SMT to DIP Adapters - WITH SOCKETS ???

It's official - I *hate* surface-mount junk. Too small
for human beings. I'm forever bridging connections or
overheating or underheating or going blind from the
magnifier or ... well ... you know. SMT is for ROBOTS.

I can't be alone.

So ... somebody, SOMEWHERE, must make adaptor modules
that provide good SOCKETS for the various kinds of
SMT chips and send the leads to good old 0.10 DIP
style pins on the bottom side. Solder the 0.10 pins
into your board, press in the SOIC or whatever chip
into the socket above.

Yes, I'd gladly PAY for such things ... more than a
dollar too.

Aries,MillMax and a few others ALMOST sell what I'm
looking for - except that you still have to solder
the SMT device to the provided pseudo-DIP chip. Almost
as bad as having to solder SMT directly to the board.

Sockets are the answer.

But WHERE can such things be had ?

ANY info greatly appreciated !

On Jan 10, 8:02 am, b...@barrk.net (B1ackwater) wrote:
> It's official - I *hate* surface-mount junk. Too small
> for human beings. I'm forever bridging connections or
> overheating or underheating or going blind from the
> magnifier or ... well ... you know. SMT is for ROBOTS.
>
> I can't be alone.
>
> So ... somebody, SOMEWHERE, must make adaptor modules
> that provide good SOCKETS for the various kinds of
> SMT chips and send the leads to good old 0.10 DIP
> style pins on the bottom side. Solder the 0.10 pins
> into your board, press in the SOIC or whatever chip
> into the socket above.
>
> Yes, I'd gladly PAY for such things ... more than a
> dollar too.
>
> Aries,MillMax and a few others ALMOST sell what I'm
> looking for - except that you still have to solder
> the SMT device to the provided pseudo-DIP chip. Almost
> as bad as having to solder SMT directly to the board.
>
> Sockets are the answer.
>
> But WHERE can such things be had ?
>
> ANY info greatly appreciated !

Which prototype chip/board do you want?

"B1ackwater" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I'm forever bridging connections or
> overheating or underheating or going blind from the
> magnifier or ... well ... you know.

Flux is your friend, as are decent (temperature-controlled) soldering irons.
(E.g., the orange-base Wellers are kinda junky, the blue-based ones are
good... or you can get a used Metcal for not much more than the price of a new
Weller.)

> So ... somebody, SOMEWHERE, must make adaptor modules
> that provide good SOCKETS for the various kinds of
> SMT chips and send the leads to good old 0.10 DIP
> style pins on the bottom side.

There are sockets for SMT chips, but they're quite expensive (almost always
exceeding the price of the chip itself); I think that's why you don't see too
many. I have seen some such adapters for large BGA parts where they figure
you're using, e.g., a $600 FPGA so a $500 adapter is probably not a big
deal...

---Joel

Also... not exactly what you asked for, but these might make it a little
easier: http://www.schmartboard.com/

B1ackwater wrote:
> It's official - I *hate* surface-mount junk. Too small
> for human beings. I'm forever bridging connections or
> overheating or underheating or going blind from the
> magnifier or ... well ... you know. SMT is for ROBOTS.
>
> I can't be alone.
>
> So ... somebody, SOMEWHERE, must make adaptor modules
> that provide good SOCKETS for the various kinds of
> SMT chips and send the leads to good old 0.10 DIP
> style pins on the bottom side. Solder the 0.10 pins
> into your board, press in the SOIC or whatever chip
> into the socket above.
>
> Yes, I'd gladly PAY for such things ... more than a
> dollar too.
>
> Aries,MillMax and a few others ALMOST sell what I'm
> looking for - except that you still have to solder
> the SMT device to the provided pseudo-DIP chip. Almost
> as bad as having to solder SMT directly to the board.
>
> Sockets are the answer.
>
> But WHERE can such things be had ?
>
> ANY info greatly appreciated !

The ones that I am familiar with are intended as adapters
for device programmers or prototyping. Very handy but
relatively expensive (and large).

Some examples at
http://www.logicalsys.com/
http://www.adapt-plus.com/products/adapters/index.html

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA

You used to be able to get them but lead pitches are so fine these days that
it's hard to make a socket for some.

Try..
http://qfp-adapter.com
Example photo..
http://aprilog.com/sites/qfp-adapter...-PG-ZL-S-L.jpg

Expect $100 for some types.

On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:02:52 GMT, (E-Mail Removed) (B1ackwater) wrote:

>It's official - I *hate* surface-mount junk. Too small
>for human beings. I'm forever bridging connections or
>overheating or underheating or going blind from the
>magnifier or ... well ... you know. SMT is for ROBOTS.
>
>I can't be alone.

