Socketing?

[bifurcation]

So, I finally decided to socket my transistors like a real grown up, and .... the transistors just fall out!

I measured the depth of the socket and trimmed the transistor leads in a way that felt appropriate, but ... am I missing something?

Halp!

 

[Robert]

I don't socket my transistors... ??

You can bend the outer legs out slightly to give them a little more "spring", but otherwise they're going to be prone to fall out.

It really defeats the purpose of socketing, but if you socketed for the sake of swapping transistors you can solder them to the socket once you find a set you're happy with.

 

[p_wats]

Yeah I usually solder a leg or two after I'm sure it's the one I want to use, but I often don't socket if I'm confident in the part choice/part authenticity at the beginning.

 

[Nostradoomus]

I usually just tin the legs of the transistor so they have a bit more grip, not a fan of soldering them straight into the socket

 

[bifurcation]

I usually just tin the legs of the transistor so they have a bit more grip, not a fan of soldering them straight into the socket

That's an interesting idea. Mebbe I'll try that on the next circuit where I'm testing different trans.

 

[DGWVI]

After having a hell of a time getting the transistors to stay in the sockets, even with tinning, I'd still have issues with connectivity, so I just solder them these days. I make sure to keep most of the legs intact

 

[zgrav]

The compromise might be to tin the leads for the transistor to get a tighter fit in the socket, and solder one of them to the socket so it could be easily removed it you wanted to swap it later.

 

[Nostradoomus]

I’ve also pinched them width wise with a pair of pliers very lightly so they fan out a bit the other way