Papilio One 500K - snappable headers?


Guest sowbug

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Just got mine from Seeed, along with the Arcade Wing. I'm ready to solder on the headers that were sent separately, but they don't look like the snappable type. Am I doing this right? Is there a trick to breaking the long row of headers into smaller sections without destroying them?

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Following up to my own question, I think the answer is to accept that you'll destroy them. Rather than trying to wire-cut right between two headers, intentionally cut one header (e.g., the fifth from the end if you need a 4-header) and then sand down the jagged edge with sandpaper. Unfortunately, I figured this out two iterations too late, and ended up with two useless 3-headers. Add that to one cut gone awry, and I ran out of headers for the required (3 x 16 + 6 x 4) = 72 pins. Seeed ships two 40-pin headers, leaving almost no room for error.

SeeedStudio, if you're listening, please improve future shipments of this product by including either of the following:

[list type=decimal]

[*]Three 40-pin headers (and document the expected loss during assembly).

[*]Three 16-pin headers and six 4-pin headers.

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Hey Sowbug,

Yes, that is the way to do it, you sacrifice one of the holes and cut through it.

Thank you for the feedback about things not going well. I will get together with Seeed Studio when they get back and ask them if they can include a third header or 6 four pin headers.

In the meantime, If you send an email to support@gadgetfactory.net with your address I can ship you out a header package.

I think the final solution is to specify that the next batch of Papilio's is assembled with the headers. Does anyone have any objections to that?

Jack.

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Thanks, Jack. I don't need the replacement header package; I was able to find an extra header from an Arduino shield that I haven't assembled yet, and I can replace that 50-cent part on my next Mouser or Digikey order without paying anything extra for shipping. I will have a photo of the working unit on my blog in about an hour.

I'm guessing the attraction in shipping the headers separately is less assembly work before shipping, less risk of breakage during shipping, and easier rework if one does break during shipping. But from a consumer perspective, it's purely annoying -- especially for an item that Seeed doesn't advertise as a kit.

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Well, the thinking is that not everyone wants to use the headers. If you are building something out of wings, like the Barcode Genie for example, you may want the wings to be permanently attached. Soldering the wings to the P1 instead of snapping them into the headers makes a VERY strong connection. The Wings essentially become an extension of the circuit board. My thinking in not having the headers automatically soldered on is to give end users the maximum amount of flexibility, it is a real pain trying to remove those headers.

I'm starting to rethink the current approach though, I think there are many, many more people who want the headers pre-soldered and want to use MegaWings. So moving forward I'm going to request that manufacturers include solder the headers on at assembly time.

Any input about this is greatly appreciated.

Jack.

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Well, the thinking is that not everyone wants to use the headers.

I see where you're coming from; it's logical to leave the option open. If I were to put on my marketing-weenie hat, I'd say that the Papilio's target market is people who are primarily software hackers and are looking for fun with something a little more tangible than bits and bytes. If this guess is correct, then pluggable boards are sufficiently cool for them to get the adrenaline rush, and having the option to put together a permanent installation isn't meaningful to them.

It's absolutely incredible how far you can get in Arduino-land without a soldering iron. Aim likewise for Papilio.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest evil_andy

Just to follow up on this, the only down-side to the headers that seeed sends is that I believe even if you only sacrifice 1 pin per cut, if you mess on on one of the 4-pin headers you can't actually get ALL of the headers that you need, I think you end up like 1 short.

that said, at least they send headers :)

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