That's the way the world is going. It's great for board density, and
for speed, and for semi- or fully-automated assembly.

I was just prototyping some smt stuff. An 0805, or an SO-8, looks huge
to me now. I used to be intimidated by a 1206.

>
>So ... somebody, SOMEWHERE, must make adaptor modules
>that provide good SOCKETS for the various kinds of
>SMT chips and send the leads to good old 0.10 DIP
>style pins on the bottom side. Solder the 0.10 pins
>into your board, press in the SOIC or whatever chip
>into the socket above.
>
>Yes, I'd gladly PAY for such things ... more than a
>dollar too.

Clamshell sockets for surface-mount parts are huge and *very*
expensive... hundreds of dollars each. And most of them are... wait
for it... surface mount!


>
>Aries,MillMax and a few others ALMOST sell what I'm
>looking for - except that you still have to solder
>the SMT device to the provided pseudo-DIP chip. Almost
>as bad as having to solder SMT directly to the board.
>
>Sockets are the answer.

Too expensive.

The Beldyn adapters are nice:

ftp://66.117.156.8/NE3509M04.JPG

Don't give up. Get a good soldering iron and some good lighting and
magnifiers, and some tweezers and such, and relax and practice. It's
not that bad. Some people gave up electronics when transistors were
invented.

John

On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:02:52 +0000, B1ackwater wrote:

> It's official - I *hate* surface-mount junk. Too small
> for human beings. I'm forever bridging connections or
> overheating or underheating or going blind from the
> magnifier or ... well ... you know. SMT is for ROBOTS.
>
> I can't be alone.
....
> Sockets are the answer.

Why not make one? Take a plated board, etch the lead pattern on it. Then
take a piece of unplated board and cut a precise hole that confines the
chip's leads such that each lead lines up with a trace; then make another
part that clamps down over that, pressing the leads against the traces. If
the hole in the upper board is the right size, then you could just drop
the chip in and it would get aligned by the edges of the hole in the upper
board.

Of course, this will take some time - if you're being paid by the hour,
it'd be cheaper to hire some undergrad to just solder the chip in for you. ;-)

Good Luck!
Rich

On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:14:48 -0800, John Larkin
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>Too expensive.
>
>The Beldyn adapters are nice:
>
>ftp://66.117.156.8/NE3509M04.JPG
>
>Don't give up. Get a good soldering iron and some good lighting and
>magnifiers, and some tweezers and such, and relax and practice. It's
>not that bad. Some people gave up electronics when transistors were
>invented.
>
>John

I'm in the same boat. Just don't think 37 gauge wire is real these
days. Back in my youth . . . that was the size of continents. (Now I
understand my dad - building that first induction coil he couldn't see
the 30 gauge)

I need a very fine gauge iron and can make connections with a
magnifying glass - not too much problem there. Brace my hand on lead
weight etc..

The problem I have is trying to get the sm stuff on a real BREADboard
that I can see with unaided vision. How does one get from the little
bity parts to real (24 gauge) wires on a real breadboard with 0.100
spacing?

I do have a somewhat solution - line a bunch of wires into a homemade
jig, apply hot melt glue to the wires and I have a sort of connector
(and they only work once or find themselves wall art) assuming the
reflow soldering works and I don't break a wire.

Reflow - some plumber's joint tape and a soldering iron.
--

On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:51:29 GMT, Rich Grise <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:02:52 +0000, B1ackwater wrote:
>
>> It's official - I *hate* surface-mount junk. Too small
>> for human beings. I'm forever bridging connections or
>> overheating or underheating or going blind from the
>> magnifier or ... well ... you know. SMT is for ROBOTS.
>>
>> I can't be alone.
>...
>> Sockets are the answer.
>
>Why not make one? Take a plated board, etch the lead pattern on it. Then
>take a piece of unplated board and cut a precise hole that confines the
>chip's leads such that each lead lines up with a trace; then make another
>part that clamps down over that, pressing the leads against the traces. If
>the hole in the upper board is the right size, then you could just drop
>the chip in and it would get aligned by the edges of the hole in the upper
>board.
>
>Of course, this will take some time - if you're being paid by the hour,
>it'd be cheaper to hire some undergrad to just solder the chip in for you. ;-)
>
>Good Luck!
>Rich
>
Traces? How about bread boarding? How to get the surface mount to
work with "real parts" (those visible to the naked eye with 20/20
vision)
--