I'm going to give away a few pedals, but at home I haven't worried too much about securing the socketed parts. A few searches have revealed that people are using hot glue (? really?) or soldering the transistors into another socket, then inserting socket into socket...(?)
There has to be a better way that doesn't add to the parts height in some already tight builds. Any help appreciated.
I use a cheap hot glue gun (3$ at a local hobby store). Couple drops on the socket and it stays, but its easy to pop off when I need to (I use a small flat head screw driver to pop the glue off). Useful for keeping LEDs in place or tacking down unruly wires too.
Thanks for the reply somnif - are you worried about heat or conductivity over time with hot glue?
Heat not so much. Glue sticks melt below 250F. If a transistor can survive my 700F iron for soldering, I'm sure it can survive 250 for a moment or two. And running at 9V I've not run into an occasion where any part I've glued down has gotten that hot.
Conductivity I've considered, but everything I have read says the glue is essentially non-conductive. I've not run into problems with it in any case. Granted, My oldest glued-in-place part is less than 2 years old, so maybe in the long run? But I'm not really worried about it.
Maybe someone with more experience will have something else to say.
Once you're happy with the transistors selected and it all goes, solder one of the legs in the socket. (You can "sodder" it if you're American, if you like :) )
I like to solder with a silent l, yes, but alan p, why not solder all 3 legs in that case and never worry about it (in the case of pedals you let go to others)?
Quote from: jonboper on June 02, 2017, 09:19:50 PM
I like to solder with a silent l, yes, but alan p, why not solder all 3 legs in that case and never worry about it (in the case of pedals you let go to others)?
Yep, I do that exactly, test and then solder all 3 legs to the socket.
Test, then hot glue for me. Added bonus, my pedal then feels more bootique 'cause it's gooped!
I haven't given away any socketed components, but when I was unhappy with the looseness of a socketed transistor, I bent the end of each leg slightly with pliers. You get sort of a spring action that forces a good contact.
If it leaves your ownership or goes on stage or goes into a studio, solder it.
Quote from: midwayfair on June 05, 2017, 04:19:49 AM
If it leaves your ownership or goes on stage or goes into a studio, solder it.
This has been my practice also. Its extra time but it's not worth the headache of the ICs or Trannies falling out during usage or travel.
Cody