DRO-375 PCB Construction

Step 3. Solder Headers

There are a number of through hole headers that we must solder onto the board: three 2x3 pin headers, three 2x1 pin headers, three 4 pin headers, four 3 pin headers, and two 2 pin headers.  Look at the picture at left for the locations of the headers.  To solder a header, hold the header in place with the tip of your finger and apply a small blob of solder to a single pin with the soldering iron from the opposite side of the PCB.  This will hold the header in place so that you can sit the board down and solder the remaining pins.  It is a good idea to go back and resolder the first pin since it likely didn't get a quality solder connection.  Don't worry if you end up scorching a header since it is very unlikely that you damaged anything - just sit back and enjoy the delicate aroma of burnt plastic.

The rest of the headers are for software development use and can be ignored.