I loathe RS Components !

[Mike Diack]

In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little transformers
(3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful voltages) at quite a
reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little ones), so like a bloody
idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of small volume things that I
make and sell (things like DMX splitters,crossovers,video projector remotes
etc etc). 2005 catalog comes out - across the board massive price increases
on these parts, even though the NZ dollar has been galloping ahead of the
country of origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have a "ratchet"
mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in their catalog
when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when 1 NZD is now USD
0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.
M

 

[Leon Heller]

"Mike Diack" <moby@kcbbs.gen.middleearth> wrote in message
news:Xns962DF21C88146mobykcbbsgennz@203.96.92.12...

In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little transformers
(3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful voltages) at quite a
reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little ones), so like a bloody
idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of small volume things that I
make and sell (things like DMX splitters,crossovers,video projector
remotes
etc etc). 2005 catalog comes out - across the board massive price
increases
on these parts, even though the NZ dollar has been galloping ahead of the
country of origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have a "ratchet"
mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in their catalog
when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when 1 NZD is now
USD
0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.

Can't you buy them direct, or from a local distributor? I prefer Farnell to
RS, mainly because until recently it was much easier to buy from them
without having to open a trade account.

Leon
--
Leon Heller, G1HSM
http://www.geocities.com/leon_heller

 

[Reg Edwards]

Why are they so greedy ?.

================================

It's the capitalist system, sucker!

 

[raivo leini]

"Mike Diack" <moby@kcbbs.gen.middleearth> wrote in message
news:Xns962DF21C88146mobykcbbsgennz@203.96.92.12...

In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little transformers
(3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful voltages) at quite a
reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little ones), so like a bloody
idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of small volume things that I
make and sell (things like DMX splitters,crossovers,video projector
remotes
etc etc). 2005 catalog comes out - across the board massive price
increases
on these parts, even though the NZ dollar has been galloping ahead of the
country of origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have a "ratchet"
mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in their catalog
when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when 1 NZD is now
USD
0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.
M

Try www.schukat.com .

r.

 

[Barry Lennox]

On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 11:47:59 GMT, Mike Diack
<moby@kcbbs.gen.middleearth> wrote:

In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little transformers
(3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful voltages) at quite a
reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little ones), so like a bloody
idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of small volume things that I
make and sell (things like DMX splitters,crossovers,video projector remotes
etc etc). 2005 catalog comes out - across the board massive price increases
on these parts, even though the NZ dollar has been galloping ahead of the
country of origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have a "ratchet"
mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in their catalog
when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when 1 NZD is now USD
0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.

Because the greedy buggers can get away with it! Both RS and Farnell
do this, and I have had discussions with their sales reps over it.
They are both excellent for prototype parts and have a huge range, but
it really is unwise to rely on their parts for a production supply. Go
to the original source or find an alternative. RS generally lists the
original manufacturer in their catalogue, so use that as a starting
point. I guess the transformers you refer to are made by "Block" ? If
so, try http://www.blockusa.com/company.htm I'm sure you will get a
better deal from them.

Barry Lennox

 

[Pooh Bear]

Mike Diack wrote:

In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little transformers
(3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful voltages) at quite a
reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little ones), so like a bloody
idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of small volume things that I
make and sell (things like DMX splitters,crossovers,video projector remotes
etc etc). 2005 catalog comes out - across the board massive price increases
on these parts, even though the NZ dollar has been galloping ahead of the
country of origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have a "ratchet"
mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in their catalog
when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when 1 NZD is now USD
0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.

I no longer use RS - purely Farnell. They do at least always list the original
manufacturer so you can go to them if a problem like this happens.

You have to pay for an outfit that will sell you parts singly. That at least
partly expains the price.


Graham

 

[Luhan Monat]

Luhan Monat wrote:

Mike Diack wrote:

In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little
transformers (3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful
voltages) at quite a reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little
ones), so like a bloody idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of
small volume things that I make and sell (things like DMX
splitters,crossovers,video projector remotes etc etc). 2005 catalog
comes out - across the board massive price increases on these parts,
even though the NZ dollar has been galloping ahead of the country of
origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have a "ratchet"
mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in their
catalog when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when 1
NZD is now USD 0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.
M


Uh, er, who designs with parts for Radio Shack???


...... from Radio Shack ????

--
Luhan Monat (luhanis 'at' yahoo 'dot' com)
"The future is not what it used to be..."
http://members.cox.net/berniekm

 

[Leon Heller]

"Luhan Monat" <x@y.z> wrote in message news:_E14e.979$Ut1.586@fed1read01...

Mike Diack wrote:
In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little transformers
(3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful voltages) at quite a
reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little ones), so like a bloody
idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of small volume things that I
make and sell (things like DMX splitters,crossovers,video projector
remotes etc etc). 2005 catalog comes out - across the board massive price
increases on these parts, even though the NZ dollar has been galloping
ahead of the country of origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have
a "ratchet" mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in
their catalog when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when
1 NZD is now USD 0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.
M

Uh, er, who designs with parts for Radio Shack???

