RPi 0 and 0W: Am I Taking a Risk by Soldering the 2x20 Header?

[spaceman5]

Hi all


I currently have a RPi 0W and also a RPi 0, that were bought without the 2x20 header.

I now want to solder a header to both of them,
and I wonder:

Am I taking a risk of ruining the board by doing this?


I need to add a little bit of background:

Since 2012, whenever I bought an Arduino Nano board,
it always came with its legs not soldered,
and I soldered them myself.

When soldering the legs, I always thought about how I hope the heat would not hurt the board,
since there are quite many legs on both sides of the board (2x17 total)

Gladly, so far no Arduino Nano board was ruined due to the heat of soldering its legs.


Now I have to do a similar thing, on the RPi 0 and 0W boards,
but there're 2 tiny differences between the Arduino Nano boards and RPi 0/0W boards:

1) The RPi 0 and 0W boards seem to be more delicate, since they have tinier SMD components
2) The RPi 0 and 0W boards are almost impossible to get these days,
so while If you do manage to ruin an Arduino Nano, you can easily buy a new 1, or 10 of them, easily, and cheaply,
and they're available everywhere,
on the other hand, with the 0 and 0W it's much harder.


So my question:
If you were me,
would you solder or not?

And,
from you experience,
are there people here that soldering the 2x20 header did actually ruin their RPi board?
If it happened to no-one, then it's a good sign,
but if it did happen to some people, then maybe I should be very careful, and skip this idea...


Thank you

[rpdom]

So my question:
If you were me,
would you solder or not?

I don't know what your soldering skill level is, but I am happy to solder headers to my Zeroes.

I start with one of the corner pins, then go to the opposite corner, for example start with pin 1, then do pin 40. Then I do alternate pins so each has a chance to cool down before I do the one next to it.

Don't rush it. Don't hold the iron on the pin too long. Make sure everything is clean and free from grease. Use good leaded solder.

And,
from you experience,
are there people here that soldering the 2x20 header did actually ruin their RPi board?
If it happened to no-one, then it's a good sign,
but if it did happen to some people, then maybe I should be very careful, and skip this idea...

I've soldered about 8 boards so far. No problems.

[thagrol]

It largely depends on your soldering skills.

As already said, take your time and don't build up too much heat. Also make sure you don't accidentally bridge adjacent pins.

If you don't wantg to solder you can get firction fit headers though they are more expensive. For example: https://shop.pimoroni.com/search?q=hammer

[ejolson]

So my question:
If you were me,
would you solder or not?

I don't know what your soldering skill level is, but I am happy to solder headers to my Zeroes.

I start with one of the corner pins, then go to the opposite corner, for example start with pin 1, then do pin 40. Then I do alternate pins so each has a chance to cool down before I do the one next to it.

Don't rush it. Don't hold the iron on the pin too long. Make sure everything is clean and free from grease. Use good leaded solder.

And,
from you experience,
are there people here that soldering the 2x20 header did actually ruin their RPi board?
If it happened to no-one, then it's a good sign,
but if it did happen to some people, then maybe I should be very careful, and skip this idea...

I've soldered about 8 boards so far. No problems.

I soldered one here because the dog developer refused to have anything to do with the substandard non-temperature-regulated soldering iron available. The Pi still works as do my fingers.

[spaceman5]

Thank you all for your tips.

If you don't wantg to solder you can get friction fit headers though they are more expensive.
For example: https://shop.pimoroni.com/search?q=hammer

Wow that's cool.
It's not expensive, I am more worried what the shipping cost would be..
I'll check that.


BTW, is there a similar concept for a single leg also?
I mean:
If you want to take a single wire, solder to it something similar (friction fit, male) that is for 1 leg,
and then insert it into 1 hole outof the 2x20 on the PCB?
(when you don't have any header on the board)

[HawaiianPi]

I solder my own because I prefer these color coded headers (I've added them to my Zero W and Zero 2).



