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by skybrian 2342 days ago
What are locking headers?
1 comments

A 'header' is a board-to-board or wire-to-board connector:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/w-rth-elektronik/6...

This is the type of connector most commonly used in hobby electronics, such as on the Arduino and Raspberry Pi. 0.1" is the 'pitch', the distance between pins. I picked a 1x4 (meaning <rows> x <pins> or <rows> x <pins per row>) version, but they come in many different pin and row counts.

The version above is very simple, just bare pins that would get soldered to a PCB. There are many that come with additional 'features' that could be useful. For instance, you could get a locking header that has a tab to retain the connection against vibration or tugging. Or you can get a key or shroud that forces the connector to be inserted in the correct orientation. They also come in versions that support soldering directly to a PCB, vertically or at a right angle, or connecting to wires directly.

Here is a locking header:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/molex/0022232041/W...

If you scroll down to 'mating products' you can find wire-to-board connectors designed to mate with it.