I'm contemplating making a significant order on Futurlec and I was wanting to get your feedback before I proceed. I would imagine it takes some time to get your parts, but thats not a factor. I'm concerned about parts quality and the possibility of just junk counterfeits. Are there any categories that I should definitely stay away from? I know Tayda is another one, but they dont seem to have quite the selection.
I'm only looking at Electrolytic and Ceramic Caps, various transistors, ICs and diodes.
Any do's or dont's would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!
fwiw, I just heard some good things on FSB and that the only main concern is shipping times since they're in Singapore. I've not done business with them, but as I look on their website, I'm a bit suspicious of them not giving brand names...
I put in an order to Tayda this morning for the first time...ordered everything but the caps from them b/c I was unsure of the quality
I've heard mostly good things about futurlec, but I still haven't ever ordered from them.
Quote from: jtn191 on March 31, 2011, 05:45:58 PMI put in an order to Tayda this morning for the first time...ordered everything but the caps from them b/c I was unsure of the quality
Tayda delivered to me in about the same time it takes from smallbear , and the return address on the package was Kingston, MA. I live in TX, fwiw.
I loaded up on dirt cheap greenies there and ordered a few 100uF electros to check out the quality. So far, all I can say about them is the brand on them is Chang, and they look like electros :)
I'm satisfied with everything from Tayda so far, and I think I'll be ordering there again. I really got an insane amount of stuff for $60 there.
I know there are people over at DIYSB that get from both Tayda and Futurelec pretty consistently, but I never have.
Jacob
I've ordered from futurlec numerous times.
The metal film resistors are fine, always within spec if not exactly right on. The leads are a little thinner than xicons. I order xicons from mouser in bulk for common values and the rest from futurlec. The website is a little strange to navigate for resistor values. For metal film there is a "general values" section but look to the green column on the left for other values that are not in the general section. The ones not found in the general section are also a little more but still a good deal with the 10 pack.
The polyester film box caps are an incredible deal and can get even better when ordering 25+
They are usually either wima's or avx. Both good brands.
The electrolytic caps are ok as well. I forget the brand (LSHC?)but they are always within spec, but the leads are thinner as well.
The IC's and transistors are the same manufactures you'd find on mouser. The problem is sometimes they like to substitute a different IC with similar specs if they are out of stock. This only happened once to me but I've heard it has happened to others as well.
Diodes, caps, led's all the standard variety. I got some 1n34's here and they sound really great!
The stuff is marked relatively well too :)
If nothing else stock up on the great box caps!
It takes about a month on average to get the shipment when I place an order, but the shipping cost is very reasonable. I live in the US.
Josh
Yes both places are really great in terms of price. Tayda was super quick on the shipping and I ordered a lot of stuff for about $30. Green mylars, electros, transistors, pots, and resistors are cheap as dirt. They all sound fine to my ears. IIRC, I got enough for 5 guitarpcb boards.
Just ordered from futurlec and I'm still awaiting the package. It took them 3 weeks to ship out and I should be receiving it in the next few days. Super excited about the Wima box caps and metal film resistors. Also stoked for the bulk of 1n34 germ diodes at such a great price. That will be the parts for my madbean boards and complete my vero muff fuzz build!! ;D
Definitely put your order into futurlec as soon as possible cause it will be a wait, but for $100 bucks I got a LOT of stuff!
Quote from: bigmufffuzzwizz on March 31, 2011, 07:06:34 PM
Tayda was super quick on the shipping and I ordered a lot of stuff for about $30.
I agree, I did the same and the shipping wasn't too bad. I paid extra for their "faster" shipping (I forgot the exact estimate), and it only took about a week or so. Once I order more bulk parts to restock, I'll definitely use Tayda again.
I got my parts from Tayda in less than a week without paying expedited shipping btw.
I got trimmers, blue led's, all kinds of sockets, greenies, ic's, toshiba transistors you don't see at most places (npn ktc3198, jfet 2sk117), pots, etc, etc. It was all cheap and looks good.
Here's a pic of the electros they sell. Anyone ever heard of these? :D
[attachment deleted by admin]
Nope, but my attitude about most parts is that, "a part, is a part, is a part." Brands, and types don't matter quite so much as finding things that work and sound good. Most of the time, especially with that value of electrolytic cap, they're used for power filtering and don't even enter into the signal chain. Input and Output caps might matter as to the sonic quality of the cap, so in that case you should try different caps to find one you like sonically. Topmays, panasonic, and wima's tend to be popular and all of them sound great to me.
It's good to hear the good results from those places. I may consider using them in the future.
Jacob
Yes. I've seen a few european sites that have awesome prices for nice components. Doctor tweek for instance has really cheap box caps, something like .11 gbp per piece. I haven't dealt with many overseas dealers(besides tayda), but i've been interested in it. I'm just dreading the shipping costs!
I've placed a couple of orders with them. Shipping does take a long time, especially compared to Mouser. Their prices on diodes is great. I bought a bunch just to try them out on various pedals for clipping.
Also be aware that what you order from Futurlec isn't always what they list, but rather an equivalent of what they have listed. Example: I ordered some "LM1458" chips from them for a Neutrino build, but what I got was an equivalent to the chip. It worked fine, and it sounds fantastic, but if that sort of thing bothers you, just be warned.
