February 2012 Archives

Shop tip - soldering pin headers in straight

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So you have 1, 2, 20 boards to assemble and the last step is to solder the header pins. 

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Unlike components like caps or resistors where you can bend the wires on the solder side to keep them from falling through - headers cannot be bent. An even you did, getting the straight is a pain. Loose, they tend to look like this - 

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And, if you can get them to stay, when soldered that's where they'll stay. Ugly! So here's how I solved this. Using a breadboard. Start by getting all the headers ready.

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Next insert them into the board - aligned with the holes in the circuit board.

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Don't worry about getting them all the way. Place the circuit board on pins and using a flat edge press the pins into the board until at the desired depth (I'm using a razor blade - and I have had stiches, just not in my fingers - yet).

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Now solder. Don't burn your fingers!

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And voila! Nice straight pins.

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