Cost Effectiveness / Another good source (Score 1)

Getting a lot of fun components can start to add up, so some great ways to save money are: 1. Shop around for a while online- some sites will sell the same thing for vastly different prices. 2. If you can locate a source of old or broken electronics, JUMP ON IT. While most of the stuff on old boards is yucky or obsolete, you can still find some really neat stuff like nixie tubes. On more recently discarded boards you'll find plenty of perfectly good components, all for free. I've made plenty of circuts entirely out of things I've ripped off of other boards. The other great thing about discarded boards is that you can learn from them- try to figure out what it was supposed to do, and then try to figure out what the purpose of each component was. It'll take some googleing and patience, but its a great way to learn if you aren't taking any classes. 3. Find people in your community who know something about what you want to do (in real life, not just slashdot) and talk to them a lot. Nothing beats learning from a pro, but learning from a fellow amateur is certainly good too. Although this doesn't really fall under the category of saving money, The Inventor's Guide To Electronics is an amazing book- it's everything you would ever want to know about components, how to chose them, circuits... well... electronics in general. You know.