Orientation of IC sockets...

[tINY]

There should be a mark on the board for pin one.

Sometimes it's a dot in the silkscreened markings, sometimes there's a notch out of the box outline of the IC body. And, sometimes there is a different shape to the pad that pin 1 is soldered to (IE - square instead of round).

I don't know what they did on your board. Got any pictures?



-tINY

[paully]

Doesn't matter how many pin there are, all sockets are layed out in the same order.

Paul

[amorris]

although the Gssl all go in one direction, always check each IC that you socket before you remove the IC because some PCBs have ICs that go in one direction and other ICs go in the other. I know cause Ive been burned this way. so watch out for that!!!

[Phil Gorey]

thanks for all your comments...some of the ICs do face different directions....what would you say is the most common and practical ground to use if you're soldering components that are electrostatic sensitive...

[tINY]

The blue condutctive mats with a snap on them for a wrist strap work well. Tie it to the saftey ground on your electical system through a 100k resistor.




-tINY