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Sick of worrying about overheating your $20 laser diode due to your crappy soldering skills? Want to quickly test many laser diodes safely without having to solder and desolder them?
Well the answer is to use female break away headers--specifically Swiss Machine Pin (see below photo) types. I added one to an order on a hunch that it might be nice for laser diodes. Headers are usually used for plugging ICs into makeshift sockets made of the headers. Each pin is electrically isolated from the other, held together by plastic and can be cut to size using wire cutters. The Swiss Machine Pin type of header is round instead of the square type, and generally grips the wires better. It's machine pin, meaning it's for smaller wires--perfect for laser diodes.
Yes, you still have to solder, but to the pins of the headers, not directly to the diode. Soldering directly to the diode pins is still best, but the female headers grip the wires firmly, meaning that that the diode will not slip from the header holes unless deliberate or excessive force is used. One could probably even hot-glue the pins for extra security and support.
Where do you get them? I bought a 1x30 for about $4 at Sparkfun. They're somewhat expensive, but that's 15 diodes you can rig up with it.
Well the answer is to use female break away headers--specifically Swiss Machine Pin (see below photo) types. I added one to an order on a hunch that it might be nice for laser diodes. Headers are usually used for plugging ICs into makeshift sockets made of the headers. Each pin is electrically isolated from the other, held together by plastic and can be cut to size using wire cutters. The Swiss Machine Pin type of header is round instead of the square type, and generally grips the wires better. It's machine pin, meaning it's for smaller wires--perfect for laser diodes.
Yes, you still have to solder, but to the pins of the headers, not directly to the diode. Soldering directly to the diode pins is still best, but the female headers grip the wires firmly, meaning that that the diode will not slip from the header holes unless deliberate or excessive force is used. One could probably even hot-glue the pins for extra security and support.
Where do you get them? I bought a 1x30 for about $4 at Sparkfun. They're somewhat expensive, but that's 15 diodes you can rig up with it.