But I have decades of soldering experience, so I don't worry about over-cooking anything.

[spaceman5]

I solder my own because I prefer these color coded headers (I've added them to my Zero W and Zero 2).

That looks terrific.
Is there maybe a female color coded header too?

I prefer to solder a Female 2x20 instead of Male,
because that way it can easily accept wires,
and you don't need wires with Dupont Female on their end, like with the standard Male Header that comes with RPi..

But I have decades of soldering experience, so I don't worry about over-cooking anything.

I solder many years too,
yet still worry that the heat would damage it.
But seems from people here that it's usually OK, and not a problematic point that causes many people to ruin their boards.

[thagrol]

Wow that's cool.
It's not expensive, I am more worried what the shipping cost would be.

It's expensive compared to a normal 2x20 header: https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/male ... 0476117383 and you'll get similar for less on ebay or direct from China.

BTW, is there a similar concept for a single leg also?
I mean:
If you want to take a single wire, solder to it something similar (friction fit, male) that is for 1 leg,
and then insert it into 1 hole outof the 2x20 on the PCB?
(when you don't have any header on the board)

I've no idea but those 2x20 npin strips can be cut down.

I prefer to solder a Female 2x20 instead of Male,
because that way it can easily accept wires,
and you don't need wires with Dupont Female on their end, like with the standard Male Header that comes with RPi..

Using female headers is all well and good until you need to use a HAT or HAT like board. They expect male headers on the Pi.

[spaceman5]

Using female headers is all well and good until you need to use a HAT or HAT like board. They expect male headers on the Pi.

I usually don't like HATs.
They usually take the whole 2x20 header.
I prefer to take components or modules and connect them myself.

The same was done with Arduino..
I did not like shields, prefered modules, and to connect them myself.

It also gives you freedom to choose which legs to connect to
(when there're more than 1 option)


So choosing a Female header is not a problem, for how I use it..

[HawaiianPi]

I've thought about using one of those long pin female headers mounted from the bottom, with the pins facing up.

There are also GPIO expanders (I have a couple of the ones pictured below)

gpioexpander.jpg (30.38 KiB) Viewed 748 times

It comes as parts and needs to be soldered, which expands possibilities, like replacing the sideways male header with a female. That would allow a HAT along with individual wire connections. You'd still need a header on your Pi Zero (W/2W), but for other Pi models you wouldn't need to do any soldering on the Pi itself.

[FTrevorGowen]

I solder my own because I prefer these color coded headers (I've added them to my Zero W and Zero 2).



But I have decades of soldering experience, so I don't worry about over-cooking anything.

Likewise and, FWIW (for the O.P. and others), below is a link to pictures of various "stages" in the process - NB. the use of "blutak" (or equiv.) to aid/hold the header in place until a few pins have been soldered. (Temperature-controlled iron with tapered tip used).
https://www.cpmspectrepi.uk/raspberry_p ... ded_Header
Trev.

[bjtheone]

Soldering staked headers is fairly as long as you have some solder experience. Standard tricks apply:

* good iron with a clean, appropriately sized tip
* ensure the solder tip is "tinned"
* apply most of the heat to the stake pin, not the pad
* heat the pin before applying solder, solder should flow as soon as it touches the pin
* ensure the solder flows into the barrel
* tack the pins at both ends to keep the header flush/square to the PCB
* use good solder
* ensure the header and the PCB are clean
* watch for bridging
* never melt the solder on the iron and attempt to apply molten solder to the joint

A good joint will be smoothly curved from the edge of the pad to the stake, and shiny in appearance. Blobs, bubbles, unfilled barrels, or voids are indications of too little or too much heat or solder.

