Locking headers as programming pins? anyone else?

[BiOzZ]

Ever since i got the sparkfun eagle library i fell in love with somthing many people overlook

headers they call "locking" headers ... there offset from eachother so you can stick a regular spaced header in to them and it squeezes them in place like this



i honestly have not see this being used before but for all my prototypes i use this as the programming headers  ... as there much much easier to use than pogo pins and there cheaper than putitng headers on everything! especially if your project has no other headers on them!

does anyone else use these?

i never had any of the problems i thought i would have with them like a poor connection or anything (granted i use gold plated headers for my programmers)

they also make it a real ease to solder some in! ... personally i hate soldering in headers in normal pitch boards!

EDIT: you can get the library on there GIT https://github.com/sparkfun/SparkFun-Eagle-Libraries ... i highly suggest installing the whole thing there are lots of nice components in there!

[Psi]

I've not used this before but i will for my next PCB.
Seems like a great idea.

[Memphis]

Hi, great idea 

We was thinking about TAG-Connect, also a good solution for mass production 

[BiOzZ]

Hi, great idea 

We was thinking about TAG-Connect, also a good solution for mass production 

i have used something similar to tag (dont remember the name) ... worked great for personal programming AND production where  you use there cable for personal and pogos for production

but they never caught on and i found myself just using pads

this is the first time i have SEEN a tag system (heard of them before) and i will look at them in the future ... THANKS!

... i wonder if they have 10 pin ARM jtag ...

[Memphis]

10-pin tag connector is marked as: TC2050-IDC-NL 10-Pin No-Legs Cable with Ribbon connector.
Was finding it too , than you just select your logic layout on your own, didnt find any standard for JTAG except for that 20pin JTAG huge connection.

[Jon Chandler]

I love SparkFun's lock-in header idea and use it for all my headers.  I've never tried using it for programming without soldering in a header but the fit is pretty tight and secure so it should work well.

I do have a slight criticism of SparkFun's Eagle library.  Instead if being in the center, the centroid of the part is based on the pin 1 location.  When you rotate a part, instead of pivoting around the center, it will pivot around pin 1.  It's just annoying for me, but if you're generating a file for pick & place assembly this may result in problems.

[Harvs]

Sounds like a good idea. 

Not being an eagle user, could someone kindly tell me what the offset is on that footprint so I can make my own library footprint?  It's a bit hard to tell just looking at it.

[Rufus]

Not being an eagle user, could someone kindly tell me what the offset is on that footprint so I can make my own library footprint?

It depends how much you want the header pins to be deflected by so it depends on the size of the holes and the size of the pins and the rigidity of the body holding the pins. All seems a bit hit and miss to me.

Personally I don't have any problem using straight holes. For a few seconds of production programming a bit of sideways force on a header with long (one inch) pins holds it in place and makes good contact. For development boards I solder in a header. I have a customer who has programmed thousands of boards like that with no complaint or request for anything different.

[MacAttak]

I was poking around in the sparkfun connectors a couple days ago and noticed these but couldn't figure out why they existed (and why there seemed to one for every header pinout variant). But now it makes sense!

[Jon Chandler]

Sparkfun has a tutorial on Sneaky Connectors.  There quite a discussion as to why merely making the hole diameter smaller won't work (no room for solder to flow) and the hole size and offset required.

[daedalus]

+1 for Tag-connect, since I bought one of those I have never looked back. Tiny footprint, quick to program a batch of boards with, and can be semi-permanently attached for debugging (with the pin clamp accessory).

[BiOzZ]

Yeah solder flows on to them just fine and leaves a great strong joint!

Sounds like a good idea. 

Not being an eagle user, could someone kindly tell me what the offset is on that footprint so I can make my own library footprint?  It's a bit hard to tell just looking at it.

as john chandler said go here https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/114

Not being an eagle user, could someone kindly tell me what the offset is on that footprint so I can make my own library footprint?

It depends how much you want the header pins to be deflected by so it depends on the size of the holes and the size of the pins and the rigidity of the body holding the pins. All seems a bit hit and miss to me.

Personally I don't have any problem using straight holes. For a few seconds of production programming a bit of sideways force on a header with long (one inch) pins holds it in place and makes good contact. For development boards I solder in a header. I have a customer who has programmed thousands of boards like that with no complaint or request for anything different.

i used to do this almost exclusively and my complaint is the fact that after awhile that gets quite annoying and tends to bend headers and screw up pads

yeah i can solder headers on to them but quite frankly its annoying to do and i dont like soldering in things as an afterthought .... just my OCD XP

[Harvs]

Sparkfun has a tutorial on Sneaky Connectors.  There quite a discussion as to why merely making the hole diameter smaller won't work (no room for solder to flow) and the hole size and offset required.

Thanks