Have you see the price on the ZIF sockets for SOT23!
As little as $25 but as much as $150!!
Now, I don't know if the $150 one included anything else but the pictures didn't show anything.
Since I'm already spending quite a bit on my little project (not thousands mind you, more like a little over $100) I decided to make my own SOT23-8 ZIF to program PICs.
I started with some surface mount RJ-45 sockets. These particular ones had the contacts molded into a convenient block that was extracted.
I found another type of RJ45 socket that had longer fingers separating the contacts so I used that. They guide the contacts and align the chip so it can be clamped.
A little wood, circuit board material and super glue holds it all together. I found a small magnet to hold the latch down.
I still need to solder it to a base that can be plugged into a breadboard but I think it will work.
Hope this inspires someone else to 'do it yourself'.
davidk