I say avoid it at all costs. I placed 2 orders about a week apart, over 8 months ago. time went by and I totally forgot about it until about 4 months ago. I wrote them several emails demanding status with no reply until just before shipping.the order wasn't packed until feb 3rd and I received them last Saturday. I would have cancelled the order but had long since lost any info like order # etc.. it was only packed in a couple ofpaper envelopes lined on the inside with a single layer of bubble wrap. one of the packages was torn a little bit. . since the prices were so cheap I ordered tons of stuff, so when It finally did arrive it was like x-mas...tons of stuff to play with.
Futerlec takes forever in shipping. I ordered from them on the 8th and i just recieved it recently. I order from tayda there much quicker and pretty fast considering they ship from china to MA and then to you. Funny thing about small bear is if I order from tayda and small bear at the same time I receive them at about the same time and tayda is in china and small bear is maybe a half an hour drive from my house, lol. I have contemplated asking small bear if i could just pick up my order.
Quote from: joer0952 on April 01, 2011, 12:38:03 AM
I have contemplated asking small bear if i could just pick up my order.
You can.
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Contact/Contact.html (http://www.smallbearelec.com/Contact/Contact.html)
Yes, its true futurlec is often VERY slow.
Once i placed an order, waited it out for about a month, decided to email them and they replied saying one of the parts was out of stock indefinitely so they hadnt been able to complete my order... at least they told me though! so I just replied and said forget that part then they sent the package the next day :)
BUT i find the quality of the box caps, electrolytics, resistors, IC's all to be really good and they label all the values on the plastic slips which is super handy. you can buy "value packs" of the caps, resistors etc and yeah stock up on the box caps for sure.
Yes, that's one thing I didn't mention. With futurlec, for some reason they don't tell you when they don't have something in stock and you end up waiting until they get it. I ALWAYS follow up with an email after about a week or two and the have ALWAYS responded. You can ask them to ship the order incomplete and they will refund the parts they did not have.
Josh
Thanks so much for the responses! It looks like Futurlec and Tayda are both acceptable sources if youre willing to put up with the possibility of poor customer service.
You know..I was googling some diodes and found a site that appears to be in the US and has great prices for transistors, caps and diodes... Its Newark.com. And the shipping is reasonable too...
Newark does have good stuff, but I really don't like navigating through those sites. The transistors/ic section has so many options it can be impossible to find what you want without using the search function at the top. But I did find some cheap 0.1uf box caps. If you buy 50 they are $0.055 a piece!!! Not too bad but the other values are more expensive.
Does anyone know if I can pull up the datasheet and order using the parts numbers that are listed, or is that for ordering straight from the company that actually makes the capacitors?
yes.. Newarks navigation is very similar to Mouser and takes MUCH longer to determine the right part.. but the selection and prices are great. The electro and ceramic caps are a great deal.
I think Im going to have to pick and choose from Futurlec, Newark and Tayda!
The secret to ordering from futurlec is once you have placed your order wait a few days (I wait 3 days) and if you don't receive a status update get on to them straight away. They normally answer straight away (within 24 hrs) and it usually takes about two weeks from then for the order to land on your door. At least that is for for me here in NZ.
As far as the germanium diodes get them from somewhere else, as I have ordered a few in the past and ended up getting schottkys because they were out of stock. :o Sad but true.
THE KEY IS TO STAY ON THERE BACK. >:( Sorry for shouting :-[
Apart from the hassles above I find the the quality of the products and cost effective shipping is well worth the wait. 8)
Quote from: jstbrowsin on April 05, 2011, 10:59:16 PM
The secret to ordering from futurlec is once you have placed your order wait a few days (I wait 3 days) and if you don't receive a status update get on to them straight away. They normally answer straight away (within 24 hrs) and it usually takes about two weeks from then for the order to land on your door. At least that is for for me here in NZ.
As far as the germanium diodes get them from somewhere else, as I have ordered a few in the past and ended up getting schottkys because they were out of stock. :o Sad but true.
THE KEY IS TO STAY ON THERE BACK. >:( Sorry for shouting :-[
Apart from the hassles above I find the the quality of the products and cost effective shipping is well worth the wait. 8)
You are 100% correct. Based on a tip I saw on another post, I emailed them the day after I ordered and they responded quickly with the backordered item list and ship date.
Quote from: StompIt on April 01, 2011, 01:39:45 PM
Thanks so much for the responses! It looks like Futurlec and Tayda are both acceptable sources if youre willing to put up with the possibility of poor customer service.
You know..I was googling some diodes and found a site that appears to be in the US and has great prices for transistors, caps and diodes... Its Newark.com. And the shipping is reasonable too...
I shop for some parts with Futurlec... caps, resistors, pots diodes and ICs... all ok parts. After shipping they are so much cheaper than the alternatives that the odd mistake factors in as part of the experience ;) I had two orders with mistakes in a row, but the other 3 were ok. When the mistakes were raised, I got refund or replacement no questions asked... My cautions are that the toggle switches are pretty poor, they work but the lugs shift with even a little heat. And do not buy the jack sockets... utter rubbish. Other parts are good tho.