desoldering DIPs with an iron, wick, and a sucker is about the most annoying thing a man can do with his precious time on this earth.  The frustration has probably chipped away days off my life, so there’s now a Hakko FR300 de-soldering iron on its way to me.

RIP DC508A, you never really had a chance.

On the plus side, there’s now one more working DC508A display available.