are these chips classified as?

also i'd like to build a couple rebote delays for myself and a few friends have asked for a delay pedal :roll: but hey i know i'm not gonna get any free BBD's... save up and get em from small bear i guess. same deal for the mn3007's.

anywho - TI rocks and after their kind gesture and awesome quality stuff, im certainly not worried about paying for their chips now:) in my order i got some of these: SN65LBC182P, and i can't remember how or why i was going to use them... but something made me ask for them, so i guess i'll have to figure it out eventually unless someone has any ideas.

i have a couple max1044's on the way, so i can do some of those anderton projects but other than that i just want to thank gringo for the great links.

thanks, trent

[mikeb]

Maybe it is just me but I'd feel more than a little guilty taking advantage of the goodwill of these companies just to get 'free stuff' to build pedals. And NOTHING is really free - the money has to come from somewhere (in traditional company structures this means out of the pockets of the share-holders, but also out of the pockets of the employees also). In addition, you are then also taking money away from people like (for example) Small Bear Electronics who have gone out of their way to create a business that caters SPECIFICALLY for your hobby and interests.

I feel my conscience is worth more than a few bucks of electronics parts.

Mike

[mikeb]

i was wondering if there is anywhere to get 3080 IC's for a small stone phaser and maestro filter sample and hold?

rockby.com.au has them for $9.50 apiece if you don't want to wait for an o/s order.

Mike

[Jered]

Maybe it is just me but I'd feel more than a little guilty taking advantage of the goodwill of these companies just to get 'free stuff' to build pedals. And NOTHING is really free - the money has to come from somewhere (in traditional company structures this means out of the pockets of the share-holders, but also out of the pockets of the employees also). In addition, you are then also taking money away from people like (for example) Small Bear Electronics who have gone out of their way to create a business that caters SPECIFICALLY for your hobby and interests.

I feel my conscience is worth more than a few bucks of electronics parts.

Mike

  Thank you Mike, kind of gets under my skin seeing people order the max of everything they can get, just because they can. It will be sad if the free samples stop from this mfgr. or that mfgr. because of abusing the sample request.
 Some of us/most of us only order min of what we need for a specific project/circuit/test.
 Loading up on everything just because you can seems kind of, well,...greedy.
  Of course this is just my personal view point, so fire away...:^)
  Jered

[dubs]

i was wondering if there is anywhere to get 3080 IC's for a small stone phaser and maestro filter sample and hold?

rockby.com.au has them for $9.50 apiece if you don't want to wait for an o/s order.

Mike

Dick smith have them in some stores for $4.50. I have afew here from when I bulk ordered from Small bear.

Got my package from TI in less than 3 days(!) - good going from U.S to Australia. Got some burr browns OPA134 to build a nice headphone amp and opa627 ($18 a piece!) ! Gulp! :oops:

After the previous posts, now I feel pretty guilty, yeah don't think I'll be ordering freebies again unless I can't find it anywhere to buy (electronic parts range sucks in Australia). I think we are abusing the system to a degree by maxing out samples requests..

[bobbletrox]

I doubt giving away samples makes any difference to the profits they make from selling hundreds of thousands of ICs to manufacturers.

But still, I agree.  20 Burr Browns should be enough to last a DIYer aaaggges.

[smoguzbenjamin]

If you look at the individual cost of each IC, it's peanuts. I'm looking at my sample sheet which came in today. No customs costs, 3-day shipping from the states to Holland, pretty good! TI rocks! But anyway,

The cost for 1 RC458P is thirteen cents! That's nothing for a company that makes millions and millions of dollars a year delivering semiconductors to people and manufacturers all over the world. My total order value was $40,90, divide that by three or so and you've got the actual manufacturing cost for the chip alone not including advertising, website design etc etc. In a way, the $20 that they're eventually paying to send us samples is advertising, if I go and make a pedal that uses the TI OPT101P chip (a photodiode) and that pedal rocks so hard that everyone wants to make one, TI is going to have a larger demand for their OPT101 chips. Now we're probably are at a tiny tiny scale, but still. TI supplies thier customer service as a luxury and it generates customers. Their fast shipping and easy-to-navigate website makes me happy, and I'm sure lots of people appreciate their professional but friendly way of handling these orderstoo, unlike ONsemi for instance which cancels orders without notice or any reason known to us. What I want to say is that when we order 50 bucks worth of ICs, it doesn't make much of a difference. I don't plan on ordering every week, maybe not even every month. A couple of DIY-ers ordering some opamps won't be such a bad thing for TI.

