[HH] You Do It Electronics doesnt carry Zero Force Insertion sockets....

[Tom Metro]

Greg London wrote:
> You Do It Electronics doesnt carry Zero Force Insertion sockets. 

That's disappointing. That would be the first place I'd think to look.


> is there a place that does? digikey has them, but I dont
> want to pay shipping for a single part. And if there is a local store
> that carries that level of parts, I would like to put it on my list
> of places to visit.

The local retail outlets for things like that have pretty much dried up.
Once upon a time there used to be a few surplus stores in Cambridge
(Unitech for a short while, and Eli Heferon's for decades), but they're
gone.

At one time there was a small chain of electronics stores aimed at
high-end hobbyists and professionals called Active Electronics. (They
had a store in Woburn I think.) They got bought up and renamed
Future-Active and turned into a more typical wholesale distributor.

Micro Center has a small smattering of electronic components, but I
doubt you'll find a ZIF socket there.

And while this is something you'd probably find at Radio Shack 20 years
ago, as I'm sure you know, they have a pretty limited stock of
components now.

Unless I'm mistaken it would seem the only local option is to order from
a national distributor with a local warehouse and sales office presence,
like Newark, Gerber, Allied, etc. and hope they've become friendlier to
non-industrial users. (Most of these companies now let you order online
with a credit card and don't require a formal account, so it's
possible.) Call them up and see if they'll take a pick-up order paid by
credit card. They'll probably charge 20 to 40% more than DigiKey.

I'd certainly be interested to know if there are alternatives. With a
sizable concentration of electronics and robotics R&D happening around
here, there certainly should be enough of a customer base to support
several stores like Y-D-I Electronics.

 -Tom