[ejolson]

Soldering staked headers is fairly as long as you have some solder experience. Standard tricks apply:

* good iron with a clean, appropriately sized tip
* ensure the solder tip is "tinned"
* apply most of the heat to the stake pin, not the pad
* heat the pin before applying solder, solder should flow as soon as it touches the pin
* ensure the solder flows into the barrel
* tack the pins at both ends to keep the header flush/square to the PCB
* use good solder
* ensure the header and the PCB are clean
* watch for bridging
* never melt the solder on the iron and attempt to apply molten solder to the joint

A good joint will be smoothly curved from the edge of the pad to the stake, and shiny in appearance. Blobs, bubbles, unfilled barrels, or voids are indications of too little or too much heat or solder.

I used 30-year-old solder and a similarly aged non-temperature-regulated iron. Headers are easy because they are not temperature-sensitive components.

I hear lead-free solder makes a mess of things, so using a historic supply might actually be a good idea. Note that I was careful to not hold it with my teeth.

[lop]

I hear lead-free solder makes a mess of things, so using a historic supply might actually be a good idea. Note that I was careful to not to hold it with my teeth.

it is still possible to buy/order lead-based solder (at least in China [which I did recently]) - it's probably rather forbidden for commercial use because of problematic recycling (than the breathing of the toxic fumes)?

[spaceman5]

Lead-based solder tin is becoming that hard to get?

A few years ago I bought 500g of Kester solder tin (lead-based)..
It will last for my whole life I assume..

[lop]

Lead-based solder tin is becoming that hard to get?

I order electronics usually in China - but it wouldn't surprise me if it is illegal to sell lead-based solder in the EU - the alternative seems to use silver (instead of lead) which is more expensive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solder)?

[spaceman5]

I order electronics usually in China

I order most of my electronics from China too,
yet solder tin is something that I would not recommend anyone to buy from china.
My few attempts with chinese solder tin, came out true garbage.
It raised a lot of smoke, it "exploded" to many drops when you heat it,
it was simply trash.


Kester is from Germany.

[bjtheone]

Soldering staked headers is fairly as long as you have some solder experience. Standard tricks apply:

* good iron with a clean, appropriately sized tip
* ensure the solder tip is "tinned"
* apply most of the heat to the stake pin, not the pad
* heat the pin before applying solder, solder should flow as soon as it touches the pin
* ensure the solder flows into the barrel
* tack the pins at both ends to keep the header flush/square to the PCB
* use good solder
* ensure the header and the PCB are clean
* watch for bridging
* never melt the solder on the iron and attempt to apply molten solder to the joint

A good joint will be smoothly curved from the edge of the pad to the stake, and shiny in appearance. Blobs, bubbles, unfilled barrels, or voids are indications of too little or too much heat or solder.

I used 30-year-old solder and a similarly aged non-temperature-regulated iron. Headers are easy because they are not temperature-sensitive components.

I hear lead-free solder makes a mess of things, so using a historic supply might actually be a good idea. Note that I was careful to not hold it with my teeth.

I have a bunch of Weller irons, with replaceable tips. I also have some plumbing irons that work well for pipe work that would be a tough go on .100 pitch headers. Any decent, appropriately sized/wattage iron will work. Temperature control would be nice but certainly not needed for this. My stuff dates from the 80's and is still going strong.

I also have a vast supply of old (non eco friendly) solder. I also have non-leaded solder for water piping. I like the leaded solder for electronics. Should have quantified what I meant by "good solder". I would suggest relative thin gauge leaded solder, without a flux core, would be the right choice for this. I have used "plumbing" solder in a pinch but it is not the appropriate choice.

I would suggest revising "Headers are easy because they are not temperature-sensitive components" since I have seen folks manage to apply enough heat to melt/distort the plastic on the other side of the pcb and solder bridge many of the pins, to "headers are relatively simple to solder and only require basic soldering skills". I would further suggest that if you have not soldered anything before, practice on some sacrificial wire/stuff before starting in on the hard to replace Pi.

[spaceman5]

I would suggest relative thin gauge leaded solder, without a flux core

It is posibble to buy a solder wire without a flux core?

