------------Original Message: Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:12:19 -0800 (PST) From: Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> Subject: Semi-OT:Storing electronic parts Well, I've made lots of progress on the eternal task of cleaning, sorting and organizing. I can now see my entire workbench! I found half a dozen #2 Phillips screwdrivers I hadn't seen in a while, and while vacuuming, I probably picked up a couple pounds of screws, wire insulation bits and solder drops. So, now I think I need to actually, finally organize my parts. You see, I started to do this a long time ago, and I have a lot of those little plastic drawers. I got about as far as the basic parts, and half way through the electrolytics. Everything else is semi-sorted into drawers, albiet with rather vauge categories "Transistors... Diodes..." or completely unsorted (Salsa jars, butter tubs, shoe boxes, coffee cans and Altoids tins). So now, I need to sit down, for a good long day, and sort parts into drawers. And herein lies my question - how do you manage a large parts collection? I mean, the phrase "junkbox" generally referrs to a somewhat organized system of finding parts, not just a copier paper box full of parts. Otherwise, you'll spend two hours just trying to find that 330 ohm current limiting resistor you need. -Ian ------------Reply: Boy, does that sound familiar! For resistors, I was lucky enough to have a lot of small plastic boxes that Sprague used to put their caps into; they're stacked up in a couple of small partitioned cardboard parts bins. Things like tantalum caps, fuses, hardware etc. I keep in those small partitioned clear plastic craft boxes. Diodes and small transistors are in individual small paper bag/envelopes, which in turn are in small cardboard boxes, file folder style. You could use the same for resistors & caps. Bigger parts go into the same partitioned cardboard parts bins use for the resistor boxes. ICs I keep loose in drawers, unless I have a lot of one type which I keep in tubes; a few special MOS ones I kept in foam, but have had a few go bad with pin rot from a certain type of foam. Just keep the humidity reasonable. The problem with semi-inflexible systems like drawers is adding new items; I finally started a spreadsheet cross-referencing IC numbers to drawer/compartment so I don't have to worry about keeping them in any sequence and can also double up, and it also gives me an idea of what I've got (as long as I remember to keep it current ;-) mike