About Steve, you're right in a way, but I'll go to Steve when I want a BBD or a couple of switches and pots and knobs and an enclosure or two. Small Bear doesn't rely on IC sales to stay afloat so (no offense Steve) you shouldn't worry. From what I've picked up, SBE is overloaded with orders.

So never you mind

[smoguzbenjamin]

Wow that's the longest post I ever made :mrgreen:

[GuitarLord5000]

Ben, I agree with you in a lot of ways.  When ordering samples of discrete products such as resistors, I always order the maximum amount possible per piece, though I do NOT order a maximum of individual pieces, because there is no need to for my purposes.  These companies will generate business due to the testing of their samples.  The ways in which they'll generate this business are complex and there are many.  I have a completely clean conscience when ordering samples, because if I find a use for them, I'll order some legetimately through that company, providing they are not unreasonable with their prices and min. shipping quantities.  Another reason for sampling is sound quality per piece.  While true that you probably wont find much difference between that 10k carbon film resistor and that 10k metal film resistor, changing out ALL of the resistors from carbon film to metal film, changing op amp types and capacitor types and LED types might make a CONCIDERABLE change.  Thus, sampling in larger quantities when possible will gives me the chance to evaluate the sound integrity of the components in a variety of applications and give me, the consumer, a good grip on what is of good quality and what is not and in what applications I would use "x" product.  I do not abuse the sample offers, I use it.  And in the end, if these companies did not want you to sample their products for free, they would not offer them world wide on an internet website.  Texas Instruments has earned a new found respect from me for their truly professional website and great customer service.  I found this out by sampling their products.  I will buy Texas Instruments product and tell my friends/associates about them.  All for a few dollars in IC chips and a few minutes to keep me informed with an email or two.  Tell me, who is the one losing out?

WOW! Incredibly long post!

[GuitarLord5000]

Oh, and as for onsemi.  Personally, no problems here.  One sample recieved and two in transit.  They are a bit slower shipping than their competitors, what with the ORDER HOLD status, shipping errors, and the various shipping times, but they have good prices.  I'll probably order from them only when they have a product that I cant find anywhere else, or when I'm not in a particular hurry to get products.

And as for Small Bear...No worries.  Small Bear offers specialty items for stompboxes.  They will still receive business from me as long as I continue to build.  And their Alpha DPDT switches are some cool little buggers!  I just got my Small Bear order today!  They sent me a sample of wire (which I didnt request) that I'll have to try out.  Thank you Small Bear.

[mikeb]

It isn't the value involved, it is the principal. I just gave Small Bear as an example from looking at it in a different way. And it is just one person's opinion, but I thought I would post seeing as there many other posts here and I didn't want to feel left out ... ...

Australia does suck as regards availablity of parts, but at the same time we have it good in many many ways with respect to building things, eh dubs?

Mike

[javacody]

Well mikeb, think about it from this perspective, if even one of these guys comes up with a famous design that sells, then these samples will have paid for themselves many times over in future sales. These samples are investments in the future. You throw out a few seeds and you see what takes sprout. How many of us will do stuff that maybe we couln't have afforded otherwise? Maybe someone else will be inspired by the stuff we're doing, and figure out a different way of doing it, and still order a million chips for their product. Either way, the company providing the samples wins in the end. They get thousands in sales for a two dollar investment. We aren't taking advantage of these companies, they are investing in their own future. I think it is a beautiful thing.