Need a supplier for DPDT Rocker Switches and Momentary Contact Push Buttons

[Bart1701]

I'm re-doing a control panel and am looking for a good source for DPDT Rocker switches and Momentary Contact Push Buttons.

Does anyone have some recommendations they can share?

Thanks,
Bart

[MK]

Digikey.

[mmagliaro]

Jameco is good for electromechanical stuff like this (switches, relays).  Of course, they sell a lot of surplus, so if you choose something a little unusual and come back in a year needing more, don't expect them to still have them.  But for basic rockers and pushbuttons, they carry a lot of the same stuff year after year and it's cheap.
Besides them and Digikey, I really like Mouser Electronics.  They are reliable and they sell good quality stuff.

[peteski]

Digikey and Mouser to me are pretty much exchangeable. Both large industrial size electronic parts distributors, and even their search engines seem similar. They might even be competitors.  I have been using both for many years. Sometimes when one does not have some specific part available, the other does.

[Point353]

I really like Mouser Electronics.  They are reliable and they sell good quality stuff.

Warren Buffett appreciates your support.

[$2 Bill]

Important Note: Switches etc Specs are often AC rated. Many have DC Specs too but are much lower Volts and Amps. Look up Data Sheets for Omron relays for an example. Typical switch or relay like AC 250V 10A but DC 28V 3A and both for resistance loads not motors. Motors/Coils will often fry them quick more so without diodes, snubbers, etc, to try to protect them.

Is why many small switches etc die when users try to run small motors or micro controllers try that without a driver in between.

Jameco is good? Sort of. The company has been around for 50+ years is basically the same as "old school" Radio Shack that package many electronic parts for stores that are not RS. Like RS, Many parts were never very good including many switches. Yes, Some parts are "Surplus" "Over runs" etc and may not be available next month or even next week or day.

Digikey Mouser and related operations may sell to individuals but made for B2B sales and why the sites work for people that knows exactly what parts they want. Both sell very cheap to High $ parts.

Related are like Graybar, Grainger and ULINE that sell you most things but really don't want to deal with the general public. To get the "Best Price" you need an B2B Account and even then X company often doesn't get same price as Y company. Over the years I had many of these accounts thru companies I worked at.

When you don't have an account, often the staff is not going to a big effort to help you when you have no clue what you want.

[peteski]

Good writeup Mr. Bill, but what exactly are you saying?  Not to use Mouser or Digikey because the good quality switches are too pricey?  To me, you get what you paid for.

In order to purchase anything from either one you do have to set up an account, although it will not be a B2B account. My individual account at Digikey was created over 40 years ago, back when I used to receive their paper catalogs and had to mail in my order form. Never had any problems.

I also gave a Granger account setup some years back (because nowadays you have to do that when ordering online). Same with ULINE. Never had a problem being mistreated because I'm not a business.

EDIT: I also have a Mouser Electronics account.

[signalmaintainer]

Good writeup Mr. Bill, but what exactly are you saying?  Not to use Mouser or Digikey because the good quality switches are too pricey?  To me, you get what you paid for.

In order to purchase anything from either one you do have to set up an account, although it will not be a B2B account. My individual account at Digikey was created over 40 years ago, back when I used to receive their paper catalogs and had to mail in my order form. Never had any problems.

I also gave a Granger account setup some years back (because nowadays you have to do that when ordering online). Same with ULINE. Never had a problem being mistreated because I'm not a business.

Upvoted your post, Peteski. I always ordered replacement switches from Digi-Key for use on the control panel of BNSF's moveable bridge in Seattle. Constant use throughout a 24-hour period. Thousands of momentary contact activations each year for derails, signals, and blocking.  If those switches are robust enough for that environment, where the toggles were often just slammed over one way or the other, they're good enough for model railroading.

[mmagliaro]

Good writeup Mr. Bill, but what exactly are you saying?  Not to use Mouser or Digikey because the good quality switches are too pricey?  To me, you get what you paid for.

In order to purchase anything from either one you do have to set up an account, although it will not be a B2B account. My individual account at Digikey was created over 40 years ago, back when I used to receive their paper catalogs and had to mail in my order form. Never had any problems.

I also gave a Granger account setup some years back (because nowadays you have to do that when ordering online). Same with ULINE. Never had a problem being mistreated because I'm not a business.

I thought the same thing.  If there's something wrong with buying from Digi-Key or Mouser, or Jameco for that matter, who SHOULD we buy from?  That was the original poster's request.  For the record, I don't think Jameco is anything like the old Radio Shack stores that happily sold you a blister  pack of 2 diodes for $1.50 when you could buy 10 or ever 20 of them for that price if you knew where to get them.

I buy from Digi-Key and Mouser all the time, just with a normal consumer account - no different than ordering from Amazon or Walmart.  They don't make me buy in industrial quantities or have a business account.   Heck, these days, you can even order from Newark Electronics and when I was a teenager, you couldn't unless you had a minimum $50 order (which was onerous for a kid in the 1970s!)

[reinhardtjh]

In the past, I would have gone to All Electronics first to see what they had surplus that looked good.  But they closed.  Then I moved to MPJA - Marlin P Jones  but then, they closed.  I don't know of any others other than Jameco, Digi-Key and Mouser.  I usually go Mouser since their HQ is in the DFW area about 40 miles away.  I can order before 7pm M-Th and have it the next day - better than even Amazon.  But they can be pricey just because they deal in new and current items that the B2B places need.  When/if they don't have it, then usually Digi-Key does and I go there. It just takes 2-3 days longer to come down from Minnesota.

I'm guessing it's the places like Alibaba that did in All and MPJA.  I've only ordered from them once and it was something that didn't match the description and was such a hassle to return I avoid them now.

[$2 Bill]

For the record, I don't think Jameco is anything like the old Radio Shack stores that happily sold you a blister  pack of 2 diodes for $1.50 when you could buy 10 or ever 20 of them for that price if you knew where to get them.

Well before Web stores, Jameco did exact same thing. You got whatever in a pack regardless of your needs. 5 resistors in "cards" packs, 1 or a few discrete like diodes or transistors depending on type, most chips and more as singles, all in blister packs. Some stores even use Jameco Labeled Roto Pegs (Pegs are mounted to center pole allowing to rotate.) to show the Blister Packs because store still need most of space to sell a lot of other things.

Most RS stores were Franchisees and in 70-80's and a few to 90's some of those are not Full RS Stores but a "department" of a store. Example: Decades ago, One Pep-Boys (Also nearly all Franchisees.) near me sold RS Items along with Automotive Parts & Accessories.

Jameco never bother to have full stores or advertised much beyond electric/mech magazines so many never knew the name but would sell parts + store marketing items to any store with minimum buy-in. If the store didn't see profit quick then many simply drop the line.

[jdcolombo]

FWIW.

I have always used Digikey and Mouser for anything electronic.  Resistors, capacitors, switches of all kinds, speakers for my sound installs, LEDs of all sizes and types, wire, solder and flux, PC boards, IC's, etc., etc.  Between the two of them, I can always find what I need, they ship quickly, and I very rarely (almost never, actually) have a part fail. 

John C.