Screw Connector Breakout Board

[Grumpy Mike]

This is a page on how to build a screw connector break out board. Cable fitting, with or without GPIO pin protection.
http://www.thebox.myzen.co.uk/Raspberry/Breakout.html
There is also a lengthy video on how to make the surface mount version of the protection. There is a no protection version as well as a through hole component version. All built on veroboard. There is a downloadable pack of larger layout images and a text file of links to components used from Farnell or Rapid On Line.

Edit by Abishur: Fixed URL

[KenT]

sounds interesting but maybe you have the wrong link

[Grumpy Mike]

Indeed I have thanks, as I can't edit my recent post here is the correct link

http://www.thebox.myzen.co.uk/Raspberry/Breakout.html

[KenT]

I do love your idea of soldering a 26 pin connector to the back of a stripboard. A ready made buffer board would be excellent for education.

Have you tried you vimeo pages in Firefox, some most odd things are happening, on the Windows version at least.

[Grumpy Mike]

Have you tried you vimeo pages in Firefox, some most odd things are happening, on the Windows version at least.

Thanks, what sort of odd things. I have tried it on Firefox on my Mac and it looks fine to me.

[KenT]

Have you tried you vimeo pages in Firefox, some most odd things are happening, on the Windows version at least.

Thanks, what sort of odd things. I have tried it on Firefox on my Mac and it looks fine to me.

Very large black letters all on top of each other covering the whole window. I can get rid of it by reducing zoom (CTRL-) and refreshing.

Its OK on Firefox on Fedora even with large zoom.

[Grumpy Mike]

Tat is indeed very odd. I haven't seen anything like that. Is that on the embedded video on the web site or going direct to the Vimeo web page.
Does it happen to my glock move?
https://vimeo.com/44300050

[KenT]

Vimeo page is OK

On the breakout board page the problem starts here 'However, using this involves using some sort of connector. In fact one option is my Buffer Board.....' If you look at the page source that paragraph seems out of place and of a different style to the others.

Looking at the rendered result with a bit of zoom just about every paragraph seems to have different formatting.

[abishur]

Nice instructional! I fixed the link for you in your main post

[rurwin]

It is not absolutely necessary to do that much soldering and cutting.

You can get screw terminals in 0.1 inch versions, and some types (although not the cheap ones) of vero board have cuts suitable for mounting the socket already in place. (In the one above I was too stingy to have 13 terminals on each side, which requires different sizes of terminals and they come in bags of 5, so there are some links.)

However you wont have any level shifting or protection of course, and you will have to file down a screwdriver; those screws are tiny.

Suitable terminals would be these, and suitable Veroboard would be this with the useful part extracted by hacksaw. One purchase would make several boards.

[piglet]

IDC socket - says "No Longer Manufactured" on Farnell. Clearance item on rapidonline.

resistor - 18 needed, pack of 100
ribbon cable £18.96 for 30M

Hmmm. Would be nice just to be able to buy the bits needed in a little plastic bag (hint hint).

[rurwin]

Socket on RS
Or if that goes bad, here's the relevant search.

Ribbon cable is probably best bought from Maplin. They only sell 40-way, which is a waste, but they sell it by the metre. RS and Farnell only sell it in ten metre lengths. Other small electronics outlets would probably supply 26-way per metre, but I don't know of any.

[ksangeelee]

RS and Farnell only sell it [26 way ribbon cable] in ten metre lengths. Other small electronics outlets would probably supply 26-way per metre, but I don't know of any.

Farnell part 297343 (26 way ribbon) is available by the metre.

Corresponding socket, 1098511, though it's annoying they don't make the Multicomp ones since the others are 2 to 3 times the price, at least.

[Tandy]

Wouldn't normally post links outside the for sale forum but seeing as how you are asking where to get them from, these might help.
26 Way Straight IDC Latched Plug
26-way IDC Socket
26-Way Grey Ribbon Cable (50cm)

[rurwin]

Note to self: Every time you don't check, Murphy bites your bottom.

Here's the search for sockets on Farnell. Minimum price for in-stock: £0.98
Ah. I see we disagree about what to call a socket. Here's the search for whatits that go on the cable. Minimum price: £0.78

[Grumpy Mike]

Hmmm. Would be nice just to be able to buy the bits needed in a little plastic bag (hint hint).

