Dimensions of Teensy 4.1 headers

T

tiffany

New member
Hello! I am looking for the dimensions of the headers used in https://www.sparkfun.com/teensy-4-1-headers.html
Something like this would be perfect:
1752181693712.png

I got this diagram from https://www.pjrc.com/store/header_24x1.html but wasn't sure if these are the same ones used on the Teensy 4.1 that comes with pre-soldered headers. Thanks in advance for your help!
 
The Teensy 4.1 with preinstalled headers shipping from SparkFun either use the exact same header you show above or they are at least ones with the same dimensions and appear to have the same plating. I have both on my desk and can't tell the difference.
 
Sparkfun should still be using these same headers. Robin and I just recently had a conversation with them about the need to use these higher quality headers.
 
KenHahn said:
The Teensy 4.1 with preinstalled headers shipping from SparkFun either use the exact same header you show above or they are at least ones with the same dimensions and appear to have the same plating. I have both on my desk and can't tell the difference.
Click to expand...
PaulStoffregen said:
Sparkfun should still be using these same headers. Robin and I just recently had a conversation with them about the need to use these higher quality headers.
Click to expand...
Thanks Paul and Ken, this is super helpful. I appreciate it!
 
PaulStoffregen said:
Sparkfun should still be using these same headers. Robin and I just recently had a conversation with them about the need to use these higher quality headers.
Click to expand...
I’m curious what characteristics “higher quality” headers have that make them better? Eg. Rigidity, straightness, conductivity, or…
 
Probably best answered by Paul, but here is some detail on the pins for anyone that comes across this topic.
  1. Pin material is phosphor bronze, not brass as with most cheaper pins.
  2. The gold plating on the contact surfaces is relatively thick (15.0µin) and not just a thin gold flash or tin.
  3. The solder tail is tin plated for good solderability and for anyone worried about possible gold embrittlement of the solder joint.
  4. The solder tails are relatively short which makes it nice on the fingers when pressing into a breadboard or socket.
  5. As with pretty much any header pins, the plastics do withstand a wide temperature range of -65°C ~ 125°C
The one small negative in my opinion is that the plastic is relatively soft, so it doesn't break as cleanly or naturally hold the pins in alignment as well as a harder plastic does but that is a minor nit. Paul did a great job spec'ing these pins and I have not found better pins at a better price.
 
Gold plating is the main difference.

The better parts also have high temperature plastic. But whether that's really different from the cheapest parts is unknown, because the cheap headers have basically no materials specs.

Whether gold plating matters really depends on your application. If you're going to solder both sides of the header, it probably makes no difference at all. If you just insert it into a socket once, probably little to no difference.

But if you plug and unplug from a breadboard, you can really feel the difference. Good gold plating has lower friction. Quality varies with the cheap headers, but some of them are really bad and the board becomes virtually impossible without prying by a tool. Breadboards also vary in quality quite a lot. The Busboard ones we used to sell were substantially better than most (as were the Twin Industries ones). So the actual results you'll experience depend on both the header pins and the mating breadboard or socket.

But the simple answer is the main difference is gold plating.
 
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