Didn't know that.

When is the flux core needed, and when it is not needed?

[lop]

It raised a lot of smoke, it "exploded" to many drops when you heat it, it was simply trash.

maybe it helps to reduce the temperatur (360°C seems standard for lead-based solder)?

my solder had very good reviews - I just tried it - it seems OK (it's 63/37 tin/lead with 2% flux included)

[spaceman5]

maybe it helps to reduce the temperature

It's the same temperature that I use with all other solder wires.

Buy a Germany made solder wire,
it's your health after all.


BTW:
If someone can tell if there's an advantage to use a solder wire without flux, it would be great.
I did not know the option even exists..

[lop]

Buy a Germany made solder wire,

I now have quite a stock (the seller made a mistake and send the order twice) ... - but in retrospective I would do this

it's your health after all.

a guy on youtube happily solders with "the good lead-based solder" the health impact seems rather negligible...

I try to hold the breath while soldering and try to let in fresh air, and wash my hands afterwards

If someone can tell if there's an advantage to use a solder wire without flux, it would be great.
I did not know the option even exists..

i'm not sure - probably just convenience? but, on youtube trough-hole is usually done without applying flux (the flux is in the wire), while surface-mount components usually solderer with the flux separately applied?

Update: here is the pro version of soldering the headers on a pi0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYKzsLmMV6o

[lurk101]

Update: here is the pro version of soldering the headers on a pi0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYKzsLmMV6o

Great tip. I use a breadboard instead of a perfboard.

[Paul Hutch]

a guy on youtube happily solders with "the good lead-based solder" the health impact seems rather negligible...

I try to hold the breath while soldering and try to let in fresh air, and wash my hands afterwards

The temperature of soldering does not vaporize lead making it breathable, the lead danger when soldering is ingesting it. So good on you for washing your hands after soldering.

Here's a post I wrote from a USA perspective for the Digi-Key forum a couple years ago that may be useful.

FYI - I’ve been soldering for over 50 years, worked in electronics manufacturing for over 40 years and been Chief Engineer at a small manufacturer for over 30 years.

When my Dad first taught me soldering around age 8 there was no health warning on cigarettes and full on lead pipes and lead paint were still in use (I finally broke my ~45 year nicotine addiction 6 years ago). In the 70’s & 80’s on the manufacturing floor the assembly crew was taking no precautions with handling and using lead rosin core solder. We’d be smoking a cigarette while soldering with no fume extraction. I visited many other small assembly operations over those decades and found it was pretty common across the industry.

It wasn’t until it was noticed that Kester had added a wash your hands after use warning label to the solder rolls that we changed the way things were done. We no longer smoked while soldering to avoid ingesting more lead. Instead we’d solder, wash our hands, then light up a cigarette while using dangerous hydrocarbon solvents to clean up the flux. Growing up at that time we all had lots of lead exposure, although the vast majority was from breathing the lead filled air caused by leaded gasoline. So the amount received from handling solder and smoking/eating at the same time was insignificant in comparison.

The rosin smoke inhaled from solder was insignificant compared to the amount inhaled while burning white pine in our camp fires. So adding exhaust systems didn’t really come into common usage for small manufacturers until the 90’s.

That said, only a science denying fool would argue for returning to the old ways of doing electronic assembly.

My Rules:

• Don’t use tobacco products of any kind
• After handling lead always wash your hands before eating or drinking anything
• Use good ventilation when soldering and don’t breathe in smoke from camp fires
• Use safer solvents and with good ventilation

[spaceman5]

I try to hold the breath while soldering

I do this too..

on youtube trough-hole is usually done without applying flux (the flux is in the wire),
while surface-mount components usually solderer with the flux separately applied?

Interesting.
I'll check If I can buy Kester without Flux.

Update: here is the pro version of soldering the headers on a pi0:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYKzsLmMV6o

Really cool PCB Holder this guy has..