DIL package disappearing? (was: CA3046 replacement)

[Rick Jansen]

> >The web sites of Harris, National Semiconductor list the 3046
> >as being in full production.
> 
> Correct, only one catch though..... The only 3046's that national make are 
> surface mount,I would be guessing that harris is doing the same....
> 
> So stock up on dip packages while you still can.....


Well, I'm not too worried, nearly every manufacturer makes the 3046,
Motorola for example (they also have an MC3346). The 3046 is used in a 
lot of equipment, so I guess it's not disappearing very quickly?

It would be another thing would be if manufacturers are phasing out the 
DIL package altogether. Hobby electronics would suffer quite a bit! If I 
look inside a modern piece of equipment it's all SMD devices though, I 
guess the industry is getting past the DIL package for production purposes.

Although I never tried yet, I assume SOP's (small outline package)
ic's are solderable with some experience and patience, a steady
hand, good eye sight, a magnifying glass, a very fine soldering iron
and some muscle relaxant. (A beer and solder party!)

I imagine I'd use a sowing needle to push an ic-pin to the board and then
quickly solder the pin. Maybe there will be thingies that fit into a
now regular DIL-format pcb, onto which you can solder a SOP ic...

Anyone some insight in the future of the DIL package?

Rick Jansen
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rick at zoutmijn.bpa.nl   http://zoutmijn.bpa.nl/Rick.Jansen
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