But there must surely be someone at your institution that could recommend a good local component distributor? Maybe they could even lend you the catalogue, or at least let you look at it? or tell you the web address?

Do you have lab technicians?
Who buys the parts used by the school itself?

Hmmm.... Andy, obviously you didn't catch the point... I will repeat myself: Surely things should be done the way you mention and the way all the serious institutions all over the world do it. Unfortunately it's not always like that... There are many factors for that: Different cultures, different mentalities, small market, etc, but most of all lack of organisation and lack of money....

I completely understand in what position Be Be is, cause I am exactly in the same position the last months that I do my final year's project. Do you know how it is to search for a component days and days in the internet, cause you can't find it in your local market and the distributors are not wiiling to provide you with samples (small market+lack of organisation in the institution->distributors need to sign agreements for large quantities->they don't care about individual students...)???

It might sound to you like it is out of space, but it is the reallity...

See also my previous post in this thread:
http://www.8052.com/forum/read.phtml?id=60154