[sdiy] IC socket reliability

[J.D. McEachin]

On Sun, 20 Jan 2013, Richie Burnett wrote:

> Definitely specify turned-pin if you anticipate more than a handful of device 
> insertion and removal operations.  The cheapo folded sprung metal IC sockets 
> quickly loose their springiness after a few insertions and bad connections 
> start to show up!

A business partner of mine who is also a EE swears by double-wipe sockets, 
saying that machine-tool sockets fail after a few insertions & removals, 
and loosen up with hot ICs.  OTOH, my personal experience is that I've 
done at least a THOUSAND insertions and removals to the machine-tool 
socket on my JP-6 controller board in the last 12 years, with nary a 
problem.  That's a 40-pin socket, with lots of rocking back and forth to 
get the CPU out.  Maybe I have the greatest machine-tool socket ever made, 
but I'm going on the assumption that it's an average one, until proven 
otherwise.  ;)


> (In general I try to avoid any un-necessary electrical connectors in anything 
> I design, and would solder directly to the PCB unless it was something like 
> an EEPROM where you anticipate removing and refitting as part of the life 
> cycle.  In my experience it is usually connectors that cause reliability 
> problems with age (surface oxidation), vibration, or at extremes of 
> temperature and humidity.)

Agreed.  At least 90% of the repairs in my arcade involve connectors and 
sockets.  Avoid using them when possible!

Jeffrey