Sparkfun does an inventory clean-out/Dumpster Dive event once per year, it’s like Christmas for the Maker. They come in two variants, a 1.5lb box and 0.5lb box, and sell out pretty quickly. This was my first year but I’m a fan of the various Sparkfun contests and “unique” events they hold so I figured this would be fun and an opportunity to get some cool stuff for cheap, and it was.

This is the 1.5 lb box that showed up inside another Sparkfun packing box. I was like a little kid, I could not wait to open it up and see what I had.
DSC_1237

Vital Stats:

Box & Contents 1lb 14.4oz
Box Only 5.3oz
Contents 1lb 9.1oz
Cost: $20.00
Shipping & Tax: $10.66
Total: $30.66

Piece by Piece with Thoughts

Half a Soldering stand
Half a Soldering stand, useful to hold some screws and small parts when working. Made out of metal it used up some valuable weight in my 1.5lb box which is a little unfortunate.
FTDI Cable 5V VCC-3.3V I/O Not bad to have a few extra for Arduino projects
FTDI Cable 5V VCC-3.3V I/O
Not bad to have a few extra for Arduino projects, solid find.
IOIO Holder. Don't have that board or a spare breadboard of that size so not super useful.
IOIO Holder. Don’t have that board or a spare breadboard of that size so not super useful, probably will get trashed.
Getting started with Arduino book, always good to have or share with friends.
Getting started with Arduino book, it’s a quick read and always good to have or share with friends.
Dead Wav Trigger board with no components embedded, so pretty much trash.
Dead Wav Trigger board with no components embedded, so pretty much trash.
Handy 9V holder for projects, but it's missing the shielding from the product in the link, not sure if it's damaged or not.
Handy 9V holder for projects, but it’s missing the shielding from the product in the link, not sure if it’s damaged or not.
Standoffs and Screws. Love 'em, used in almost every project can't ever have enough.
Standoffs and Screws. Love ’em, used in almost every project, can’t ever have enough! Solid Score!
At first I thought these were serial DB9 connectors, which is always good to have, Serial doesn’t come up often but eventually it comes around again and I’m always searching to find my cables and connectors at those times. But alias, it’s VGA, probably will gather dust with the VGA cables I still have around.
Various header pins 2 and 4 pin variants. Super useful in prototyping.
Various header pins in the 2 and 4 pin variants. Super useful in prototyping.
All the standoffs, I feel like I never have enough, now not an issue.
Here’s all the headers, I feel like I never have enough, now that’s not an issue.
Op Amp. Haven't used one just yet, but now a good reason to find out more about it.
Op Amp. Haven’t used one just yet, but now a good reason to find out more about it.
4.7uF Capacitors, a fairly common variant and a lot of them
4.7uF Capacitors, a fairly common variant and a lot of them
Resistor Sheet. Always a good idea to have plenty on hand
Resistor Sheet. Always a good idea to have plenty on hand
Lots of the 10Ohm, a few of the 3.3k and 56 Ohm. Was super excited at first becasue I though it was 330 Ohm, always running out of those, but no luck.
Tons of the 10 Ohm, a few of the 3.3k and 56 Ohm. I was super excited at first because I though it was 330 Ohm, which I am always running out of, but no luck. The 10s will come in handy but now I probably have 400 of them.
Simple 2 pin connector, Had a few female connectors on-hand from salvage now I have a male to match it to.
Simple 2 pin connector, I had a few female connectors on-hand from salvage now I have a male to match it to.
220uH inductors. Haven't had a big need for inductors, these might stay in a drawer for quite some time.
220uH inductors. I haven’t had a big need for inductors, these might stay in a drawer for quite some time.
Ribbon connector, looks like the kind used on the Raspberry pi camera, might not ever be used either.
Ribbon connector, looks like the kind used on the Raspberry pi camera, kind of a specialized component so it might not ever be used either.

All in all, not a bad haul. Got some good things I don’t often spend money on (like headers even though they’re useful), definitely got some pieces I’ll use, and also got some trash or drawer fillers, but that’s how it goes.
Overall, I’d say I’m at a 7 out of 10 for satisfaction, $20 isn’t bad at all but the $10 dollars for S&H cuts in to the “deal” territory a bit. I’m happy with my purchase but not jumping for joy. But I’ll definitely go again next year.

Component Vital Details

Item Product Link Cost
Half a Soldering stand TOL-09477 < $5.95
FTDI Cable 5V VCC-3.3V I/O DEV-09717 $17.95
IOIO and Breadboard Holder DEV-11632 $0.99
Getting Started with Arduino – 2nd Edition BOK-11471
 Retired
$2.00 Amazon
WAV Trigger WIG-13660 Dead – $49.95
9V Battery Holder PRT-10512 $2.95
Standoff & Screw Packs Similar To: ROB-13136 Guess $10.00
VGA Connector PCB Mount WIG-11569 3 x $1.50
Female Header Pack Similar To: PRT-11269 23 x $1.50 (per 4)
Electrolytic Decoupling Capacitors – 4.7uF/5V Similar To: COM-00523 28 x $0.50
Resistor 56 Ohm, 10 Ohm, 3.3k Ohm 1/6th Watt PTH – 20 pack COM-11508 Approx. 20 x $0.95 (per 20)
Op-Amp (Thru-Hole) – LM358 COM-09456 $0.95
Inductor 220uH Similar To: COM-00090 Guess 6 x $0.50
Sealed Membrane Switch Connector Similar To: COM-08973 Guess $0.40
2 Pin Jumper Similar to PRT-08233 Guess $0.50

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.