Jetson TK1 Connector Part 2 – Soldering Headers

Soldering the headers on to the Jetson TK1 Connector Board takes just a few minutes. Looky here:

Information

Adding the headers to the Jetson TK1 Connector Board (See Part I for a description of the board) is a straightforward task. The actual headers that plug into the Jetson J3 headers are spaced at 2.0mm, a little bit tighter than the usual 2.54mm spacing of most hobbyist headers. This makes things a little bit tight, but is easily doable for most folks. The headers placed on the board are Molex 87758-5016 available at Mouser Electronics.

Equipment and Supplies

1) A soldering iron, in the video a Hakko FX888D-23BY Digital Soldering Station was used. The tip of the soldering iron used is the one included with the product.
2) Solder, in the video 60/40 lead free solder was used.
Note: For the lead free solder, the iron was set at 750 degrees fahrenheit.
Note: A fan or fume extractor (such as the Hakko FA400-04 Bench Top ESD-Safe Smoke Absorber) should be used to avoid breathing soldering fumes.

Once the 2.0mm headers are soldered onto the board, there are a couple of options for connecting with prototype breadboards or more permanent solutions. First, you can use hookup wire (In the video Hook up Wire – 22 Gauge was used). This might be a good solution if only a few lines are being used, like when using an I2C or UART interface. Second, you could solder a 40 pin 2.54mm header onto the Jetson TK1 Connector Board and use a ribbon cable to connect the breadboard or external circuit board. The ribbon cable gives added flexibility by being able to “fold” the cable so that the external circuit board could be mounted underneath the Jetson to save some horizontal space.