I have never used Sparkfun before. Sorry if this seems like a noob question but I normally have boards presoldered with the 10 pin JTAG header. Not sure why they decided not do so on this board.
Does anyone know if Sparkfun offers an additional service where you can get the 10 pin 2.54mm JTAG IDC header presolderedwhen you order this board? Thank you in advance.
SparkFun does not offer the board with the JTAG header included. The main reason is that adding a through-hole component will add another production step (using the solder fountain) which would significantly increase the cost of the product. Since a large portion of the users will not need this connector we’ve avoided passing that cost along unnecessarily.
For advanced users like you who want to use the JTAG functionality you’ll need to get a connector like [this one from DigiKey. This can fit on the end of your programmer cable (or your adapter if using another size cable) and you can usually program the board just by pinching the connector in the holes on the board – no soldering required and you can re-use the same connector.
We don’t currently carry these connectors on the [SparkFun website but we are planning to carry some SEGGER programmers in the near future and I will suggest that we stock these connectors as an accessory. This would help support the ever-increasing number of ARM microcontrollers that we are selling.
Thanks for bringing this up!](https://www.sparkfun.com/)](https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/cnc-tech/3220-10-0100-00/1175-1627-ND/3883661)
Thank you very much. I went ahead and ordered one and will give it a go!