It would be, been there done that with the stuff I wrote in Micro User. The problem is that I would buy from Farnell, not the cheapest but good for small quantities, then having to buy bags packaging and spend time packing and bagging up. The result is that I would have to charge a price that people would consider a rip off and say "well you can get it on ebay for £xx".
The alternative that I have also tried is to buy in bulk and have a lot of stock left over. In fact I still have stock on things I was selling 20 years ago. The IDC header came from that box, in fact that was the size used on the printer port on the old BBC model B.
If anyone want's to put a kit together for the project then I would have no objection to putting a link ( or links ) to a supplier on the end of my page.

[piglet]

New stuff is always a little scary. Your parts list really helps. Thanks.

The last time I used a soldering iron for more than the odd repair was twenty-mumble years ago when I test-built circuits for a chap doing a series in a computer magazine (it may have been you, though my recollection was that he lived quite a bit north of you and had a day job working on oil rig electronics). He wanted to see if the instructions which would go to print were enough for someone who knew nothing to follow. He used to send me bags of bits...

Loads of fun. They all worked. I was awful at soldering and my boards looked like a badly-made birds nest. I've since forgotten the little I learned.

It would be good to see if this old dog can learn a little now.

[rurwin]

Both RS and Farnell support pasting a CSV list into the basket. So if Mike published such a list, eg:

297343,1,Ribbon Cable
1098511,2,IDC Plugs
1099259,1,PCB Header Socket
1201477,1,Stripboard

It could be ordered in almost one click.

On Farnell, Under the menu item "MY BASKET", select the menu option "QUICK PASTE". Then paste the above list into the text box and hit Add To Order.
(You will have chance to delete them again )

[KenT]

Can you make the holes for the SMD components with a stripboard spot face cutter or are the holes going to be too big. I can forsee lots of cut fingers with inexperienced people using scalpels.

Also could I use a Stanley knife instead of a scalpel.

When I was on a course for making exhibition notices using card I was introduced to non-slip craft rulers e.g.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linex-Anti-slip ... 620&sr=8-3

, and non-slip cutting mats.

[Grumpy Mike]

Can you make the holes for the SMD components with a stripboard spot face cutter or are the holes going to be too big. I can forsee lots of cut fingers with inexperienced people using scalpels.
Also could I use a Stanley knife instead of a scalpel.
..... and non-slip cutting mats.

A spot face cutter does take too much copper away. Also I find it leaves very fine shorts that have to be removed by a knife anyway.
The larger Stanley knife is a bit clumsy but the type with retractable blades would do, but a scalpel is a lot better, finer point and much sharper. Non Slip mats are a good idea.
As to inexperienced people getting cut, how do you get experience if you are not permitted to use one. Health and safety eh!

[rurwin]

Gever Tulley 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do

Somewhere there is a picture of a three year-old me proudly holding a crosscut saw as tall as myself. I wasn't allowed to use chisels until I was 5.

[Grumpy Mike]

Just got a report from Neil Buckley about the layout of the through hole version. He points out that the zener for G18 and G17 were wrong. I have now corrected the download files. So if you downloaded the files before the time of this post then please download them again.
Sorry for any inconvenience.

[Grumpy Mike]

Gever Tulley 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do

Somewhere there is a picture of a three year-old me proudly holding a crosscut saw as tall as myself. I wasn't allowed to use chisels until I was 5.

Well I did wire up my darkroom safe lamp when I was 10. I cut through the twin twisted wire with a pair of scissors when it was still plugged in. Took a good notch out of them.

[piglet]

Well I did wire up my darkroom safe lamp when I was 10. I cut through the twin twisted wire with a pair of scissors when it was still plugged in. Took a good notch out of them.

You just reminded me of my darkroom wiring age 8 or 9. I managed to wire up my bayonette extension cable taking power to the loft with the male parts live. Plugging it together in the dark I bridged the terminals with the metal surround of the female part. Blew myself through the loft hatch hole.

I never told my parents about that. Just turned it off and swapped the bits round...

[Jim JKla]

Caveat

I've been shamelessly hacking the Breakout Board Project onto the wiki working with the permission of Grumpy Mike.

It's not quite finished yet two of the diagrams are awaiting update.

So if you go look for it there and follow the instructions and your RaspberryPi blows you through the loft hatch thats your fault not ours.

I've added a link on the wiki page that leads to another thats an interactive parts list for the through hole version if you have an account set up you can use the list to progessivly add the parts you require to your account shopping basket considering you may have some froma previous project.

There are some guide prices there also.

At the moment as it's not quite finished I won't post a link I'll reserve that for when we feel it's worthy but that should be soon.