ECE Electronics Service Shop


Sockets For ICs

Suppose you have designed a board with a 40-pin DIP component, and have run traces to its pins on the top side of the board...





If you want to socket this chip, you should use SIP socket strips. We have plenty of these at the shop if you need them. Drawer 222.

For DIP components, using two SIP socket strips rather than one 40-pin DIP socket will make the soldering on the top layer much easier.

The SIP socket strips have exposed metal underneath the plastic socket body, so solder can be applied on the top side of the board to make a good connection with top-layer pads.

To solder in a SIP socket strip:

  1. Break the socket strip off to the desired length. I use needle-nose pliers for this.





  2. Place the socket strip into the holes..





  3. Tape it in place, making sure it is perpendicular to the board.





  4. Turn the board over and solder the pins on the bottom side.





  5. Now the socket is securely mounted. Mount the board in a small vice with the edge facing you so that the top side of the board is to the left and the bottom side is to the right. If you hold a soldering iron with your left hand you will want to reverse this. With the soldering iron, heat the pin from the bottom side of the board while applying solder with your other hand to the pin on the top side. Make sure the iron is touching the actual component pin. It may take a little while to get hot enough to melt the solder on the top side. In this fashion you can make a good solder joint on the top side without trying to stick the iron underneath the component. Use enough solder to make a good joint, but not enough to short it to the next pin.





  6. Your solder joint should look something like this.





  7. Repeat this process for each pin which is connected to a trace on the top side. You may want to solder the other pins, too, for structural stability.
Electronics Service Shop Home