RS Components:

http://rswww.com

Leon

 

[Paul Burke]

Leon Heller wrote:

"Luhan Monat" <x@y.z> wrote in message news:_E14e.979$Ut1.586@fed1read01...
Uh, er, who designs with parts for Radio Shack???

RS Components:

In the UK, you can tell the age of an engineer by how they refer to RS-
if they say "Radiospares" you know it's time to count the rings.

Paul Burke

 

[Gavin Melville]

On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 11:47:59 GMT, Mike Diack
<moby@kcbbs.gen.middleearth> wrote:

In the last RS catalog, they had a whole raft of new little transformers
(3.2,5,10,16,25,32 VA, in an assortment of useful voltages) at quite a
reasonable price (less than NZD10 for the little ones), so like a bloody
idiot, I designed them into a whole bunch of small volume things that I
make and sell (things like DMX splitters,crossovers,video projector remotes
etc etc). 2005 catalog comes out - across the board massive price increases
on these parts, even though the NZ dollar has been galloping ahead of the
country of origin (UK & Germany). These bandits seem to have a "ratchet"
mechanism on their prices as well - things that appeared in their catalog
when 1 NZD was USD0.40 have become **MORE** expensive when 1 NZD is now USD
0.72. Why are they so greedy ?.
M

They buy them from Dagnall, who will deal direct for reasonable
volumes. Try www.dagnall.co.uk . Rather than deal with RS or
Farnell try Digikey -- much easier to deal with, 3 day delivery to NZ
(at a price) and a much larger inventory. No little blue
transformers though.

They aren't actually very good transformers anyway. I have had a lot
of trouble with the cases bulging at way below the expected
temperature, and the load performance is very poor ie. internal
resistance is too high. Once the top of the case "pops" the internal
temperature rises even faster, I guess due to the airspace now inside
the case. I have talked to Dagnall, and even sent sick samples
back, but never got any resolution. When I use them I derate them by
50%. There is also a German compnay who makes some of them, but I
cannot remember the name.

Gavin.

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Gavin Melville
<gavin.melville@acclipse.co.nz> wrote (in
<khr1511girff1ppfg50orit3lneknkjav2@4ax.com&gt about 'I loathe RS
Components !', on Mon, 4 Apr 2005:

They aren't actually very good transformers anyway.

At those sizes, you can't expect much.

I have had a lot of trouble with the cases bulging at way below the
expected temperature,

That should not happen. Are you using 220 V or 230 V parts on nominal
240 V, getting on 254 V?

It's very informative to measure the no-load primary current as you
increase the input voltage (using a Variac). You can see a steep
increase at the point of saturation with modern core materials.

Or is it a lack of ventilation?

and the load performance is very poor ie. internal resistance is too
high.

Again, that's directly related to the small size.

Once the top of the case "pops" the internal temperature rises even
faster, I guess due to the airspace now inside the case. I have
talked to Dagnall, and even sent sick samples back, but never got any
resolution.

They would need a lot of information about exactly how you were using
them, and I don't suppose many people would supply that.

When I use them I derate them by 50%.

If the transformer is used to feed a bridge rectifier, the r.m.s.
secondary current is 1.6 to 1.8 times the DC output current, and that
1.8 may be an under-estimate. Many people either don't know that or
forget it. You need to check each design, don't ASS-U-ME.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[RST Engineering (jw)]

That would be me, sir. I design with components. The fact that you can get
the same (non-nameless) part from RS with the same specifications as I do
from my industrial supplier is an added bonus.

Any third rate engineer can design with tight-spec parts. Doing excellent
designs with mid-grade parts is somewhat of a challenge.

Jim




"Larry Brasfield" <donotspam_larry_brasfield@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Uhc4e.14$Sd3.335@news.uswest.net...

"Luhan Monat" <x@y.z> wrote in message
news:_F14e.980$Ut1.163@fed1read01...


Look at the "Bandgap Design" thread where somebody hopes
to build a moderately wide temperature range, 1% reference
using the assorted nameless BJTs available at Radio Shack.

 

[Luhan Monat]

RST Engineering (jw) wrote:

Any third rate engineer can design with tight-spec parts. Doing excellent
designs with mid-grade parts is somewhat of a challenge.

Yo, I agree most heartily (check website below). I just dont do

commercial designs based (soley) on a RS source.

--
Luhan Monat (luhanis 'at' yahoo 'dot' com)
"The future is not what it used to be..."
http://members.cox.net/berniekm

 

[Tony Williams]

In article <3bc9b2F6hmepdU1@individual.net>,
Paul Burke <paul@scazon.com> wrote:

In the UK, you can tell the age of an engineer by how they refer
to RS- if they say "Radiospares" you know it's time to count the
rings.

