> There are a bunch of chips, in SOIC and TQFP that I'd like to be able to use in my breadboarding. I can get the little adapter boards that convert to SIP or DIP locally. > > Tips on soldering these things, please? I have a heat-controlled Weller soldering iron, with a fine tip. SOIC is very doable by hand and with minimal to no magnification, just tack one corner, to a pretinned pad, tack the opposite and work down the rest of the pins, alternating sides to keep from overheating. TQFP, I would suggest loading a solderwick with solder, dragging it over the pads with the iron on top of it to tin it (extra flux will be needed) put the chip down, line it up, tack the corners with the tinning. Add a good bit of flux, and you can use the tinned solder wick and iron again to solder all the leads. Inspect carefully to make sure no little strands fell off the wick and are shorting out a bunch of leads. -- Jonathan Hallameyer -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist