Electronic – Loading firmware via JTAG without soldering on headers every time

firmwarejtagmicrocontrollerpcbpins

Is there a good way to load firmware onto a PCB that has a 2×5 arrangement of JTAG headers that doesn't involve soldering on pins every time?

I tried getting come pogo pins in the hopes of being able to jam them into an IDC cable (which the website I bought it from suggested doing), but the pins are clearly larger than the holes they're supposedly supposed to go into.

I can't just touch it with wires, because the connection won't be electrically solid (which is what the pogo pins were for), but I can't think of a better way around this.

Best Answer

I am designing a board right now, and I can't leave the JTAG header in place due to height restrictions. I solved the problem by making this custom footprint:

enter image description here

For prototyping, this 1.27mm socket can be soldered into place. For production, this set of pogo pins should mesh with the circular areas.

I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'll put some plated through holes in the center of the circles to help with locating the pogo pin block. The holes would need to be smaller than the pins, of course.

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