How (not) to send IC's

[simonden]

Just a heads up for anyone looking to buy IC's.

I just bought some IC's from SparesXpert "The Electronic Spares Experts" on eBay using eBay name highstreet1955

The IC's turned up completely wrapped in tin-foil. Just how I Like my electrostatic-sensitive devices to be sent.

And if the tin-foil didn't kill them, there was zero protection on the legs, so all have horrendously bent/broken legs.

Buy from these 'Experts' at your peril.

 

[big10p]

Tin foil - you're kidding, right?

 

[guddler]

People often send ICs pressed into polystyrene covered in tin foil. Not sure what the thinking behind that is. At least when they do that the legs don't get broken!

 

[backflipper]

They idea behind it is that all the legs have a dead short between them so any static will take the path of least resistance and not damage the internals. It's a practise that been around for years.

The polystyrene protects the legs the foil protects the silicon.

[Edit] Im not making excuses for the "experts" it sounds like they are amateur. backflipper2015-02-06 15:40:59

 

[simonden]

I have heard that about tin foil and there are a few discussions on the interweb about whether it should be done or not. If the legs were in polystyrene, even tin-foil wrapped polystyrene I wouldn't have been bothered, but they were just wrapped in tin-foil and stuck in an envelope.

Anyway, going to be interesting to see if I can get any to work.

 

[pobtastic]

Speaking of experts... I just bought a Raspberry Pi 2 from Maplins (online) and I figured as I was buying something anyway I'd get a 555 timer as I need one for a repair. They sent it like this;

And of course, the legs were all bent... That'll teach me to buy from Maplins

 

[guddler]

Ah! I could have told you that, I have first hand experience of this. I'm more surprised they even had the IC in the first place

Last time I ordered CPU sockets I ordered them from Maplin. Dunno why, I guess for the amount I was ordering they were cheaper than the usual places without the minimum order guff. Sure enough, they were sent out like that and all the pins were bent. Thing is, I'd ordered 50 or 100 or something like that so I was damned if I was going to let it go so I rang them up.

Not only did they apologise and send new ones out the very next day that arrived with straight legs but when I asked what about the ones they'd sent the lady said it wasn't worth the effort of picking them up so to keep them.

Of course I sat there and straightened all the legs out so ended up with twice the amount of perfectly usable sockets. Only 1 or two were too far gone

Don't think I'll ever need to buy any 40pin sockets in my lifetime!

 

[pobtastic]

Lulz! Maybe I'll ring up and say my Raspberry Pi 2 is bent, see if they'll send me another one

pobtastic2015-02-09 11:21:05

 

[guddler]

Ha! If you think of anything useful to do with it, let me know - mine is already just sat on the shelf.

 

[pobtastic]

Current thinking is that I'm going to put it into my NNC cab as I have a JVS-PAC. All really because I bought a Blue Elf and it's pretty crap

 

[philmurr]

Continuing this thread - these arrived today from a "reputable chip dealer" in the US, wrapped tightly in an antistatic bag.

OK they were also in a jiffy bag, but I wonder how many of the pins have survived...

 

[Equites]

Continuing this thread - these arrived today from a "reputable chip dealer" in the US, wrapped tightly in an antistatic bag.

OK they were also in a jiffy bag, but I wonder how many of the pins have survived...

What ICs were they? Must be something juicy to come from the US.

 

[philmurr]

Not that juicy, just 74153's for my Williams stash. LS's don't work.

I only needed 4, but over here the cheapest I've found is £2.50 each. These were 50 for less than £5. So I bought 100, probably never need them all but you never know...

 

[Equites]

Not that juicy, just 74153's for my Williams stash.  LS's don't work.

I only needed 4, but over here the cheapest I've found is £2.50 each.  These were 50 for less than £5.  So I bought 100, probably never need them all but you never know...

Sheesh! Next time PM me, I got stacks of non LS TTL, not 153's though! I just bought some LS153's mind.Equites2015-02-11 15:15:31

 

[tb lilley]

Hoarder.

 

[silverfox0786]

Not that juicy, just 74153's for my Williams stash. LS's don't work.

I only needed 4, but over here the cheapest I've found is £2.50 each. These were 50 for less than £5. So I bought 100, probably never need them all but you never know...

Sheesh! Next time PM me, I got stacks of non LS TTL, not 153's though! I just bought some LS153's mind.

can a mod please add to Nad's avatar message

he shouldn't just be the chief sheesher but also chief Horder

 

[david_orton_2000]

Seen loads of ICs badly packaged, in fact it seems more rare they come in anything protective at all.
-I kept some some strong plastic black IC boxes, which have IC material foam-type inside, which keep them safe.

Maplin....they don't really do components any more(not like they used to), or even good customer service...sigh.