Once you have your PCB, the next step is to place the "pogo pins".

What are these pogo pins anyway?

Pogo pins are basically spring-loaded metal sticks. They are used to test specific pins on each board.

The pogo pins in this guide are about 0.5" long and have a spear point. They also fit snugly into 'standard' 0.035" (0.9mm) drill holes so they are easy to insert and stand up straight. We carry these pogo pins in the Adafruit shop! They're called "P75-LM" type, you can also pick them up on ebay. If you're buidling something that will be used for a long time it's probably a good idea to use socket holders.

Angled shot of a single Pogo Pin - spear head.
Pogo pins are little spring-loaded contacts, very handy for making jigs, or making momentary (but electrically solid) contacts. We use them by the dozen for making programming and...
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Place pogo pins

Use tweezers to push pogo pins into the designated holes in the board.

The pogo pins may be skewed all over the place at this point. That's ok, we're going to fix it!

  • Attach standoffs to the board.
  • The screws go underneath the board and attach to the standoffs on top.

Screw down board that will be tested

Straighten pins

Repeat this process for all pogo pins

Examine your work. Pins should all now be straight!

Step 3: Solder on components

Solder on resistor.

For comfort, you may want to switch the position of your PCB to a stand.

Install LED, making sure it's oriented correctly (longer leg is the anode).

 

Clip off any excess from the LED with snips.

Solder piezo buzzer into place.

 

These little buzzers are great for adding an auditory element to any test procedure.

Solder in reset button.

 

This button is a handy way to re-start a test.

Step 4: Solder headers

  • Break up your headers into (1x) 6 pin, (1x) 10 pin, and (2x) 8 pin headers.
  • Place accordingly on Metro.
  • Now place the PCB on top of the headers, pushing down the PCB into place in needed.
  • Now solder the header pins to the PCB.

 

Give it some rubber booties!

These little adhesive rubber feet will prevent your tester from slip-sliding all over the place while you're trying to use it.

Step 5: Programming

Load your test program onto your Metro board (shown here using TinyUSB).

You're now ready to start testing!

This guide was first published on Feb 07, 2020. It was last updated on Feb 07, 2020.

This page (Soldering) was last updated on Dec 12, 2019.

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