So I stabbed my finger with an IC... (a frustration rant)

[brand0nized]

Why must taking ICs out of sockets be so difficult? I always get the legs bent out of shape.

Today, I worked on a Cave Dweller with Taptation that I'd been working on for months... After the same problem had repeated itself over and over again, I figured I'd swap out all the ICs on the taptation in case I fried them somewhere along the way. I tried this time with my fingers, to see if I could gently rock it back and forth without bending the legs too much. On my last pull, the MCP41100 came out and one of the legs decided to lodge itself into my index finger.  In other words, I am currently typing with one less finger. Thank God that IC legs aren't longer than they are.

I decided to use a box cutter for the Taptation chip. I pried both sides gently, going back and forth between the two sides. I thought this was working pretty well because I got a good amount of movement towards the end. With one final pry, the Taptation came out, leaving it's 7th leg behind in the socket. My now crippled $20 IC is now useless...

On top of all that, this delay has been pissing me off for the longest time. Today I built another taptation circuit with vero from Mammoth (the first was from Tayda), just in case my Tayda boards were crap, but I had the same issues again... When I get some more money, I'll get PCBs from JMK and Haberdasher and rebuild the Cave Dweller and Taptaion on PCBs made by someone else. So far, I had no luck with all my vero projects...

This delay is going into a very complicated build. As I don't have much experience in pedal building, I think I'm in waaaay over my head. It's (supposed to be) a triple build with a Madbean Sea Urchin going into a Cave Dweller, and ending with a 1776 Rub-a-Dub Deluxe Reverb, all fitting into a 1590BB tall and all delays with tap tempo. At this point, I just want to finish the build with reliable PCBs and sell it off so I can get a Zoom MS70-CDR to replace its spot on my board...

Thanks for reading my rant. You make me feel so much better

[selfdestroyer]

I feel your pain. Buy these and never turn back.

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Insulated-Vinyl-Puller/dp/B0002JEZ2I

Cody

[brand0nized]

I feel your pain. Buy these and never turn back.

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Insulated-Vinyl-Puller/dp/B0002JEZ2I

Cody

Thanks for the tip, Cody.

Would I still have to wiggle side to side with this, or just pull straight out?

[selfdestroyer]

I feel your pain. Buy these and never turn back.

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Insulated-Vinyl-Puller/dp/B0002JEZ2I

Cody

Thanks for the tip, Cody.

Would I still have to wiggle side to side with this, or just pull straight out?

Takes a little finesse on some ICs but straight out will work. There are better built pullers also that are sturdier.

Cody

[chromesphere]

Brandon, I have those ic extractors as well. They work ok, better then using pliers or your fingers! 
I find slipping something metal and thin the complete length under the chip and lifting it up tends does a better job though.  I use tweezers for this, pretty much any of these work (I have the set):
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TH1752&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=954#1
Only problem is you need access to underneath the chip, if you have it give it a go!
Paul

[alanp]

I lever them up with the same tiny flathead screwdriver I use for adjusting trimpots and doing up knob setscrews -- eek the IC up very, very slightly at one end, do the other end, then repeat until it comes free.

[m-Kresol]

last week I managed to push a needle THROUGH the tip of my index finger into my middle finger. Hurts like hell, although it was a thin one...
and just as a side note: Brian is going to release a delay project with tap tempo called cave man, iirc. I guess, it will be similar to what you're trying to achieve. Might be less of a pita to just wait for it.

[brand0nized]

last week I managed to push a needle THROUGH the tip of my index finger into my middle finger. Hurts like hell, although it was a thin one...
and just as a side note: Brian is going to release a delay project with tap tempo called cave man, iirc. I guess, it will be similar to what you're trying to achieve. Might be less of a pita to just wait for it.

That sounds like a godsend! Praise The Lord! Thanks for the heads up.

Where can I find information on this project?


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[Justus]

Does anyone know offhand what chip the Taptation IC is?  I'm guessing some kind of Atmel or Picaxe microcontroller...

[brand0nized]

Does anyone know offhand what chip the Taptation IC is?  I'm guessing some kind of Atmel or Picaxe microcontroller...

It's an ATTINY84 chip


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[GermanCdn]

I lever them up with the same tiny flathead screwdriver I use for adjusting trimpots and doing up knob setscrews -- eek the IC up very, very slightly at one end, do the other end, then repeat until it comes free.

This.  I've got an IC extractor as well, but my setscrew screwdriver does a better job.

[m-Kresol]

last week I managed to push a needle THROUGH the tip of my index finger into my middle finger. Hurts like hell, although it was a thin one...
and just as a side note: Brian is going to release a delay project with tap tempo called cave man, iirc. I guess, it will be similar to what you're trying to achieve. Might be less of a pita to just wait for it.

That sounds like a godsend! Praise The Lord! Thanks for the heads up.

Where can I find information on this project?

Not much info yet, just saw that it is supposed to come this year.

Also, here is what the Fall is looking like:

All EHX projects (Polyphase, Attack Decay, Bad Stone), OC-2, sub-mini tube amps projects and overdrives, a couple new delays (analog and digital and at least one tap tempo), Dig Dug, Rabbit Punch (A/B/AB), Mandroid and a couple misc designs. I have enough worked on already to last well into 2015 beyond those, too.

These are the projects I am trying to finish Oct-Dec:

Attack Decay
Polyphase
Frequency Analyzer
One sub-mini amp
One sub-mini OD
Dig Dig2
Mandroid (crazy little thing it is)
Rabbit Punch (ABY)
Man O War (analog delay)
Peacekeeper
Bombtrack (OC-2)
Cave Troll (tap tempo delay)
Quadrovibe 2

[jball85]

I feel your pain as well, crap just keeps going wrong with every project as of late.

[mmlee]

I use these http://www.amazon.co.uk/quality-precision-pliers-Japanese-engineer/dp/B001YHLPXY/ref=pd_sim_diy_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TMWVS421SD4E2K2V3MP to get IC's out.  They're really nice pliers for PCB work as are their side cutters and solder sucker.

We've all been impaled, I feel your pain.  Stood on a socket a couple nights ago.

[brand0nized]

I use these http://www.amazon.co.uk/quality-precision-pliers-Japanese-engineer/dp/B001YHLPXY/ref=pd_sim_diy_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TMWVS421SD4E2K2V3MP to get IC's out.  They're really nice pliers for PCB work as are there side cutters and solder sucker.

We've all been impaled, I feel your pain.  Stood on a socket a couple nights ago.

Ouch! I cringed


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