IC's

[saemskin]

Right now I am browsing through the "Debugging" thread.
One poster was talking about IC sockets.  AH!  I never bought a socket for my IC, I just soldered it right to the board.  Am I in trouble?  Does one HAVE to use a socket?

[tiges_ tendres]

No, you dont have to use a socket.

Sockets are nice though because you can pull the IC and put different ones in to see which one you like best.

Also, many people use sockets because IC's dont like to be over heated through soldering.

[Gilles C]

I always use a socket because it is easier to debug in case of problems. You can take the IC out to measure voltages, etc... without having to bother about the IC affecting the readings. The same with transistors.

I also like to compare ICs with the same circuit.

Lately, I used a TL072 and then changed it for a 5532, and heard a big difference, so I kept it there.

Gilles

[oldrocker]

Yes you don't HAVE to socket the IC's.  I do.  But in a few cases where I was too lazy to go out and get a socket and I knew I liked that certain IC I just soldered it right in.  I did that with the recent noise gate I built.  But you really have to be careful heating up the chip too much.  I got lucky.  Especially with de-soldering and using a wick to sop up the solder.  A clip on heat sink may be in order to re-direct the heat.  I haven't been really that careful with the chips that I did remove and solder in direct.  I was expecting to have trouble but they ended up working O.K.

[Mark Hammer]

Reasons to NOT use an IC socket:

• you want/need the populated board to have as low a profile as possible so you can fit it in the available space (e.g., under pots and toggles in a 1590B) or so you can "fly" a component over top of the chip to accomplish some layout goal
• you need the board to serve as a heat sink for the chip and need to maximize the IC's thermal contact with the board (e.g., with lower power IC power amp chips)
• you don't trust your sockets to provide reliable contact
• the device is a less common pin count which you lack a socket for
• the board layoutprovides an extremely tight fit and other components can't be installed if you use a socket

Reasons why you can often have the OPTION to not use a socket:

• you're satisfied with the choice of chip or there is no other possible chip to use
• the chip is not static sensitive
• your soldering/unsoldering technique is flawless so that no chip need fear you

That's not an exhaustive list but indicates that sometimes it is necessary to not use a socket, sometimes it is, and sometimes you have a choice/option.  Having said that, as you build more, you'll probably find that:
a) You become increasingly curious about the universe of dual op-amps and what they can offer in terms of noise, current consumption,  and distortion properties, and will feel the hunger to swap them around.  Comparing devices can be a great learning experience.
b) You will inevitably have an intriguing new project that is 95% complete and complete-able, with the exception of that one little chip you don't have any more of and won't be able to get any for a few days or weeks  Being able to easily "borrow" chips from yourself by simply removing them from sockets is a wonderful and extremely convenient thing.

Now, having said that, I will note that not all sockets and especially pin/socket contacts, are created equal and unless you always spring for high end gold-plated machined sockets, you will likely fiod that at least one project in the future will drive you crazy trying to troubleshoot it in the future because the very last place you thought to check was the contact between the IC pins and the socket contacts.  It happens.  Trust me.  It happens.

[puretube]

It happens.  Trust me.  It happens.

I trust you!

I do verify that...

btw: that`s the reason, why for debugging
you often read:
"measure or probe the voltage/signal at the IC-pin..."

i.e.: don`t measure at the solder-pad that is supposed to carry
the signal/voltage to be measured,
or at the other end of the associated copper-trace,

but directly/physically where the lead comes out of the chip. 

[Mark Hammer]

And I know you guys get sick of hearing it, particularly because it's not as easily purchased everywhere the rest of you live as i is where I live, but this Stabilant stuff I keep harping on about is marvelous for curing those 2micron gaps between IC pin and socket contact.  I've fixed a number of projects that were driving me nuts by simply dabbing a droplet on every socket contact and re-inserting the chips.

[MetalUpYerEye]

Last time I was at the local electronics heap I made a unique discovery in the form of strips of sockets in like 1x20 rows. Its hard to explain but they are like having several transistor sockets attached end to end in a long row of about 20 and they are perforated in between each socket. This enables me to cut them to fit whatever IC, transistor, or component I need. Pretty neat stuff and a great find. 

[ubersam]

...many people use sockets because IC's dont like to be over heated through soldering.

Learned that after burning out a 4558. I had the IC in a socket but forgot to take it out before unsoldering a component near the pins. 

[Gilles C]

...many people use sockets because IC's dont like to be over heated through soldering.

Learned that after burning out a 4558. I had the IC in a socket but forgot to take it out before unsoldering a component near the pins. 

You're right. They're very useful. That's SIP sockets.

I bought some only once, and forgot about how useful they were. I used them in my ucontroller projects.

http://www.advintcorp.com/sipstart.html

I will check to buy some more. Thanks for reminding me these...

Gilles

[343 Salty Beans]

mark, where did you get this sibilant stuff?

[Mark Hammer]

Sibilance I get by singing with crackers in my mouth.

Stabilant I get at the electronics distributor near me.  You can find a potential distributor here: http://www.stabilant.com/sizes01h.htm

I've been buying the 0.5ml vials for 50 cents each, because that's what the store has and because I can give 'em to friends to try out.  The web site suggests that the small "perfume tester vials" are not produced anymore.  The 5ml Service Kit size, unless you knock it over and spill it, should probably last you longer than a bottle of liquid flux or a 1lb roll of solder does.  It doesn't take much to do the job.  HIGHLY recommended for wah pots or any electrical contact at risk for wear and tear.

[redeffect]

Okay, I'll be the first to admit: I use sockets because I'm too chicken s#!t to solder my ICs. There. I admitted it. Do however take Mark Hammers advice and go for the gold plated machined ones. The small additional cost is well worth it.
red

[Mark Hammer]

Well they don't have to be gold-plated, but the machined ones DO make a much better contact in my experience and the experience of many others.  Certainly less than the cost difference between cheap jacks and decent ones, or cheap pots and decent ones.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I've never damaged a chip by heat from soldering, in my entire life. And, i'm not a great solderer..... really, if the legs aren't tarnished, and te PCB is shiny, and the iron at he right temp, hiw could a chip be damaged??
As for sockets.. I use them when I'm developing something (and there is a chance that the chip will be damaged thru design screwups, or I might want to try a different chip) or when the chip costs more than $10, or is scarce.
And yeah, only use those sockets with round "machined" pin sockets, not the cheap leaf type!

[mjones99]

Last time I was at the local electronics heap I made a unique discovery in the form of strips of sockets in like 1x20 rows. Its hard to explain but they are like having several transistor sockets attached end to end in a long row of about 20 and they are perforated in between each socket. This enables me to cut them to fit whatever IC, transistor, or component I need. Pretty neat stuff and a great find. 

They are snappable sipp sockets? right.  I use those too, get them in 10 pk for a buck if you shop around.