The Pi Pico has edge castellations that suggest it might be able to fit into a socket like the 40 pin DIL sockets for IC’s. Is there any similar socket available for the Pico?
I have looked for such a thing on the usual suppliers but not found anything suitable.
For prototyping, this would be very convenient and would mean that the board would not have to be pinned for development.
For production, the castellations would suit surface mounting, but socketing during development would be a real advantage over competitive MPU’s.
I did a look around for something like this and couldn’t find a solution (ZIF-like socket for castellated boards). If someone does find something, I’m all ears!
It is probably easier/safer to use the tried-and-true method of pogo pins and a toggle clamp. While a custom PCB board of some flavour would be needed, other dev-factors could be baked in. 3D printed jig would likely help keep everything in the right place.
For quick experiments, Hook Test Clips would be the fastest non-destructive route.
Thanks for the response. I will go the pogo pins/toggle clamp way. Thanks for letting me know they are purchasable. I had some trouble previously finding them.
I didn’t go into detail. On both those sites you can filter for 40 pin double sided (double sided the most common, 2 rows of 20 pins). Leave manufacturers not filtered and you will get all stocked manufacturers.
Just had a quick look at Element 14. Searched Edge Connector. Filter: Manufacturer no filter, 40 pin, dual sided, Did not apply filter to board thickness as I don’t know. All other filters remain as is.
20 results, varying board thickness. 17 of these have data sheets attached. Could possibly look up manufacturers web sites for the missing ones. RS-Online will be similar.
Don’t think castellations will matter as long as contact is made. Boards designed for this purpose usually have a fair bit of length on the contact area. You will have to get this info from data sheet or “suck it and see”. ie; purchase one and try it. I personally don’t have a connector of this type to have a look for you.
Cheers Bob
Thanks for the responses, Robert. I plan to look more closely and I will let you know what works. Your instinct about the target board thickness is spot on. I did use edge connectors last century quite a lot for rack mounted boards and I imagine that the pico will be close to their thickness.
I am quite familiar with the filter searches on supplier sites and when I have a pico on hand I will research further. The boards I am used to had similar edges to the pico illustrations - much more fun to be had….
Cheers
PS what I found was that these things vary from a few dollars to thirty a pop, so even sampling could be expensive. On the other hand, as a one-off cost for a devel platform, who cares?
Yes it was rack mounted boards I had in mind. They used to come in lots of flavours years ago. The last few years of my working life they seem to have given way to the 96 pin DIN style connectors. When you have 2 of these on a board (192 pins) they really take some effort to remove from rack.
Element 14 and I think RS-Online quote manufacturers part numbers if you have to go to their web site for info
Cheers Bob
