On Wed, May= 23, 2012 at 3:59 PM, Vanessa Ezekowitz <vanessaezekowitz AT gmail DOT c= om> wrote:

On Wed, 23 May 2012 13:30:28 -0400

Rob Butts <r DOT butts2 AT gmail DOT com> wrote:

> Yes, but I want to be able to mount it in a box so that only the pins = are
> coming out of the box.

I think we're all a bit unclear what you want - maybe you could d= raw an example picture and attach it?

As Bdale mentioned, a right-angle header strip that is exposed through a ho= le in your project's casing is a possibility; indeed I could swear I= 9;ve seen right-angle header strips with pins so long that, if mounted clos= e to the edge of the board, would stick out of the case far enough to fit a= connector onto the ends without it touching the case (assuming the pins st= ick out through little individual holes .

That said, I don't think you'll really want the pins to stick out l= ike that in the long run. =A0Not only are they at risk of being damaged or = broken off from bumping into something (say, when you move your project, or= put it away when it isn't in use), and those pins could in turn damage= something else, including your hands. =A0I'm sure we've all had th= e experience of finding some random through-hole component or row of pins t= he hard way.

It sounds like you want to be able to reach these pins easily e.g. for hack= ing purposes, so I would suggest one of three options (roughly in order of = preference):

1. Use a shrouded male right angle header, and mount it so that the ends of= the pins sit just under the surface of your project's casing. =A0If yo= u choose a common size, it's easy to find pre-made cables with appropri= ate matching connectors (you may already have such in your junk box). =A0Ju= st chop off one end of said cable and hook the wires to whatever.

2. Work a 0.156" male card edge into your board layout, designed so th= at you can plug a female edge connector into/onto it. =A0Card edge connecto= rs of that pitch are big and easy to handle, especially if you have large h= ands or poor coordination (like me), and it's quite easy to solder wire= s onto the terminating pins.

3. Do the same thing, but using a 0.1" pitch connector. =A0These are l= ess common, for some reason, and are a little less easy to handle due to th= eir smaller size, but they're otherwise as flexible as the 0.156" = size.

4. Use a right-angle female header. No need for a mating connector here ini= tially - you can just jam wires or individual male pins into it as needed.<= br>
Any of these, if placed correctly, would also allow your project to accept = a peripheral mounted directly against it, sidecar style, if it should come = to that.

--
"There are some things in life worth obsessing over. =A0Most
things aren't, and when you learn that, life improves."
http://digita= laudioconcepts.com
Vanessa Ezekowitz <vanessa= ezekowitz AT gmail DOT com>