PLCC adapter

I ordered a set of DIP-PLCC adapters off eBay so I could program a chip to test a Gameboy cartridge I had modified (my EEPROM burner has a 40pin ZIF DIP socket), but there were delays in the postage. I was sick of waiting so thought I’d have a crack at making my own. I drilled out the centre of an atmel MCU, made sure the drill bit broke all the connections, and started to wire up a PLCC socket I salvaged off an older PC motherboard.

Got most of the way around the chip, but I managed to wrap the soldering iron cord around the drill vice I was using to hold the chip steady, and it fell from the bench onto the ground. The PLCC socket got a crack in it, and rather than admit the last hour of work had been a waste I finished off the wiring and tried to glue and melt the socket back together. Of course the socket disintegrated as soon as I pressed a chip in to it…