The good news is that I’ve just finished soldeing my first core module. 
The bad news is that I have a component left over. 
Spot the newbie - I soldered in the opto-coupler instead of the IC-Socket. :-[
I’m not having much joy de-soldering it with my pump or braid and I’m afraid I will overheat or crack it.
Should I keep trying or is it best to leave it where it is in the hope it will work?
Hey, if it’s already in, why not just turn it on and see if it works?
(EDIT: There’s nothing “wrong” with soldering chips in - soldering chips in is actually more reliable mechanically…)
Doug
Hi,
as long as the IC is placed the right way round, I’d just keep it as it is now. The main reason for using sockets is to spare the ICs prolonged times of heating. It is already soldered now, so desoldering only increases the probability that the IC might get damaged from too much heat.
Seppoman
If it’s the wrong way 'round:
http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=7649.0
Otherwise, as the others said, you can leave it there.
Thanks for that guys.
I’ll leave it in and see how it runs.
The other good reason for using IC sockets is it’s a lot easier to replace an IC in a socket than desolder the IC.
If it was me, I’d take the time to desolder it now and put in a socket. Considering I’ve had two optocouplers die on me for no apparent reason, I’d rather have the ability to easily replace it later if it does fail.
Also, I’d prefer to save the pads from being overheated and pulled off the PCB and just cut the leads (on the top side) and desolder the leads one at a time (pull it out with pliers while heating the joint).
I’m just telling you what I would do and why, not telling you to do the same… if it works as is, it’s quite OK to leave it there, it will work just as well as if it was in a socket (even better).
I’ve finished my DIN and DOUT boards and gone back to review the core. I’ve tested my voltages and they seem to be right according to uCApps and the opto-coupler appears in the right orientation according to the circuit diagram. Based on Wilba’s comments above I would prefer to install the socket if it is possible to remove the IC with damaging it or the board. Is there a good technique for desoldering a multi-pin IC or socket? When I tried I was working one pin at a time and each pin seemed to re-solder with residual solder every time. I couldn’t make any progress and was adding a lot of heat to the IC. Any suggestions?
You can see things the other way around : Your chip is already soldered.
If it dies, you’ll be able to remove the chip easily by cutting the pins and installing a socket instead.
You will probably not using this method for the moment I believe, and, while there are other ways to unsolder the chip, it’s very painful to do…
I’d leave the chip there and if it happens to die, you’ll be able to use the easy destructive chip removal method to solder in a new socket.
Also, you’d probably have trouble inserting a chip that already has solder on it’s pins in a socket.
If you really want to remove it,
Good point DragonMaster. I didn’t consider cutting the optocoupler pins and de-soldering individually as an option if it fails. I’ll pick up a new optocoupler to have as a back-up but I’ll leave the current one in until it gives me trouble. Thanks everyone for the advice.