Pins not straight... bend or resolder?

[Justin]

Can I use needle nose pliers to fix this?  Or will it cause problems?

[kl22]

Should be fine to use the pliers. I used to do it all the time, just don't put too much pressure. Maybe you can run a quick run across the header soldering with your solder so you can melt it just enough to move it into the correct position. Worst case, just unsolder everything if you melted then beyond repair.

Did you solder all of them already? if not unsolder and fix it unless you melted the plastic.

BTW, for the future this is what i do:

I place the header where I want it to go (one row at a time). Then apply just a little bit of solder so it stays in place to one of the pins @ the edge. This allows me to then just heat up the solder and position it exactly how I want it. Then I put some solder on the opposite end. Then make sure everything is okay and then solder from the middle outwards.

[Conscripted]

You need to be careful using pliers to straighten pins if they are much more bent then what you have. Sometimes they will break. In your case I would definitely straighten them. It looks like maybe you used too much heat when you soldered them in. I use super glue to hold the pins in position (on the top plastic part) and then solder them from the bottom. If you are a bit faster with the iron and apply slightly less heat, you should get a perfect result.

It looks like you are building the $50 robot. I've built a couple of them. When you are finished post a picture for us to see.

Good luck.
Conscripted.

[blackbeard]

Bend for sure. Just an FYI though make sure you plug something into them when you're soldering them to insure that they don't go in crooked. What i use are a bunch of front panel connections i took from old computer cases. You can also use IDE cable headers which are handy because with 40 pin holes you can usually hold an entire row in place.

[knossos]

I place the header where I want it to go (one row at a time). Then apply just a little bit of solder so it stays in place to one of the pins @ the edge. This allows me to then just heat up the solder and position it exactly how I want it. Then I put some solder on the opposite end. Then make sure everything is okay and then solder from the middle outwards.

Yeah I do the same thing.  In addition I also do the following:

Just an FYI though make sure you plug something into them when you're soldering them to insure that they don't go in crooked. What i use are a bunch of front panel connections i took from old computer cases. You can also use IDE cable headers which are handy because with 40 pin holes you can usually hold an entire row in place.

Perfect every time.

[Razor Concepts]

You can bend them with your fingers, too.

[Justin]

It looks like you are building the $50 robot. I've built a couple of them. When you are finished post a picture for us to see.

Good luck.
Conscripted.

I am!

Because I've never done anything like this, I agonized over the idea of soldering, and tried to use a breadboard.  Turns out, there are too many modifications, and I'd need to  either get adapters, or splice wires to attach the programmer, sensors, and servos to the board.  So last night I just bit the bullet and started soldering the circuit.  I made a few messes, and discovered that I wish I had a solder wick, but I'm well on my way.

Now I just need to figure out a good way to bridge the pins with solder.  The wire I purchased at radio shack is 30 gauge, and too thin for me to strip, so I might tear open a cat 5 cable and steal some wire.  Unless someone has a better idea?

[Billy]

I use super glue to hold the pins in position (on the top plastic part) and then solder them from the bottom.

I like that idea. I've been using the hold-it-straight-with-finger-while-soldering-and-burning-your-finger method.

[MikeK]

I clamp the pins between two pieces of metal...It keeps them straight and acts as a heatsink.

[kl22]

Just an FYI though make sure you plug something into them when you're soldering them to insure that they don't go in crooked.

Ingenious! never occurred to me!

I like that idea. I've been using the hold-it-straight-with-finger-while-soldering-and-burning-your-finger method.

I do the same thing if I get lazy