[sdiy] pin headers on the wrong side of a PCB

[Tim Parkhurst]

Tin up the pads with plenty of solder, but don't close off the hole. Slide the connector into place, then heat the tip of the pin sticking through the bottom side of the board while applying a little more solder. With a little work, you could get the solder on the top side to flow without melting the plastic. Maybe a little liquid flux would help the solder flow. Test with a meter to make sure a connection is made to each pin. 

I'd practice on a spare board first to test. ;)

Tim (all fluxed up) Servo

Sent from my Commodore 64

> On Sep 7, 2017, at 11:14 PM, Pete Hartman <pete.hartman at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> PS: I've never seen the MTA piece with no pins in it; of course that doesn't mean such a thing doesn't exist, but....
> 
>> On Fri, Sep 8, 2017 at 1:13 AM, Pete Hartman <pete.hartman at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I've not had to solve this particular problem, but I have had to change MTA headers.  The plastic fitting will slide onto/off of the pins, and if you have one not soldered you can pull the pins pretty easily with a pair of small needle nose.
>> 
>> What I'd try is some of those long pin strips like they use on Arduinos, solder those on normally (but going as lightly as possible with the solder) then taking the MTA header, pulling its pins and sliding it over the pin strip pins.  If necessary cut off the pin strip on the "top" side of the PCB.  
>> 
>> You'd want to be sure the pins strip pins were comparable in size to the MTA pins (as in, square and not too tiny cross-sectionally), but that seems doable.
>> 
>> Pete
>> 
>> 
>>> On Fri, Sep 8, 2017 at 1:06 AM, Tom Bugs <admin at bugbrand.co.uk> wrote:
>>> How are you going to solder the pins if the plastic housing is right on top of the solder pads?
>>> (I guess if the plastic bit can slide, you may be able to lodge it on top of solder)
>>> 
>>> Main thoughts:
>>> - move to double sided PCBs
>>> - how about R/A MTA headers? (actually, strikes me those could be easier to use with single-side boards)
>>> 
>>> Best, Tom
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On 08/09/2017 06:43, David G Dixon wrote:
>>>> Hey Team,
>>>> 
>>>> I love using MTA-100 connectors to wire panel components to PCBs, as they
>>>> make life so much easier than directly wiring to the PCB.  However, I'd like
>>>> to be able to use them on the wrong side of the PCB.  In other words, I'd
>>>> like to be able to put an MTA pin header on the solder-side of a
>>>> single-sided PCB.
>>>> 
>>>> Does anyone know of a product that would work for that?  I know that it's
>>>> pretty straightforward to solder long breakaway pins so that there is a lot
>>>> of pin sticking out on the solder side of the PCB, and a female header can
>>>> be slid over these pins (this sort of arrangement can be found in old ARP
>>>> synths such as the Odyssey, for example).  However, I also want to have the
>>>> locking flap that prevents the female from sliding off of the pins.  Do they
>>>> sell the MTA pin header plastic housings without pins in them that can be
>>>> slid over long breakaway pins?
>>>> 
>>>> Basically, I want to solder panel components (pots, switches, etc) onto a
>>>> single-sided PCB, with the solder side facing away from the panel, but have
>>>> pin headers on the back of the PCB for easy access from the back.  Is this
>>>> doable?  I know that ribbon cable connectors could work this way, but I'm
>>>> more interested in MTA connectors.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks and cheers,
>>>> Dave Dixon
>>>> 
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>>> 
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