[sdiy] 0.100 pin header reliability.

[Paul Perry]

I think that when soldering decreases reliability it is because
the solder wicks up the wire away from the joint & stiffens the wire,
which then tends to flex sharply at the end of the solder & break there.

Anything that can be done to make the "kinking" forces more evenly
distributed along and around the joint, helps reliability. Heatshrink is
the obvious.

Personally, I use IDC flat ribbon cable, and I have been astonished at how
reliable it is - even when using improvised methods like vices - but it is
quite essential to get the connector EXACTLY at right angles, and a jig is
a great help. If money were no object, I would definitely buy ready made 
from Digikey.
I've made several thousand, with no problems.

paul perry Melbourne Australia

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "megaohm" <megaohm1 at gmail.com>
To: "Stewart Pye" <stewpye at optusnet.com.au>
Cc: "sdiy DIY" <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Saturday, November 13, 2010 10:49 AM
Subject: Re: [sdiy] 0.100 pin header reliability.


>I won't argue against 20 years of positives. But maybe your experience
> would have been just as positive without soldering?
> The reason I don't crimp-then-solder is because the Molex info sheets
> for the KK series state specifically not to do so. They claim the
> soldering actually makes it less reliable.
> Regardless, I plan on switching to IDC type connectors. While the
> crimp method is supposed to be a superior connection (Molex KK series)
> the contact pins of the AMP connectors seem to sit more snug in the
> housing and show less play when fitted to the header pins than the
> Molex type.
>  Also, I started using connectors as a compromise to the best
> connections (direct soldering, no connectors or headers). The Molex KK
> take a lot longer to do than the IDC method and I wasn't saving any
> time compared to hard soldering the leads to the pcb.
>
> p.
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 11:11 AM, Stewart Pye <stewpye at optusnet.com.au> 
> wrote:
>> We've been soldering crimp connectors without a failure for over 20 years 
>> so
>> I'd be interested why you'd say that, especially considering the amount 
>> of
>> commercial "pro audio" products I've seen with failures of crimped pins.
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Stew.
>>
>>
>>>
>>> On Nov 12, 2010, at 06:57, Cary Roberts wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Failures:
>>>> --------
>>>> _ANY_ crimp connector that has been soldered.
>>
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