Remove the A500 Chips

[Sasuke]

Hi,
I would like to remove the Paula, Denise, Gary, Cia chips from the A500 mobo so I can clean them.
What method do you recommend to avoid breaking them?
I have seen the screwdriver method. it's safe?

[pandy71]

Not recommend screw driver - risk of damaging is quite high - invest in some chip puller / chip extractor - especially for Agnus (PLCC) package - almost sure you will brake PLCC socket - screw driver may work for DIL/DIP packages (but ceramics IC's may crack).

[Jope]

The PLCC socket definitely requires a puller, but the DIP sockets are fine with a flat bladed screwdriver. You must make sure that the tip of the screwdriver never touches the circuit board! It must only make contact with the chip and the socket.

[Photon]

Originally Posted by pandy71

Not recommend screw driver - risk of damaging is quite high - invest in some chip puller / chip extractor - especially for Agnus (PLCC) package - almost sure you will brake PLCC socket - screw driver may work for DIL/DIP packages (but ceramics IC's may crack).

The only way for an extractor to not cause damage is one that lifts the chip straight up. There are many that bend the legs.

Spray some deoxidization (if the chips have been in the sockets for a while). Let it work.

Use, not trash car repair screwdrivers but thin electronics ones, like the one on the right here.

The key is to not fight stuck chips from oxidization, and to get between the socket and chip, and be careful. Simple mechanics.

These screwdrivers will let you ease the chip out of the socket. An extractor may also let you do that, but you won't know until you try the one you bought. It might also not perform well, and then you bend or break a leg.

With a screwdriver you have control.

Some chips are tight for space. Then you can't use a pair of screwdrivers. Then you must use an extractor.

You can practice on boards you don't care about first. Like an only 20yo PC motherboard.

[Sasuke]

So I try the screwdriver method
with the screwdriver, do I have to pry first one side and then the other of the chip?
Fotone, i wanted to practice on another mobo first, but I don't have it.
I sincerely hope I don't do any damage.......

Could you link me a demonstration video?

[Daedalus]

Yes, try and keep the chip as level as possible with the board.

Proper DIP extractors are relatively expensive and may not seem worth it if you're not going to be using them frequently. But don't be tempted by the cheap DIP extractors that are formed from a folded bit of thin metal - especially with larger chips, they're a very good way of bending and ripping off chip legs.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by Sasuke

with the screwdriver, do I have to pry first one side and then the other of the chip?

Yes, lift by 1mm on one side, 1mm on the other side, then swap sides back and so on. Little by little, else you will twist the legs.

[Photon]

Originally Posted by Sasuke

So I try the screwdriver method
with the screwdriver, do I have to pry first one side and then the other of the chip?
Fotone, i wanted to practice on another mobo first, but I don't have it.
I sincerely hope I don't do any damage.......

Could you link me a demonstration video?

I can explain with 4 videos.

NOTE: You should spray contact cleaner spray on the pins first, and let it work for a few minutes. None of the videos demonstrate this.

A. Wrong way:
[ Show youtube player ]
1. Too thick "screwdriver"
2. No steady support under PCB. (Use a table.)
3. His chip is new. If the chip was old and more stuck, he would have to use more force and he could bend all the pins.

If he used a thin screwdriver instead, and used it on both ends carefully, it would be the right way \o/

B. Bad tools:
[ Show youtube player ]
See 4:33 into the video.
1. The blue and yellow one have tips made of thin metal which can slip.
2. When the chip comes out, the movement is very fast and violent. Fast movement is how pins get bent.
3. His chip is new. If the force is great, slipping can mean bent pins or even affect the socket. If the chip or socket is old, too much force can lift pads on the circuit board.

C. A different tool:
[ Show youtube player ]
See 0:53 into the video.

These tools are for a different type of chip (PLCC).
1. When you squeeze, you can hold a DIP chip firmly. Smaller chance of slipping - if the tool is quality.
2. When the chip comes loose, again the movement can be violent, so a chance of bent pins.
3. It also pulls both on the chip and the socket, if they are old. This video is for new chips, that are not so stuck in the socket.

But it can be used if there is stuff blocking the ends of the chip in the socket. Just be careful.

D: Screwdriver both ends:
[ Show youtube player ]
See 3:55 into the video.
1. The screwdriver is too long, too wide, and too thick.
2. No support to hold the PCB again. But maybe just to show the angle.
3. Uses an already extracted chip that he pushed down in the socket before. So it's not stuck.

But this last video is still the best, because it shows you everything.
Just do the same carefully and on a table with a small, thin screwdriver.

Electronics has very small parts, so use good lighting, maybe even a flashlight to look at the end of the socket.

Just get a thin flat radio screwdriver set. Cheap, good, and precise.

[pandy71]

Best screwdriver method is if you have screwdriver capable to be inserted between IC and it's socket then slightly twist screwdriver on one side then in opposite direction then repeat on second side of IC's - in such way risk of damaging PCB and/or other components nearby is lowest as twist movement can be very well controlled (usually 15 deg is sufficient to loose even very tight bonded IC leg and IC socket).

[Sasuke]

Thanks so much for the help.
From what I've read, this is a delicate operation.

When I feel safe, I'll try following the videos you kindly linked to me, Photon.