ADABOX005 HAMMER HEADERS

[devinganger]

All,

Have had fun putting 005 together...except for the hammer headers. I don't know if it was a problem with the jig (I received metal screws that were too skinny for the holes, so lots of wobble) but I found that one side (the long side nearest the edge) went in fine, but the other row didn't go in nearly as far and as a result the pins weren't locked in and the pins actually bent inward. (No issues left to right -- it was consistent)

I was able to fix the problem by carefully using the screw head from a pocket knife to pry the headers up and straighten them out, then trying again carefully after making sure to securely grip the jig so the pre-mentioned wobble didn't happen.

I got them successfully seated and the Joy Bonnet installed and everything is working, but in the end it would have been faster and more reliable to just use the solder-in header.

Was this a fluke in the jig I received or just a risk of the process? At any rate, if there is anyone else out there still waiting for your box, TAKE CARE with the hammer headers. Go very slow, very gentle, and make sure there is no wobble. Check your progress often.

[adafruit_support_mike]

It is kind of a delicate process, and yeah, soldering header is faster and easier if you're already comfortable installing double-row headers.

The 2x20 header can be intimidating to people who are only beginning to solder though, so there was a lot of demand for the hammered version.

[devinganger]

I hear you on that. I'm still working on my consistency in my soldering, but I've found if I go slowly and deliberately, I always do better than I think I am going to. Take a few seconds to think about what I need to do, then do it just slow enough to do it right the first time. (That, and having the right tip on the iron. My friend always uses a chisel tip; I use the tiny point and haven't had an issue soldering a single header for an Adafruit product yet.)

At any rate, the hammer headers worked and the RetroPie is awesome! Thanks again for another great AdaBox!

[adafruit_support_mike]

That's the best way to start.. focus on building good habits like keeping the tip clean and paying attention to the joint, and you'll pick up speed as you go. Soldering isn't really a fast process anyway, but there's a rhythm once you get used to it.

Tip selection is kind of a personal thing, but knowing some general principles helps. The main idea is that the thing you're trying to heat up will pull heat out of the tip when you touch them together. The tip is a thermal holding tank, and you want it to stay hot while the parts are heating up. You want the part that delivers the heat to be maybe 10x more massive than the thing it's heating up, but not 100x. You want a bigger tip for pin header and mechanicals, like the mounting lugs from a barrel jack, than you want for component leads. You can use even smaller tips for surface-mount parts.

There's a lot of overlap though, and the temperature of your iron also comes into play.

As you get more comfortable, try different temperature/tip combinations and see how they feel for a given job. You'll develop your own preferences as you go.

[cemclellan]

I did not tap the hammer header in, but I put the jig in a vise and slowly pressed the header home with the vise jaws.

Worked well, I just had to make sure the header was centered in the vise and that it went down evenly.

Quick and easy!

I love using these headers!

It would be nice to be able to purchase more of the pressin headers without the jig.

[adafruit_support_mike]

I'll mention that to the products team.

[ct27]

Hammer Headers caused me major headaches for 2 days. Ultimately they work but be careful during installation.

I always solder all my own connections but saw this product and thought I'd give it a try for my prototype and research projects. Ultimately it was my own fault for pushing them in too far during installation but I feel I need to get this information out so that other noobs to hammer headers can find this and not have to go through what I did.

The product works, it works really well, but if you are installing them without the kit you must take special care and attention to how far you hammer them in.

If you go too far they lose contact. Be sure the pins are barely sticking out the far side. Similar to the distance they would stick out if you soldered pins in.

For me my project had unusual behaviors that could not be explained and in some cases were inconsistent. You won’t find solutions on google because your issues will be unusual.

Don’t be discouraged to use this product, just take care during installation.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Good information.. thanks for posting it!