Parts Prices (In US Dollars)
2008-05-08 02:27
Here is the analysis I have done so far. I didn't look everywhere, but I did learn 2 things.
- You can't buy everything from 1 place
- It is cheaper if you buy from outside of the US on some parts
Here goes my summary: (For all intents and purposes, when priced in £ double it for US dollars. It is a bit less than double, but after your credit card company charges a fee to convert the purchase it will be close to double given the current rate of exchange on 5/7/2008)
Starter Pack (Picaxe 28 with USB cable)
- TechSupplies £25.61 $51.22
- SparkFun $63.90 (USB cable purchased seperately does not come with a cable. Is cheaper if you buy the serial.)
Motor Driver (won't need right away, but get it anyway)
- TechSupplies £3 $6
- SparkFun $2.35 (Note: This chp is different than th eone above, but is a pin for pin replacement meaning the usage is basically the same.)
- Pololu $2.95 (Note: Same as above)
Servo Upgrade
- TechSupplies £13 $26
SRF05
- HobbyEngineering $29.99 (can get cheaper models, but given how people like this one in terms of distance the slightly extra cost is worth it)
Gear Motors (Motors and wheels)
- HobbyEngineering $11.69 (if you buy 2-9, but why would you only buy 1?)
- Pololu $9.45 (note: The link is for the motor ONLY ($5.95), the wheel is $3.50 additional)
- Solarbotics $7.98
Gear Motors (Motors and tracks set of 2 to make 1 robot)
- Solarbotics $39.95
28x Picaxe Chip (I got an extra for my breadboard. The kit DOES come with 1.)
- TechSupplies £4.35 $8.70
- SparkFun $11.95
LEDs (You can buy these at RadioShack but for a dime each (after conversion to dollars), buy them here since RadioShack is 2 for $1. Besides you will burn these.)
- TechSupplies £.05 $.10
Voltage Regulator (if you will use a battery pack of 4AAs you probably won't need this, but if you want to use a 9volt get one or two)
- SparkFun $1.25
- HobbyEngineering $1.80
You can also order resistors from these places, but 5 for $1 I got them from RadioShack. I knew I would need 330OHM (for LEDs) and 4K7Ohm (for the processors if using a larger battery) so I bought those cheaper at the above websites. Others buy when you need them.
Notes:
- I got my breadboard from RadioShack because I forgot to look on the websites for one.
- WATCH THE SHIPPING ON TECHSUPPLIES! One pack of resistors can make shipping jump FAST!
- On TecSupplies website less than £10 of items cost £4.50 to ship. As weight increases it jumps from £12.50 to £19.00. If you shipping is £19.00 see if you can cut your order down a bit to get cheaper shipping. It may be worthwhile to buy an item elsewhere for more $$$ to save on shipping.
- All BOLD text is cost in dollars.
If I made any mistakes or if people find the same stuff cheaper let me know. My goal was to cut this down to ordering from 1 or 2 places.
P.S. For those worried about paying sales tax here is the country and state of origin for the companies:
TechSupplies - UK
SparkFun - USA, Colorado
HobbyEngineering - USA, California
Pololu - USA, Nevada

Nice, Thanks a lot. My
Nice, Thanks a lot. My parents go crazy when the $$$ goes really high.
This will help me save $$$.( Hopefully make my parents relax too :P)
PayPal
I'm not sure about TechSupplies, but I know SparkFun and Pololu accept PayPal. HobbyEngineering says that they are going to be adding PayPal back into their site in the future. I get money from my website through PayPal, so it makes it a convenient way to pay for parts.
http://www.budgetrobotics.com
http://www.budgetrobotics.com/
Also looks to be very cheap - not used them before, so i guess caveat emptor probably applies.
Budget Robotics
I ordered from them before,
I ordered from them before, the selection of products is a bit limited, but they have a few real nice chassis they sell and I ordered one of those. the shipping was pretty prompt and everything works, I have no complaints!
:-)