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Good IC / Electronic Component Inventory Software?
Smerky writes "As I've been getting more and more into hobby electronics I have been finding it difficult to keep track of all the different ICs and other electronics that I have (resistors, capacitors, etc.). What are Slashdotters' recommendations for some inventory software? Certain qualifications that I'd be looking for personally are that it has to run on Linux/OSX well or be web-based (to run well on an Apache2 server)."
This is a simple database problem.
You could throw something together, or just make a nice organized list in a spreadsheet. With appropriate filters it can be quite useable.
For only a few hundred/thousand items spreadsheets make nice databases.
The big problem is keeping it up to date, that's where you'll likely run into trouble.
Why do you need something like that when you can just buy some plastic compartments?
I don't mean this in an arrogant fashion or anything, but do you have any programming experience? Inventory Systems are really the easiest kinds of systems to set up, since you generally only have to track what goes in, what goes out, and sometimes what works together.
You can grab a Java for dummies book, maybe SQuirreL, and Eclipse, and have some fun developing an inventory system yourself, the only limits being how much you want to put into it. I mean you didn't mention any special features so its hard to recommend anything I might have heard of.
But yeah, my recommendation, since its all about hobbies, perhaps you could tackle it yourself.
Forget the software. I purchased a set of storage racks from a hardware store - the kind with 30 little drawers of varying sizes. They're stackable, so you can combine them into a fairly impressive wall of drawers on the back of your workbench. The drawers are somewhat transparent, so it's possible to see when they're empty. I use a label maker to run off stickers for the drawers that say things like "5.6K res" and "10 uF cap."
The reality of electronics is that there are some pieces (dip sockets, 0.1uF caps, 220 ohm resistors, 1N4148 diodes, 7805 voltage regulators) that get used over and over again, so it makes sense just to build a well stocked physical rack. Checking inventory levels periodically is simply a matter of peeking into the drawers and seeing what needs re-ordering. I tend to order resistors, caps and diodes in quantities of at least 100 anyway, just to get more reasonable pricing.
A good place to ask this question is on usenet newsgroup sci.electronics.design
Save the receipts from your component purchases in electronic form so you can search them. This is handy not just for reordering but also if you want the exact part number (to look up the specs) which might not be easily determined by looking at the part.
Finally if you are collecting SMT chip caps/resistors, diodes and transistors, you can use these flip-top cases which let you store 128 different values in a small space. http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_164267_-1 There isn't much room for labeling so these are best for resistors and caps where you just need to indicate a value for each item, and the other details for the family can be labeled on the outside of the case.
...a piece of highly-specific software capable of keeping inventory of all my electronic components. It needs to be able to track resistance of my resistors, capacitance of my capacitors, and I want it to remind me when my wife's birthday is.
Certain qualifications that I'd be looking for personally are that it has to run on Linux/OSX, specifically kernel series 2.6.27, versions 32 through 43 non-inclusive, but only the odd numbered releases. If it's OSX, then it must support the 64-bit XNU kernels on PowerPC hardware. Or it can be web-based, in which case I need it to run on Apache2, specifically PHP4 so it's compatible with Worker-MPM. I'd also prefer that it prefers Informix servers over MySQL or PostgreSQL. Lighttpd and nginx are completely out of the question, even though they all do the same goddamn thing.
Oh, and for legal reasons it has to be licensed under the Death and Repudiation License (DPL)!
That's why I have 1000 each of 100 and 220 ohm resistors. I needed 50 or so of each, but the price breaks were such that:
50 would have been $2.50 (5 cents each)
200 would have been $3.40 (1.7 cents each)
1000 was $8.00 (0.8 cents each)
Got a recommended source for a multivalue resistor kit? I could use one of those for initial stock.
I think for almost any hobbyist, it will be difficult for any software based solution to match the simple approach of physical organization with transparent labeled bins. Lowes sells some good ones at reasonable prices with slide-out drawers, other people use compartmented boxes designed for fishing lures/bait/flies/etc. These are more economical for "lots of small stuff" but a little harder to access since the compartments are top-access.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
I think you'll come to find that aside from every-day components (caps, resistors, voltage regulators, etc), most of your projects will end up using *some* sort of specialized part.
Unless you are running a small business, you're wasting your time with any database.
My reccomendation - sure, combine caps, resistors, LEDs, etc, into either those 50-drawer wall-mount storage bins (for leaded), or 'bug' cases with the little flip-top lids (as mentioned above) for SMT parts.
Otherwise, organize specialized parts via 'project' boxes - keep all of the unique parts with the project. You'll remember "hey, I used a nice D/A converter on that retro-redbox", go to the box, dig out the original pkg, blamo, the part number you need to lookup specs.
Keep a small dry-erase board near your 'warehouse' to jot down part #'s as they become low - when you've accumulated enough parts to justify an order, they're all there in one place.
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