[Martin] Sending this query and the main photo to the prompt line, he made a good point. Most development and evaluation boards have multiple rows of pins, which are usually loose in the package-soldering is left to the user. To be cautious, we usually design prototype boards with many headers for debugging and testing.But as [Martin] Remind us that there are other welding alternatives.
- You have indeed worked with a prolific PIC microprocessor board designer. Long before solutions such as the Tag Connect series appeared, [Ralph] Simply insert the header into the PCB and gently press it with your thumb until the code finishes flashing to program his circuit board.
- You may have seen staggered offset PCB patterns that firmly hold your headers when you solder. You can adjust it slightly to apply more pressure to the pins to form a solderless connection sufficient for temporary testing.
- Taking the opposite method, you can get a solderless connector with crimp pins, which is the method we tested on the Raspberry Pi Zero a few years ago. Anyone who has worked on Eurocard-based systems such as VME will appreciate the time saved and improved reliability of the 96-pin DIN-41612 crimp connector.
- Or as [Martin] It is recommended that you can use one of these cheap pogo pin clips. You can buy these products from your favorite Asian electronics distributor for less than $10. They are about the size of a big clothespin, and there are many different pin configurations to choose from.
Connector label connection style
Uncle Pete’s footprint experiment, Sparkfun
Press-in 96-pin DIN
Pogo-Pin fixture
If you need to insert the circuit board into another card (for example, insert a cap into a Raspberry Pi), these techniques will not help. However, when you just want to acquire some signals for the serial port or detect some digital I/O signals, putting some of these clips in the toolbox can save you the time and trouble of soldering joints. Do you have any tricks to make soldering headers easier, or even avoid them altogether? Please let us know in the comments below.