There's a certain BoF around here (and I shall remain
anonymous) who remembers when the RS catalogue was
one thin little A5 booklet.

--
Tony Williams.

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 23:33:31 +0100, Tony Williams
<tonyw@ledelec.demon.co.uk> wrote:

In article <3bc9b2F6hmepdU1@individual.net>,
Paul Burke <paul@scazon.com> wrote:

In the UK, you can tell the age of an engineer by how they refer
to RS- if they say "Radiospares" you know it's time to count the
rings.

There's a certain BoF around here (and I shall remain
anonymous) who remembers when the RS catalogue was
one thin little A5 booklet.

I can remember (~1958-1962) when RS was a big-ass warehouse on
Commonwealth Avenue, Near BU, in Boston.

Real parts. Give them a list and a tray came down a conveyor belt
with all your parts.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

 

[Pooh Bear]

Luhan Monat wrote:

RST Engineering (jw) wrote:

Any third rate engineer can design with tight-spec parts. Doing excellent
designs with mid-grade parts is somewhat of a challenge.

Yo, I agree most heartily (check website below). I just dont do
commercial designs based (soley) on a RS source.

RS Components ( UK ) *isn't* Radio Shack ( USA ) ! They're a broad line
distributor of a huge range of electronic, electrical and related parts - from
well known manufacturers.


Graham

 

[Pooh Bear]

Tony Williams wrote:

In article <3bc9b2F6hmepdU1@individual.net>,
Paul Burke <paul@scazon.com> wrote:

In the UK, you can tell the age of an engineer by how they refer
to RS- if they say "Radiospares" you know it's time to count the
rings.

There's a certain BoF around here (and I shall remain
anonymous) who remembers when the RS catalogue was
one thin little A5 booklet.

I actually still have one somewhere in my 'archive'. It was *definitely*
Radiospares back then.


Graham

 

[nospam]

Tony Williams <tonyw@ledelec.demon.co.uk> wrote:

In article <3bc9b2F6hmepdU1@individual.net>,
Paul Burke <paul@scazon.com> wrote:

In the UK, you can tell the age of an engineer by how they refer
to RS- if they say "Radiospares" you know it's time to count the
rings.

There's a certain BoF around here (and I shall remain
anonymous) who remembers when the RS catalogue was
one thin little A5 booklet.

RS are getting to be real dick heads if you ask me. We have had an account
with them for over 20 years spent 10's of k with them, never a credit
problem, never been put on stop.

We had a couple of outstanding invoices totaling less than L3.70. They
didn't send a statement, I figured they were not bothered about being paid
straight away (the lost interest on L3.70 for a year would not cover the
cost of a stamp to post a cheque never mind their processing costs).
I was actually kinda impressed by what I assumed was a refreshingly
sensible approach to tiny outstanding debts but thought I would get a
statement eventually if I didn't place further orders in the mean time to
make it worthwhile.

Unusually we didn't need to buy anything from them in the following 3
months and no statement was received. Then suddenly a letter turns up, no
statement but copies of the invoices demanding payment by return and
threatening to put the account on hold. I sent them a cheque the following
day. Strangely the day after that I needed some particular diecast cases
which I could only find in the RS catalog. So I phone through an order and
get told the account is on stop and how was I going to pay?

I moaned to a particularly dumb individual in their accounts department who
said they don't send out statements for balances of less than 5 quid, and
also despite what the letter said the account is put on hold when it is
sent. I moaned to my local rep (who from the days when they used to visit
regularly has drunk much more than L3.70 worth of my coffee) even he didn't
seem to grasp the stupidity of the situation.

I then placed the order on credit card, for which the transaction charges
would exceed the L3.70 I had owed them, hell the cash back *I* get out of
the transaction charges would let me borrow L3.70 for a couple of years.

Anyway fuck em, when I can't avoid buying from them I'll stick to using the
credit card in future.

 

[Michael]

Tony Williams wrote:

In article <3bc9b2F6hmepdU1@individual.net>,
Paul Burke <paul@scazon.com> wrote:

In the UK, you can tell the age of an engineer by how they refer
to RS- if they say "Radiospares" you know it's time to count the
rings.

There's a certain BoF around here (and I shall remain
anonymous) who remembers when the RS catalogue was
one thin little A5 booklet.

--
Tony Williams.

Was that before or rather after they crawled into bed with the handy dandy
leather hobbiest outfit, Tandy, when Chicago's Allied Radio was king of the
electronic components catalogs?

 

[Tony Williams]

In article <4251D329.8FD7913F@hotmail.com>,
Pooh Bear <rabbitsfriendsandrelations@hotmail.com> wrote:

There's a certain BoF around here (and I shall remain
anonymous) who remembers when the RS catalogue was
one thin little A5 booklet.

I actually still have one somewhere in my 'archive'. It was
*definitely* Radiospares back then.

With a good proportion of the catalogue being
actual replacement components for radios and tv's.

--
Tony Williams.