SparkFun Electronics Comments

bboyho on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2017-03-22T20:28:52-06:00

——————– Tech Support Tips/Troubleshooting/Common Issues ——————–

You could use the diagonal cutter [ https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8794 ] to cut down the size of the female header. I personally sand it down using sandpaper after. You could also use a dremel and some safety glasses.

Aristarco on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2015-04-09T18:25:53-06:00

Please, stock this in right angle and double row variants, please!

Aristarco on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2015-04-09T18:23:30-06:00

You’re The Man, man!!

DaveW2 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2014-08-04T16:46:11-06:00

Breakaway - Not But, how else would you describe a header that you can cut to size? I think Breakaway is the closest description or Cut to size might be better.

GraysonR on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2014-03-23T17:24:51-06:00

So are these spring loaded?

Customer #510744 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2014-01-20T01:17:14-07:00

Goto chandni chowk and get it for 5 rupees

MrAureliusR on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2013-09-22T22:50:51-06:00

$1.50 is an insane price. For $3 delivered i can get 10 of these on a popular auction site. For something like $12, 50.

ThomasW on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2013-06-19T08:59:14-06:00

Do you have the kind of half-height female headers that used with XBee adaptors or breakout boards?

edit Ah, they are here.

Customer #425270 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2013-06-02T20:42:11-06:00

Although these are not true break away headers, I use Craftsman’s Handi-Cut cutting sheers and this breaks them apart perfectly every time. The top part of the sheers has a straight blade and the bottom part has a flat surface, so you can actually line up the straight blade in between pins and use the flat part to brace the back of the cut. There are similar sheers out there but I haven’t seen any others with the blade on just one side and a flat surface on the other and this feature is what makes these perfect for the task.

Sora62896 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2013-01-26T19:27:34-07:00

totally agree–they’re headers!! Very simple!!

Lefty4000 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2013-01-16T16:47:31-07:00

I don’t see how this is misleading anymore. They changed the name by taking out the ‘breakaway’. All the information you could possibly need are right there

Customer #321094 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2012-04-29T23:13:39-06:00

Thanks ericjforman. You saved me a ton of time. I did not like these headers from Sparkfun and I agree with many that the information is VERY misleading.

Zio on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2012-04-29T13:04:48-06:00

I always add a few of these to my orders because they are pretty useful for connecting sensors. I just wish they were cheaper.

I have found the best way to cut these is by scoring the plastic very lightly all the way around. Then use a lighter to heat up a razor blade and let the heat do the work. It usually takes 2-3 tries to go through but it works and I am able to not loose pins. The down side is that the end will always look hideous, just use a little sand paper to straighten it up. If it is meant to go in a permanent project where looks matter, I will sacrifice a pin.

Customer #101088 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2012-04-17T09:57:10-06:00

As others have said…these are not by any means breakaway. I have a number of good knives and still found these VERY hard to deal with, especially if you want a short number of pins (like 2).

LexTalionis on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2012-04-06T10:04:06-06:00

Please stop calling these break away.

Customer #243907 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2012-02-23T18:01:18-07:00

Stop calling these breakaway!

Maxwellfire on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2012-02-21T18:35:34-07:00

when do you expect them to go back in stock?

Bootsie on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-11-16T09:18:04-07:00

You can all stop complaining now. I needed a six-pin header, so I pulled the pin out of the seventh, scored it with the nearest knife, broke it and filed it flat with a multitool I could reach from my chair. No effort at all and I have a very nice-looking piece that matches what I need. Yes, you will lose a pin - but they warn you. In making all the headers I needed for my board, I lost 20 cents worth of headers. Big whoop! These are great!

Customer #233939 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-11-01T03:30:43-06:00

they are NOT “Break-away”. This is a solid row. VERY misleading.

scharkalvin on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-10-31T10:04:42-06:00

These look like the headers on Arduino CPU boards. How about stocking the double row kind used on the Mega’s?

cyclophane on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-09-14T00:34:25-06:00

Yes you lose a pin every time you break, they are cheap enough that it doesn’t matter. Score it along the next pin to be certain you don’t mess up the set you need then hit the side with a plastic welder if you need it to look relatively pretty.
20 bucks worth of these and most will not find themselves wanting for female headers any time soon.

rwizard on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-08-12T11:27:48-06:00

Thanks for saving me a step! ;)

johnc2 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-07-12T13:10:45-06:00

I don’t see a good way to cut these without losing a pin since the amount of plastic in the wall between each pin is so thin.
If you accept losing a pin you can make the cut on the side closer to the pin you will lose. So you get to keep the entire wall, thin as it is – it works.
I used a sharp wood chisel and a hammer and got a good cut. A very light touch up with some sandpaper dressed the ends nicely.
I should have read these comments before I figured this out the hard way - I looked closely for the breakaway score, couldn’t find it, assumed it was some kind of fancy “invisible” breakaway and even though I sensed something was wrong I tried snapping one of these with a pair of needlenose – epic fail and the 7 pin header I was shooting for became a 6 pin header :-( Duhhohh. LOL

sentryGun53 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-05-18T15:36:51-06:00

Any chance of a version with long solder tails, like are found on stackable Arduino shields?

