28-pin DIP ZIF sockets
Zero insertion force sockets, for all your prototyping and jig needs
Not currently available
These Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) sockets clamp onto a chip, making a good electrical connection, when you push the lever down. When you release the lever, it releases the chip. This allows you to repeatedly insert or remove a chip from the socket without damage to either.
These are great for two situations: When you want to replace the chip that goes in a given place frequently, or when you want to program one chip after another in the same fixture.
These 28-pin ZIF sockets are perfect for working with chips in narrow 0.3" wide DIP packages with up to 28 pins, including the popular ATmega48/88/168 series of AVR microcontrollers. There are even little bars to indicate where to put a DIP-8 or DIP-20, if you want to use them. We use these sockets (amongst other places) for programming the ATmega328 chips that go in our open source Diavolino, Meggy Jr RGB and Peggy 2 kits.
When using ZIF sockets, keep in mind that the pins are a bit wider than regular IC pins. -- they fit in most pad-per-hole type prototyping boards, but may not fit in a chip socket or circuit board that was meant to hold a chip alone. (They do fit nicely in current versions of our ATmegaXX8 target boards, for example.) Specifically, the contact pins are 0.030 x 0.012", rectangular, phosphor bronze with gold plating, and have a 1 A current rating. The socket height (with the lever down) is 0.46".
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