I use a method that makes installing IC's a lot easier...You will need a small 6 inch steel ruler...Some folks call it a straight edge, and engineers call it a scale...They are usually 1/2 inch wide...Install the IC's as they come from the manufacturer, do not try to rebend the pins...Insert one side of the IC into the proper pin-holes...The rest of the pins will now be resting on top of the board next to their respective holes and the IC will be tilted upward on the uninserted side...GENTLY place your finger on the IC to keep it in place, then pick up your ruler with the other hand...Using the END of the ruler, place it against the uninserted pins and GENTLY press all of them at the same time inward toward their respective holes until the pins line up with the holes...The IC will drop into the holes because you are pressing on it with the other hand...Since the IC has "spring-tension" on it from the pins, it will stay in place even when you turn the board upside down in orde
r to solder the pins...
One fellow told me that it works so well that he was able to test several IC's by inserting them but not soldering them because they made electrical contact without solder...He could pop them in and out and test them at will...
For the larger chips, I place them upside down between the jaws of a small machinist's vise, the kind used on a drill press...I carefully close the vise jaws until the pins are straight...They will line up perfectly with the socket and press down into place very easily...I've been using this method for years and have not lost a chip yet, nor have I slipped and drove the pins onto my fingers down to the bone while trying to reshape them by pressing them against the bench top...
Jerry, wa2dkg
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