"GeorgeF" wrote in message
nk.net...

Just getting back into homebrewing and looking for the best sources of
parts such as resistors, caps, boxes, etc.....

Others have mentioned DigiKey - they are certainly my bread and butter parts
source. Customer service is second to none, they have decent prices and
most of the "normal" stuff. They are a little weak, however, on RF parts.

Dan's Small Parts and Kits http://danssmallpartsandkits.net has a lot of the
hard to get stuff, and generally at very, very good prices. However, he
only takes orders by snail mail, so with the post office being used in two
directions, you need to be prepared to wait a while.

W8DIZ http://partsandkits.com has a selection of toroids, and assorted other
parts. He doesn't have a lot of stuff, but what he does have is usually at
very good prices.

BG Micro http://www.bgmicro.com has a changing collection of stuff.
Sometimes you can get very good deals on things like LCDs, cases and
switches. They tend to be the high-priced spread on crystals and IC's,
however. Also, sometimes their stuff is surplus or pulls. Be sure to read
carefully.

For hardware, Mendelsohn's http://www.meci.com is a great source. They have
some pretty strange stuff and their collection changes all the time. Like
BG, for some things they seem to be a little pricey, but for others, they
can't be beat. If you get a chance to go to Dayton, plan on bringing back
many pounds of nuts and bolts from these guys. Typically they will sell
many hard to get little bits by the pound.

If you need some RF thingie badly, RF Parts http://www.rfparts.com is
sometimes the only place. They seem to have the highest prices on the
planet, but if you need a high power RF transistor or a transmitting cap,
there may be no other source.

Another question, is there a good online source where I can get specs on
gaasfets, npn's transistors, etc.....

Poke the part number into Google. Generally it will return links to
datasheets in more languages than you knew there were.

...