At 09:51 PM 4/23/2007, Forrest W Christian wrote: >I have a need to be able to rapidly desolder some DIP IC's for >replacement. The tip you are talking about is over-rated. I had a couple (and probably still do) but haven't used them in years. The problem with them was the iron heating them (NOT heating them). Too much heat lost down the little wussy stem that connected it to the iron's heating element. What I'd suggest is that you visit the Metcal web-site and see what they have to offer. One thing that I *think* would work well is to attach a set of spring-loaded pliers or needle-nose pliers to the end of the chip, then flip the board over and use a set of Metcal Talon tips wide enough to bridge the full length of the pins. Flood the pins with solder (enough to get good thermal contact with every pin), wait a couple of seconds for the heat to make it through the full length of the pins, then gently rock the chip out. Gentle is the key word here - you don't want to damage any of the plated through holes. The reason I suggest the Talon is that it contains 2 heating elements - one for each row of pins. A similar technique might be even simpler: just use the Talon to heat up the pins from the top side of the board, then grip the chip WITH the Talon and rock it out. Again, extra solder to ensure good thermal transfer to every pin is necessary. I've used the Talon to do this with 8-pin DIP packages and it works. Flooding the pins with solder to enhance thermal conductivity was essential - but the whole process was FAST. Didn't damage any plating in the process. Don't know how well it will work with longer / bigger packages - I suppose I should try it. Also don't know how well it will work with leads firmly attached to ground or power planes - the only Talon tips I have here right now are 600F tips (TAC-601 through TAC-604). I do know that 700F tips are available but I don't have any. Note: I mention 'Flooding" the pins with solder when using the Talon. Flooding is a relative term here: add enough solder to ensure good thermal contact but that's all. NOT enough to bridge between all the pins - that's simply too much. dwayne -- Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax Celebrating 22 years of Engineering Innovation (1984 - 2006) .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .- `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' Do NOT send unsolicited commercial email to this email address. This message neither grants consent to receive unsolicited commercial email nor is intended to solicit commercial email. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist