64 Pin ZIFF Socket for MC68000

[Tom Szolyga]

I discovered a ZIFF socket for 64 Pin ICs like the MC68000.  Perhaps other people know about this socket, but it was news to me.  The socket is a BURNDY DILBQ64P.  BURNDY seems to be out ot the socket business so NOS is the source.  I found the socket at Anchor Electronics in Santa Clara, CA .  In the pictures you can see the socket on my TS68K processor board.  It takes little extra space over a normal socket.  There is a slot on the end of the socket for a small screwdriver.  Rotate the screwdriver and the socket "opens".  Rotate it back or just remove it and the socket snaps closed.  

Since it is hard to insert a 64 pin IC into a normal socket because of the insertion force per pin is multiplied by 64, this socket seems like a great idea.

Best regards,

Tom 

[Bill Shen]

I've found the challenge with 64-pin DIP is getting them to line up with the socket so it will seat properly without bent/buckling some pins. The legs of a new DIP are spread out such that they need to bend inward to line up with a socket. I've not found a 64-pin IC straightening tool, so I have to bend them carefully on a hard surface (kitchen counter) to get two parallel rows of pins 0.9" apart. Once that's done, it is not hard to insert it into a socket. I use two rows of 32-pin machined socket strips to form a 64-pin socket. This makes it easy to remove the IC by inserting a curved tweezer under the IC and lifting it out of the socket.
Bill