Short pins of a female header

[experimental]

Hi all,

I'm working on a project where I'd like to have all pins on a female header shorted/soldered together. Problem is, I suck at soldering, badly. I tried soldering a piece of jumper wire across, and it came out really bad (even managed to melt one of the headers).

Thanks for any ideas/pointers.

 

[dknguyen]

Photos. It shouldn't be difficult unless you are using lead-free solder or an underpowred iron. My guess is you have an underpowered iron if you need to hang around long enough to melt the headers.

I would normally just tack solder the wire at each end of the row and then solder a point in the middle, and then just go in a big straight line from there.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

0.025" square pins? Wire wrap them. I only like one wire spool/dispenser because of an integrated cutter. Slit n wrap if availabe made daisy chaining easier.

 

[experimental]

Photos.

I... uhh.. I'd rather not, it's embarrassing

It shouldn't be difficult unless you are using lead-free solder or an underpowred iron. My guess is you have an underpowered iron if you need to hang around long enough to melt the headers.

No clue on the solder, it's a really old stock that I have, could be 20+ years. Probably not lead free given the age. The iron is 30w with a flat, screwdriver like point.

 

[dknguyen]

I... uhh.. I'd rather not, it's embarrassing



No clue on the solder, it's a really old stock that I have, could be 20+ years. Probably not lead free given the age. The iron is 30w with a flat, screwdriver like point.

Well, I'm trying to see if it's that the solder isn't getting hot enough versus some other mistake like excessive solder =/ It could also be the flux core is too old because it is a very old spool.

But yeah, that roll ain't lead-free.

 

[JonSea]

If you run the wire slalom style between the pins, it may be easier to solder. Keep the tip clean and tinned.

If you have a female header section, put the header in it to keep the pins in position even if they do get a little warm.

 

[experimental]

Photos of the result and the tools

 

[dknguyen]

Photos of the result and the tools

Oh okay. Looks like the soldering is melting properly and you don't seem to be using too much either. Looks like you just don't have enough hands so go with one of the pre-fastening methods for the wire others have mentioned. Don't use a clipped scrap lead from another component.

It also looks like you did it on it's side (laying loose?) That would make things tricky. Use a vice or holder. If you don't have one but you have a solderless breadboard, you can stick some male header pins into it and plug it upside down onto the breadboard so it stands on it's own.

Your iron is actually massive for this job so you should not need to hold the iron on for any amount of time.

 

[gophert]

Also, get a damp sponge and wipe your hot soldering tip across it.
The tip gets oxidized after a few minutes in air when hot. Wipe it across the sponge with some light presssure each time you are going to make a joint. Wait about 5 to 10 seconds after wiping for the iron to reheat a bit. Then touch the pin you want to heat (or better, touch the pad you want to heat, then apply solder to the pad/tip interface.

You should have a nice, bright and smooth connection.

If your wire or component leads are old (many years) or dull, use a pencil eraser or ScotchBrite pad to remove oxidation.
Any oxidized can cause the solder not to "wet-out" on the pad or component surface. If the solder beads-up instead of wetting out, you have an oxidation problem.

 

[Pommie]

Can you bend the first pin to touch the second and second to touch third etc.

Mike