I ruined a board trying to connect a JST connector for permanent serial console access, and I'm hoping to avoid ruining my new board. I see that 3 of the pads are holes and I can easily remove the solder from the holes. Piece of cake.
But the 4th pad (ground) doesn't appear to be a hole at all. No matter how hard I tried (and I obviously tried too hard) I can't get through it. I tried trimming the pin on the connector, so that I'd have 3 pins going all the way through and one just sitting on the pad, with hopefully enough contact to serve as a proper ground.
When I connected the serial cable and powered up, I let the smoke out of something (UART maybe?). I'm guessing it was all my poking and prodding. $7 down the drain -- on to the next board!
How does one properly solder a JST connector in this scenario? I've seen bodhi mention in a few threads that he has connected JSTs to some of his v4 boards, so it must be possible with the proper technique.
I know I can simply solder wires to the pads I need, but I'm looking for something cleaner and more finished, I guess. If I'm trying to do something that's simply beyond my capabilities, then I'll defer to direct wire soldering.
Finally, a confession -- I'm much more adept at software than I am at hardware mods. I have sufficient tools to do the job, just need a little guidance from the more experienced hardware hackers.
Thanks!
But the 4th pad (ground) doesn't appear to be a hole at all. No matter how hard I tried (and I obviously tried too hard) I can't get through it. I tried trimming the pin on the connector, so that I'd have 3 pins going all the way through and one just sitting on the pad, with hopefully enough contact to serve as a proper ground.
When I connected the serial cable and powered up, I let the smoke out of something (UART maybe?). I'm guessing it was all my poking and prodding. $7 down the drain -- on to the next board!
How does one properly solder a JST connector in this scenario? I've seen bodhi mention in a few threads that he has connected JSTs to some of his v4 boards, so it must be possible with the proper technique.
I know I can simply solder wires to the pads I need, but I'm looking for something cleaner and more finished, I guess. If I'm trying to do something that's simply beyond my capabilities, then I'll defer to direct wire soldering.
Finally, a confession -- I'm much more adept at software than I am at hardware mods. I have sufficient tools to do the job, just need a little guidance from the more experienced hardware hackers.
Thanks!