UNO - Headers on Digital Side - Intentional?

[greenman]

I've been toying with the UNO, and decided to try a perf board with a header. When I tried to match them up across the length of the arduino with the result showing in the image below. I've highlighted the problem, showing how the pins in green don't match the holes in red in an attempt to use a header across the entire array.  A standard header does match up with one pin fitting loose in the gap between the power and analog arrays.

I cannot believe digital array would be intentionally hampered, but I'm new to this, so I have to ask. Is there supposed to be a gap that disallows the use of a standard header and perf board? I got this one from NKC Electronics.

Should I ask for a replacement?

[pluggy]

A brain fart from the dawn of time.  They were rushing to get the first batch of boards ready for a deadline years ago.  It was a mistake, not intentional, its part of the Arduino standard now........

Its actually the pins 8-Aref block that are out of position, the ones you've highlighted are aligned with the pins on the other side of the board.

[retrolefty]

Think of it as finding a misspelled word in the U.S. Constitution. Minor screw-up, but it would take 2/3 passing in congress, presidential signature, and 2/3 of 50 states approval to correct it.  

[greenman]

Thanks, pluggy, retrolefty.

After browsing around a little, I found this blurb at this page:

Making Shields

If you'd like to make your own shield, you may want to start with the Eagle files for an existing shield. Note that the space between pins 7 and 8 is not the standard 0.1".

The same is true for all the arduino boards, new and old. I don't know what else to think, so I'm coining a new phrase:

Commons-proprietary - adj. - a small non-standard intentional design flaw made in open-source hardware created for the sole purpose of growing an economy around the same hardware.

Usage: "Does Arduino use commons-proprietary hardware?"

Whether that original 'brain fart' was intentional or not, Arduino certainly has built a thriving community of small and growing businesses. That's a good thing, right?

Are there any suggested workarounds other than wire leads from the arduino pin sockets and then soldered to the perf board if you're using something small like this?

[retrolefty]

Are there any suggested workarounds other than wire leads from the arduino pin sockets and then soldered to the perf board if you're using something small like this?

Yes, one popular fix. SparkFun sells a connector with prebent pins that allow easy mating for it and the rest of the sheild connectors to standard .1" spacing protoboard:

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9374

Lefty

[Grumpy_Mike]

I use this technique:-
http://www.thebox.myzen.co.uk/Hardware/Arduino_Sheld.html

[greenman]

retrolefty, Grumpy_Mike,

Thanks for your replies. These are both excellent workarounds.
I admit, until I get a drill press, I'm likely to go with the offset header fix.

Again, thank you.