DMKitsch on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-05-08T13:26:24-06:00

I do not wish to be unkind but from place XYZ (name removed to keep Sparkfun’s dignity) i can buy these for $0.09. I think your price needs a little updating

gigavolt on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-04-08T21:42:06-06:00

I lurvs me some female headers.

ericjforman on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-04-05T12:26:52-06:00

If you’re looking for specific pin-number female headers, here are digikey part #s (0.1" 1-row gold ROHS):
pins straight right-angle
2 S7035-ND S5477-ND
3 S7036-ND S5478-ND
4 S7037-ND S5479-ND
5 S7038-ND S5480-ND
6 S7039-ND S5481-ND
8 S7041-ND S5483-ND

brewer on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-03-08T07:07:08-07:00

Ditto that. I usually get headers from Futurlec (they are slow but very cheap) however they do not stock 6 pin female headers.
I just cut mine from 40-pin stock like this. If you are stuck, don’t forget you can use right angle headers (sold here) and straighten the pins).

BigBen1861 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-02-01T19:44:37-07:00

You shouldn’t be calling these “Break Away”. They clearly are not. You have had people complaining about this for 3+ years. Sell ‘em for what they are, but your description is misleading.

MoriFi on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-01-22T00:05:52-07:00

Ahhh ever herd of a razor or exacto knife and sandpaper or a file you dont lose any

Tim S. on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-01-19T19:58:45-07:00

What would the thickness of the plastic header be?
..would I be able to take one and after breaking it into four pin long strips, be able to stack them side by side and still maintain a .1" pitch not only from pin to pin.. but, ahh, beside one another, as well?

CJG on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2011-01-09T15:13:18-07:00

I also take issue with calling these “breakaway” headers.
They are NOT. They are simple 40 hole headers. There is NO provision in the design to have them break or to be cut.

Reinaldo on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-10-26T19:03:59-06:00

waste of money…

arduino1324 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-10-20T20:13:03-06:00

I really wish there were 4pin headers because i making a project using the arduino usb board to reprogram.
This product is good if your willing to lose a pin for every cut you make. Since these headers have thin plastic gaps, you cut through another pin, making you lose a pin….other wise this is a great product!!!

SomeGuy123 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-10-17T20:10:36-06:00

These tend to lose pins easily during cutting.

Grumpy7791 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-08-28T16:15:59-06:00

These are NOT “break-away headers”. They’re a 1x40 female header that’s brittle enough you can snap it in pieces. You will lose at least one pin on every break, the edges will look like hell, and if you’re unlucky you’ll also lose the last pin you wanted to keep… giving you a useless 1-pin-too-few header.
I had some luck melting the edges smooth with an old soldering iron, but the results were shoddy at best. A saw or dremel works a little better, but you’re not going to just get clean snaps.
SF - please sell 1x4, 1x5, 1x6, 1x8 and other common sizes. Put them in a grab bag if they can’t be sold individually, or 10-packs, or any other combination. We know you carry them because your Arduino “shield” kits all have them and they look and work a good bit better than these.

BigHairyTroll on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-07-04T12:03:17-06:00

I am not sure I agree with this: they are not very strong mechanically and you would not end up having a perfectly aligned row, with the risk of bending the male connector when you plug it in, in addition to boards that do not look that good.
Besides chances are you would quickly end-up using up all the short ones and needing to cut the longer ones to our needs => back to square one.
If you want good-looking, easy to break out female pins, look at the pin headers with machined pins (swiss style or something) that SF provides - they might be what you are looking for.

BigHairyTroll on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-07-04T11:58:35-06:00

Can’t be bent easily, I’m afraid, unless you want to bend the pin itself but then the mechanical characteristics degrade a lot (i.e. it becomes flimsy).

letter on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-04-26T20:13:18-06:00

I cut mine with diagonal pliers… works great but the first few I cut sent the snipped pins flying across the room… now I cover with my hand while snipping.
as everyone says… you will lose a pin with each cut.

dakl on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2010-03-07T00:43:17-07:00

Are these available in a 90? angle? Or can they be bent?

datapolo on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2009-10-10T13:22:22-06:00

Would be much better supplied in multiples of 2 (2,4,6,8 etc.) and a single the you could combine them as necesary. It is time consuming as well as wasteful to cut these and make any effort to make the cut end look good.

tlied2 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2009-08-01T21:09:40-06:00

Just meansured one, got 8.6mm for the plastic part (not counting pin length)

Trav on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2009-08-01T04:59:42-06:00

Sorry not the pin height the actual header height

Trav on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2009-08-01T04:53:11-06:00

I’m also after the height dimension of the pins, I’m thinking of making a triple layer PCB (each PCB is double sided) using these to stack and connect the PCB’s between eachother

rotormind on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2009-06-28T00:41:22-06:00

Possible to get height dimension with any precision?

gezepi on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2009-06-12T22:40:53-06:00

I was able to save all pins when I used an exacto knife heated with a lighter to cut through the plastic more easily. Even then, however, I was quite lucky the one pin didn’t fall out.

ArduinoFun.com on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2009-05-27T18:10:48-06:00

I wish SparkFun sold them in 8 and 6 rows for arduino. The best thing I have found to cut them down with is a small jewelry hacksaw.

Plusea on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2008-10-10T17:25:52-06:00

Exactly. I would not really call these “breakaway” since one can not snap them apart as should be possible.

Customer #9307 on PRT-00115 - Female Headers

2007-05-25T20:32:00-06:00

You lose a pin at each cut, there is only a thin wall between adjacent pins. Keep that in mind when ordering.