How do you remove chips from a PCB?

shane7951

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Is there a video or instructions on how to take the chips off a Playchoice PCB?
 
I almost exclusively use a Craftsman 41589 1/8" x 4" slotted screwdriver to remove socketed chips.

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I uses one of these... $0.99 at home depot. works briliantly!

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Whoa, what an EXCELLENT idea. I have one of those sitting in the basement.

If you are removing chips from a PCB that are NOT socketed, cut all of the legs off with a diagonal or flush cutter, then heat each pin with your soldering iron while removing it with a needle-nose pliers. Then use a solder sucker or desoldering tool to clean out the holes. This is naturally if you don't need the chips.

If you do need the chips, try to do the best and cleanest desoldering you can to each pin. Sometimes using some fresh solder will help the flow during the desoldering attempt (reflowing solder helps it melt uniformly and applies new rosin).
 
What nobody mentioned is take it easy what ever you use, pry a little on one end then the other, take it easy so you don't bend the heck out of the legs and note the position of the old one before you take it out.
 
What nobody mentioned is take it easy what ever you use, pry a little on one end then the other, take it easy so you don't bend the heck out of the legs and note the position of the old one before you take it out.

This is really great advice. Little things like this are very easy to overlook when actually working on a board. I'd recommend one removing and re-placing one chip at a time, carefully making sure you are putting it in the correct position and not backwards. I also find it helpful to spray the chip legs with some 91% isopropyl alchohol before placing them back in the sockets in order to help clean them and erode away tiny bits of tarnishing or grime.
 
This is what I use. Got it at Radio Shack

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I usually use a small flathead or one of these
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I've bent the hell out of chip legs with that. Sometimes there is no middle ground in between pulling too hard and not pulling hard enough.

So now I just use a knife, alternately going back and forth lifting each end of the chip a tiny bit until it is out.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
A trick I use with the screwdriver method, if you have nothing to pry against (some chips are flat against the socket)...pinch your thumb and finger and use them as a pivot/cradle for the screwdriver to pry against. Protects the board and doesn't hurt you at all - the chip should come out easy.
 
And use your digital camera to take BEFORE pictures of the board or any other part of your machines...it helps in so many ways even when you are not thinking it would.
 
Instead of moving the screwdriver up and down twist it in your fingers side to side. If the chip is in a socket usually you are pushing against the socket and not the PCB. Go slow, one side then the other.

I hate that green chip puller with a passion :)
 
That's a PLCC extractor. Not really intended for pulling DIPs....

That is what I have used for years now myself. They get a good "grip" on the chips and allow you to pull straight up on them. You can still rock the chip a little if need be for the stubborn ones. The legs of the puller are thin, but stout, so they get in between chips that are stacked close together pretty well too. I've never bent these legs like I have them other cheap pullers. RS has them for about $10, but you can find them all over for like $3.00 online.

I still grab a small screwdriver on occasion if I'm too lazy to get the pullers or I forget them when I go elsewhere.

All in what you prefer as long as the task is done properly without damage I guess.
 
I suppose there are a lot of things that'll work just fine once you get the hang of them. I personally dislike any puller that attempts to yank a DIP all at once.
I have a little screwdriver with somewhat rounded edges (so it doesn't damage the sockets) that I've used for many years (and still use occasionally). But I picked up one of the "Chip Lifter" tools (tiny pry-bar, I posted a pic above) a while ago, and that's the first thing I grab now. It's about the same size as the screwdriver I've used forever, but shaped to give you a little pry-bar action. Sweet simple tool designed for the job, and cheap!
 
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