IC-Socket for the Photon

Hardware
1

Hello Guys

I am Searching for an IC-Socket for the Particle Photon to solder onto a PCB
24 Pin - 17.78mm in WIdth

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2

Whatā€™s wrong with two 12 pin female headers?

Also, is this something you havenā€™t been able to find, or do you want us to look for you?

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3

You will likely not find an IC socket that fits the Photon. In addition to the row spacing issue, Photon pins are square, not flat, and are designed to fit a square header pin socket, not an IC socket.

The Photon Data Sheet lists several compatible 12-pin headers that you can use, one on each side:

https://docs.particle.io/datasheets/photon-(wifi)/photon-datasheet/#mechanical-specifications

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4

to flimsy for my taste
iam searching for a sturdy solution

5

12 pin headers are not flimsy, provided youā€™ve soldered them to a PCB.

Also this thread exists:

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6

Iā€™m with @nrobinson2000 here, female headers should be sturdy enough. As long as you donā€™t hammer in the device, they should stand up to ā€˜normalā€™ usage just fine.
What exactly are you planning to do with them? As in, how often do you think youā€™re going to be removing/inserting the device on a regular basis?

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7

You might get away with a Zero-Insertion Force (ZIF) socket. This socket says it can accept up to .73" row spacing. According the the Photon mechanical specification, the Photon row spacing is .70". But at $20/socket, I would just go with headers. They are professional looking to me.

Another route would be to create your own carrier board for the Photon and use whatever connector you see fit to connect back to your main PCB. The advantage of this method is that you can choose a polarized connector. IMHO, the only downside to headers is the lack of polarization and possibility of inserting the Photon backwards. I am doing something similar with a carrier board and I intend on using Hirose FX2 board-to-board connectors. My carrier board will have a Photon and some additional circuitry such as a SD card holder and voltage regulator. And, somewhat ironically, I will still solder 12-pin female headers onto this carrier board because I have a bunch of Photons w/headers lying around. Maybe in the future, Iā€™ll get a Photon without headers to make it lower profile.

Edit: wrong link to zif socket postedā€¦ I swear I clicked on one that said up to .73" spacing but I canā€™t find my way back to the correct socket. Fixed itā€¦ itā€™s a 3M socket.

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8

2X 12 pin headers are plenty sturdy.