Electronic – Do IC’s in DIP sockets require an extraction tool

dipintegrated-circuittools

Am I correct in that the IC extraction is used to extract an IC from a DIP socket for swap/extraction in a safe manner? Or is it used for something else?

I doubt I will need this behaviour, however if I damage the socket it is worth a few dollars to own such a tool.

Best Answer

If there is adequate clearance, a typical screwdriver will work very nicely for removing DIPs from sockets. Insert the blade between the socket and the chip (not under the socket!), then twist gently in alternate directions to raise the two sides of the chip. Apply gentle pressure on the side of the chip opposite the side being raised, near the corner where the screwdriver is being used, to ensure that both ends of the chip rise by about the same amount.

One "tool" that's even better than a screwdriver, though I'm not sure where you can find one, is the L-shaped metal piece from an old-style PC case which screwed in to cover up the holes where I/O cards go. Not sure how best to describe it. Old-style PC cases are a bit hard to find these days, though.

BTW, I've yet to find a chip extractor tool that worked better on DIPs than the above-mentioned PC case piece.