Protecting GPIO pins

[bredman]

We have already seen one report of somebody almost destroying his precious RPi by accidentally shorting some power pins on the GPIO header.

Obviously, this risk will disappear once cases become widely available. But we need some quick fix in the meantime.

Personally, I plan to use an old ribbon connector from an ancient floppy drive, but these are not commonly available.

I have seen suggestions of pushing foam or sponge over the pins. Has anybody found anything really elegant to cover the pins? It would be great if some everyday household object was found to be exactly the right size for the job.

[poing]

Gaffer tape. I have no Pi but I used it frequently for temporary isolation for low- and high voltage connections and it worked. Did not measure the resistance though, so to be sure that could be advisable.

[FeersumEndjinn]

Old IDE ribbon cable from a PC.  Cut the ribbon nice and cleanly as close to the plug as possible, then plug it into the pins.

[jbeale]

I'd advise against using adhesive tape unless there is really no alternative, because the adhesive may stick to the pins and cause connection problems later if you actually want to use the GPIO for something. A header socket from an old ribbon cable should keep things safe.

[john_wage]

Honestly I don't think it's that great of a problem, it just sounds bad.

I use powered on electronics without cases every day, you should never handle your powered-on boards with any metal objects in hand, if you must, use very steady hands.

Also never handle a powered (or recently powered) board with sweaty hands or moist, you can easily get small shocks that way, and with some extreme bad luck, ruin some component.

Devices that operate on 5-8 Volts are usually pretty bomb-proof to handle with dry hands.

[Retroman]

Mold some Sugru over the pins while the device is powered off and make it so it covers all the pins and then remove it and let it cure overnight.

If you've done it correctly you should have a nice tight cover when its cured that you can pop on when needed and take off when not.

Take some extra time when shaping the Sugru to make sure it both looks and fits well.

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[abishur]

Ah sugru, how I wish you were  just a little bit cheaper!  Another idea I had was to just cut a bit of the cardboard off the box it comes shipped in and then push it onto the pins just enough to cover the pins.  Alternatively, cut several equal sized strips off the box and push them flush to the base of the pins stacking them one on top of the other until the entirety of the pins are covered.

Side note for fun sub forum Box mods: Things you can do with the box it comes shipped it

[cashaw]

I am not sure you can get easier, or more elegant than sticking a bit of packing foam over the top of it.

Is the bottom of the R-Pi coated in any insulating layer ? Could it be placed on a metal table without problems ?

[jbeale]

The RasPi is a bare board, with exposed circuitry on the bottom side.  Don't place it on bare metal or anything conductive.

The silvery-grey antistatic plastic bag it comes in, by the way, is not conductive. Check it with an ohmmeter if you're curious!

[cashaw]

Thanks for the info...

If anything this is more of an issue than exposed GPIO pins for the novice user.

[bredman]

A colleague at work had a great suggestion, Play-Doh. This is known as Plasticine or modelling clay in some countries.

It is easy to mold, easy to remove, and is available in any colour that you like.

You could also use it to cover the bottom of the board if you wish.

[Gert van Loo]

Simply use blu tack! (or white tack)

[joe]

bredman said:


A colleague at work had a great suggestion, Play-Doh. This is known as Plasticine or modelling clay in some countries.

It is easy to mold, easy to remove, and is available in any colour that you like.

You could also use it to cover the bottom of the board if you wish.



Play-Doh isn't plasticine, it's water-based. Something different. At least in the UK.

Also worth noting that this is the developer board, not the 'real' release as such. The machines that will get into the hands of people who might damage things accidentally (children) will have cases when released.

[meltwater]

I was thinking if you cut up an old floppy disc should be able to slot it over the pins nicely (even if as two strips).

I expect there are some other household things which would do a similar job.

[naicheben]

http://www.reichelt.de/Pfosten.....T=16&

Dont know the enlish name, could someone tell?

[bredman]

This is an IDC connector. I didn't know that you could get it in a 26-pin version.

I expect their stock to be sold out very quickly because this is perfect for the RPi.

[steviewevie]

Regarding the earlier suggestions to use an old IDE connector. Isn't that normally a 40-pin connector ? Are you suggesting to use that but with it hanging off to the side ? Or to have to get the 26-pin version listed a couple of posts above ?

[Retroman]

I still think a bit of Sugru is perfect for this. It's not the cheapest stuff but you'd only need a tiny amount of it to cover the pins.

I've tried to make up a cheap home made Sugru following some guides on Lifehacker but its nowhere near as good or long lasting as the real deal.

By the way, Sugru is non conductive and heat resistant up to 180c in case anyone has any worries about that side of things.

I think its fairly obvious, but I love me some Sugru and use it all the time for tweaks and mods :0)

[steviewevie]

I think I'll just use Blu-tack (when my Pi arrives). It normally comes off pretty cleanly, and it's dirt cheap (and I have some anyway).

[redman684]

I would suggest using a jumper. They are designed to connect 2 pins together, bu you can just as well put it over 1 pin only.

[yell]

redman684 said:


I would suggest using a jumper. They are designed to connect 2 pins together, bu you can just as well put it over 1 pin only.


got the same idee, but I will REMOVE the metal piece in the middle and connect 2 pins

[AlastairoRP]

Make a paper M the length of the connector and then slip it over the pins and use a bit of tape to hold in place.

Cardboard cut to the right size will protect the bottom. Just tape to board.

[jbeale]

For using an old 40-pin IDC ribbon connector, I was thinking of cutting off part of it, so it would fit on the 26-pin connector. But as others pointed out, a bit of cardboard, clay, blu-tack, etc. would probably serve just as well.

[Gert van Loo]

I think I am going to cut them all off, I will be definitely safe then.

[selsinork]

Gert said:


I think I am going to cut them all off, I will be definitely safe then.



nah, you should encase the whole thing in 1Kg of clear potting compound just to be sure