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- Arduino Stackable Header Kit
These headers are made to work with the Arduino Main Board, Arduino Pro, and the Arduino Mega. They are the perfect height for clearing the USB-B connector and great for stacking multiple shields. This kit includes 4 headers (2 8-pin and 2 6-pin), enough to connect a shield to an Arduino Main Board. These are the same headers we use in our tutorials and with our own shields.
Note: If you have a board that uses the Arduino R3 architecture which include the OREF, SCL, and SDA pins they can be found here. We know that many boards still do not use the R3 layout so we like keeping this kit available for those situations!
Arduino Stackable Header Kit Product Help and Resources
Core Skill: Soldering
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Skill Level: Noob - Some basic soldering is required, but it is limited to a just a few pins, basic through-hole soldering, and couple (if any) polarized components. A basic soldering iron is all you should need.
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Customer Reviews
3.3 out of 5
Based on 3 ratings:
1 of 1 found this helpful:
Not so good
I got a bad batch of these. Sometime when you plug one into another, some of the pins don't connect. And you can feel it. Sometimes you get good resistance (to movement) when you plug them together and sometimes there is almost no resistance to movement. It's almost like the male part of the pin is missing the female part of the pin. Moving along the side of the female fork instead of being pinched by the female fork... I just cut one open and that is what is happening. The pins are too thin.
Stackable headers work fine except when you are lining up 3 - 6 pin...
When you are trying to align 3 - 6 pin headers across a PCB board to fit onto the Arduino Due, the headers require sanding to get them to insert fully and align correctly. Other than that, they fit well and work well.
Arduino Headers
Good quality but I wish that you offered a complete set of stackable header set for the Mega. Also I would like to see a set with longer pins to clear the USB connector better.
Looks like this kit needs an update for Arduino 1.0 -- the new headers are: 6, 8, 8, and 10 pin headers.
It exists--seperate product--Look in the related products
One word of warning: these are not .025" square-pin headers. The pins are rectangular in profile and have significantly less mechanical strength than the .1" pin headers most of us are used to. I've had some continuity issues with the headers when mated to the sockets on the Netduino, especially if the pins have any inward or outward angle to them where they meet the socket.
Edit: Just pulled out the calipers: 0.022" by 0.012".
I measured 5 and averaged them out to be 0.024" by 0.015".
Also, if anyone was wondering, the casing is 0.81" (Length) by 0.1" (Width) by 0.34" (Height).
if I wanted a bulk amount of these, what electronics store would you recommend? I cant seem to find them on Mouser (probably cause Im searching for the wrong name).
You won't find 'em any cheaper from a major distributor like Mouser. The price here is actually pretty cheap for these connectors. A higher quality alternative would be Digi-key part numbers SAM1198-06-ND (6 pin) & SAM1198-08-ND (8 pin), which have the more common 0.025" square pin size; but they are much more expensive too.
Thanks for the leg work. Made it easy for me. thumbs up
Wish Sparkfun sold stackable header kit for the Mega
Would be great to have 13pin headers for Raspberry PI. I have used the 8 pin and trimmed off 1 pin from the 6 pin and they work OK. Depending on what heat sink I came up with they come up a little short, but workable… 13 pin, tall, headers a tough to find.
I have fun coming up with creative heat sinks, and headers.
We do carry male and female headers and ribbon cables for the RPi; is one of those what you're looking for?
I have tried stackable headers with my Xbee Shield and, more recently, the El Escudo Dos and these shields simply cannot stack cleanly on either the Uno or Duelimanove. The USB and Power connector on the Uno or Due both interfere with the shield stacking firmly using these headers.
I am not sure if there is a solution out there, other than getting another Arduino model that doesn't have the USB and Power connectors where they are... anybody have a suggestion?
Sadly, the SAM1198-X-X parts above are non-stock at Digikey. You might try making your own from a longer strip. Sure, you may lose a receptacle cutting the strip, but you would get more beefy pins. The SAM1198-50-ND CONN RCPT .100" 50POS SNGL GOLD is the -03 pin length, which I believe is 10 mm and almost exactly the same length as the stackable headers above. The cost difference is not huge...
They're non-stock because they're made to order (at least that's how most of the Samtec headers are, read the product page carefully). It should only add a day or two to the order.
Most Arduino shields I've seen, including the protoshield, use 1x6, 1x8(x2), and 1x10. This is consistent with the pin count on the Uno, Mega, and Leonardo. If you use these for a shield, you'll be missing 4 pins.
We will be carrying an updated set of headers shortly. They added a couple of pins starting with R3 and the newer boards. We'll keep these around as most of our shields utilize this count of pins on the stackable headers.
is there a solderless version
Unfortunately, we do not currently have a solderless version of these headers. You could use the Solderless Headers to attach a shield, but this won't give you the ability to stack multiple shields together.
Has this kit been discontinued? Odd that the component pieces are in stock, yet the kit is not.
Quick tip to make installing them very easy. If you have another shield, like the Ethershield, place these on the bottom of the other shield's pins (as if the other shield was plugged into the shield you're installing these pins on.)
Then, put the pins through the holes on the shield, turn it upside down, and solder away. The headers will be held securely in the proper position the entire time.
I agree that these pins are too thin. You need to be careful when inserting/removing them.
These are a lot thinner than I expected, not like normal pins. They won't stand up to a lot of insertions and may not make good contact with the socket, I really don't recommend them.
Any chance of a kit like this with the offset header?
Just wondering, but why isn't this particular product marked RoHS compliant when the 8 pin (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9279) and the 6 pin (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9280) are individually marked RoHS compliant?
Yep, my bad. Thanks for catching that.