>A easy hack I've used a bunch of times is to leave pads for
>a .1 inch header, just like on your board.  Assuming the point is you don't
>want to install the real headers on the boards, you can slip the same header
>that would have been soldered onto the board onto the end of the cable
>instead.  This gives you a cable with pins sticking out.  Slide these thru
>the holes on the board, then push the connector sideways a bit to make sure
>all the pins are making contact with their holes.

This is exactly the way we were doing before using pogo pins. And it worked. I haven't use Molex connectors but some mill-max connectors. The challenge is you need a firm hand since there are about 5 to 6 pins (some of our design implemented only 5 ICSP pads, some got an extra pads for NA), and the connector must be pushed firmly all the time during programming. Some of our board got a 1mm ID hole, which some time makes it very hard to make a full contact all the same time during programming, but you can always try again if it fails.

The pogo pin makes life a lot easier due to its ball header self-alignment to the pads on PCB and spring force inside the pins helps constant contact to the Pads on PCB too. 

The other advantage is for the assembly line people,  they use different mechanical fixture to hold the pogo-pins for different production board in high volume. It does make operator life a lot easier, all they have to do is load and unload the board to the fixture. They don't have to  hold the pogo-pin by hand all the time as the video demonstrated. The video demonstrated one of our lab guy programming two different boards without a fixture, so he has to hold the connection by hand. I am told the connection is very reliable. Some of our software developer uses it too. The Lab guy definitely loves it.

 Funny N.
Au Group Electronics, http://www.AuElectronics.com
http://www.AuElectronics.com/products
http://augroups.blogspot.com/


      
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