DIY PCB plated thru holes?

[Ingo Debus]

jbv wrote:

> I've been facing a similar problem for the past couple of years, and finally
> decided to take an alternate path. Soldering on both sides is fine as long as
> it concerns condos & resistors, but becomes more difficult when it comes
> to ICs (especially if you use sockets).

It's easy when you use those "carrier"-type sockets. First solder from
solder side, then remove the carrier, bend one carrier straight (so it's
I-shaped rather than U-shaped), plug it into one row of the socket
again, then you can heat the socket contact with the soldering iron from
one side while feeding solder from the other. If the pads on the
component side are a little larger than usual it's really simple. I used
to solder all pins on the component side (not only those that require it
electrically), because it gets much more rugged then.

> The solution I use is to extend the IC pin connection on the PCB and drill
> a 2nd hole next to it (at a distance of 0.01 inch) in which I simulate a PTH
> by inserting a short piece of component trail and soldering it on both sides.

This is how I did it with "through-hole" PLCC sockets.

> I know, it's not really elegant

Who cares? Look at older obviously auto-routed PCBs. Lots of unnecessary vias.

Ingo