Tom Handley wrote:
>    Wagner, if we could do adapters for $1 in single qty, I would sell my
> house to raise startup capital ;-)
>    There are adapters but they are relatively expensive considering you
> still have to solder the SOIC, etc, to the adapter. Then there are `older'
> guys like me who have difficulty soldering at 0.050" and below ;-)
>    - Tom

Tom, actual market price is not only based on production cost (read here
lots of things, as quantity, production site, general expenses), but on
"what the customer is willing to pay". If what the market wants to pay
doesn't generate producer's profit, it will not go to the market, except
if they are alone in the market, then they fix the price.  Unfortunately
I am forced to say that a $80 adapter is a gross stealing.  You can't
find a general purpose 8 bits microcontroller costing $80, why? because
it will not sell when the market average price is around $4.

A whole PC minitower case with front panel (injected molded), leds,
switches, screws, power supply, wires, connectors, metal cuts and all,
cost less than $35, and it is not only by the fact that it is produced
in Taiwan and in millions, but also because if they do it by $100 nobody
will buy it, since the competitor will sell by $40.

A whole PC pentium motherboard fully component assembled (except by the
pentium and memory chips), tested, (how many layers?), several
connectors and all, cost less than $80.

Technologically speaking, again, $80 for a converter is a stealing, the
producer knows it and he is laughing at us discussing this subject. A
sensible and low cost way to produce a spring action contacts for even
.5mm pitch, with the 2sq inch board to DIP pins could not cost more than
$2 if produced in 10 thousand or more units.

Probably a nice solution for the spring contact would be a conductive
flexible glue, like silicon saturated with copper or silver powder,
using a stencil technique to deposit little drops of this glue directly
over the pcb .5mm pitch pads, will work exactly as a pressure pad to
receive the smd chip.  Some pressure over the chip against the flexible
"rubber contact" will hold the chip in place with a nice contact.  A one
Ohm resistance between the chip and the adapter is too much for general
analog/digital use?  I believe a nice mixing of silver powder can
generate a small ball with much less resistance.

What you guys think about it?