Plastic parts are just coming into our military designs, and we don't have a lot of experience with j-leads. For hi-rel, what is the preferred mod method for wiring to a j-lead: 1. Reverse the bend, wire to the bent-up lead on the outside. We use this method for DIP's, but it takes a lot of dexterity if the part is soldered down, and doesn't leave much room underneath for wiring to the pad. 2. Clip off the narrow part of the lead, bend the flat part up 90 degrees so that it sticks out perpendicularly from the part body, wire to that. This is easy to solder to, but it takes up a lot of space. It also violates spec requirements by bending within two lead diameters or thicknesses from the component body. Is damage to the lead or internal connection a valid concern? 3. Clip off the narrow part of the lead and leave the rest alone. Bend the wire into an L and solder to the lead face. Comments? Other suggestions? Joe Kane Lockheed Martin Control Systems Johnson City, NY ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. For the technical support contact Dmitriy Sklyar at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.311 ##############################################################