Archive for August, 2006

Getting a good deal on shipping electronic components

Wednesday, August 30th, 2006

Mouser charges around $9 for shipping since they only ship UPS ground.

I found Digi-Key to have better shipping options on small orders. Under $25, a $5 handling charge is added to the following prices:

Shipping Cost Estimator

Approximate shipping charges based on Zip/Postal Code: 64079 Description 8 oz. 1 lb. 5 lbs. 10 lbs. COD Charge
UPS Ground $8.27 $8.27 $9.57 $10.42 $8.50
UPS 3 Day Delivery $11.63 $11.63 $15.57 $20.44 $8.50
UPS 2nd Day Air $15.34 $15.34 $20.91 $29.61 $8.50
UPS Overnight $33.90 $33.90 $48.05 $64.29 $8.50
United States Postal Service First Class Mail $2.07 Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available
United States Postal Service Priority Mail $4.05 $4.05 $8.45 $13.30 Not Available
Federal Express Ground $8.54 $8.54 $9.84 $10.70 Not Available
Federal Express Saver (3-Day Delivery) $14.01 $14.01 $19.17 $26.42 Not Available
Federal Express Economy (2nd day air) $15.51 $15.51 $21.72 $30.25 Not Available
Federal Express Overnight PM Delivery $33.32 $33.32 $45.21 $63.02 Not Available
Federal Express Overnight AM Delivery $37.09 $37.09 $52.75 $70.85 Not Available

Free Print Catalogs for Engineering Components:
Mouser: http://www.mouser.com/index.cfm?handler=catalog
MCM Electronics: http://www.mcmelectronics.com/content/content.asp?pid=promo/catalog/index
Parts Express: http://apps.pesupport.com/catalog/catalog.cfm
Digi-Key: http://dkc1.digikey.com/scripts/us/commcenter.cgi?action=catalogadd
Allied: http://www.alliedelec.com/CustomerService/Forms/Literature.asp
Newark InOne: http://www.newark.com/NewarkWebCommerce/webApps/webForms/SurveyRequest.jsp
Jameco: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogRequestView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001
CyberGuys: https://www.cyberguys.com/MyAccount/MyCatalog.asp?ureq=Y
All Electronics: http://www.allelectronics.com/catalogrequest.html
Electronic Goldmine: http://www.goldmine-elec.com/

apt-get and dpkg hanging

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Having problems with apt-get and dpkg hanging lately on upgrades? Check ps ax and see if update-menus is the problem. If you strace -f -p that process, you will probably see that it is waiting on a futex. I am not certain where the locking bug is, but a workaround is to boot a uniprocessor (non-SMP compiled) kernel where futexes are no-ops.