[Elecraft] FYI: IC Sockets Tin or Gold plated contacts

Wed May 28 17:59:01 2003

Hi Gang,

Just thought I'd share this information with the list. A while back I posed
the question of "Is it OK to use tin plated IC pins into a gold plated
machine pinned socket?" After a conversation with Don Wilhelm over e-mail, I
decided to do a bit of research on the subject. I was aware that using
dissimilar metal can be a problem and could lead to corrosion. I posed the
question to an applications engineer at Mill-Max and here's the reply:

Trevor,
This is a common problem being that most devices have tin plated leads
and most customers buy gold plated contacts. Theoretically
the best connection would be gold on gold of course. The fact that you
have dissimilar metals will in fact accelerate the galvanic reaction
in your connection. The best option for you is to go with a tin plated
contact as well to match the tin plated lead. You are at least
minimizing the corrosion with similar metals. There is not much you can
do about the oxidation being that your leads are tin regardless.

Best Regards,
Steve Verivakis
Applications Engineer
Mill-Max Mfg.
tel.(516)922-6000 ext. 301
fax.(516)922-2469
[email protected]

So there you have it, from the horse's mouth. Glad I waited before I put
those sockets in. It seems that the whole "Gold Sockets are Better" idea is
kind of a myth unless you have IC's with gold pins. So for those of you that
want to use better quality sockets, go with the tin plated machine pin
sockets and NOT the gold variety. Take care...

73's Trev KG6CYN
http://www.qsl.net/kg6cyn