27 Apr
2010
27 Apr
'10
11:42 a.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
Farnell still seem to sell wire-wrap sockets, but they are not cheap (I
think the 16 pin one is something like \pounds 1.20 + VAT)!
I still use wire-wrap. The finished product is
easily modifiable and
will turn in reliable performance for as long as I care to use it.
I've got the tools to do wire-wrap, but none of the boards, sockets or
hardware (it seems WW IC sockets have become rather difficult to
source). The long pins also tend to get in the way IMO...
To be honest, I prefer the RoadRunner point-to-point wiring pens.
So do I. The Roadrunner pen is much nicer than the similar Verowire pen
BTW, in that it has a metal tip. The Verowire pen tends to melt wehn you
solder the connection...
I must admit I do not use it as suggested. I solder the IC sockets down
to a piex of ptorotyping board (square pad board if I can get it,
otherwise 'tripad board' or normal stripboard with suitable track cuts. I
then tin the wire on the end of the pen and solder it to the first pin.
Run the wire across the board to the next pin I want to connect, and
solder it there. Then carry on until I've completed that run. Cut off the
wire and do the next trun the same way.
They're a bit like wire-wrap, but you use
enamelled copper wire which is
soldered to the component (or socket) pins like a PCB "ratsnest". Though
admittedly it is a good idea to use wiring guides (aka "wiring
castellations" -- they look a bit like the battlements on top of castle
I've never used the guides...
-tony