Hi people, newbie here. Have just received in the mail my new Pi Pico. I’ve noticed that the header pins don’t seem to align properly to the holes in the ZY-60 breadboard. How much “manipulation” will the pins tolerate? I don’t wish to use any undue force.
Cheers, L
Hi @L326468, the Pico headers and ZY-60 breadboard are both 2.54 mm pitch, so the pins should line up, that said breadboards are usually a slight bit smaller to prevent headers from coming out too easy.
The headers themselves a reasonably easy to bend back into place if they splay outwards. I have had to bend some fairly substantially curved headers before. As long as you have a good pair of tweezers and a brt of patience, you should not have too much trouble if wonky pins.
Unless the Pico has been damaged that should not happen surely
Cheers Bob
Thanks Jane. I shall proceed with caution.
The Pico is not damaged. The header pins simply do not align with the holes in the breadboard. If I align the first header pin in the row with a hole, the last pins in the row are a good millimeter out. I measure 49mm from centre of pin 1 to centre of pin 20. I measure 47.5mm from centre of hole 1 to centre of hole 20 on the breadboard. That means that I am going to have to bend several of the header pins to make the Pico fit, which means that they will be going in at a slight angle. Not good.
Hi L
Just looked at that breadboard.
All the pins in little strips of 5 holes should be on a 2.54mm grid pattern. The ones down the side are on small groups of 2.54mm grid but are NOT on the same grid as the strips of 5 holes. So you can’t carry over from one set of holes to the other. The middle 2 large groups of holes are on a different grid than the side ones.
I once got a piece of perf board from Jaycar and would you believe this batch had the holes on a 2.5mm grid. Don’t as me why but I wonder if this is the same. Worth measuring but almost impossible to do over individual hole spacing easily but you can measure over the whole length and divide by the number of holes minus 1 or 29. This will give you more accuracy.
You can pretty much guarantee the Pico and header strip will be 2.54mm pitch.
Cheers Bob
Bob, see my previous post edit. I see what you’re saying, but columns a-j just don’t accept my Pico’s header pins.
Hi L
I saw your post. I hear what you are saying. I believe that the pins don’t align along the columns a to j along the long length. The grid will be square. Or should be.
Now you hear what I am saying.
Measure them. You have the device so you are the only one that can do this.
This way you will have some chance of establishing which one is incorrect. The way you are going about this means you will go around forever.
You keep on saying that they don’t align. OK then find out which one is wrong. Can’t do much from this side of the fence.
I was just suggesting that there is a good chance the Pico and header strip will be correct.
I firmly believe that when you get a breadboard for $2.90 you could be getting anything.
You will find that if this is a new board the pins will be very tight anyway. The header pins are pretty much maximum allowable size for most boards and damage is likely with the budget boards with inferior contact material which is reluctant to accept the larger pins without damage. There has been some discussion about this in the past.
Personally one of my boards is a “Wish” board some 25 - 30 years old and still all good. BUT I don’t often use these pins in it.
Cheers Bob
*“You keep on saying that they don’t align”
That’s because they don’t. I DID measure both the pins AND the holes, as per a previous post. You are probably right about using a cheap breadboard, but I did enquire about fitting the Pico to that particular board before buying it. Anyway, it’s turning into a storm in a teacup, so I’ll probably end up just using jumper cables for my connections. Thanks for your input.
Hi L
My humble apologies. I completely missed those measurements but if you had done the calcs you would know which is at fault. I did suspect the breadboard as the Pico and header strips come as different items and are fitted together in some cases and it is highly unlikely that BOTH are in error the same direction.
Header pins are 49mm 20 pins. So 49/19=2.5789. A bit longer than 48.26 but there could be a small measurement error and the end pins could have been spread slightly due to handling.
Board holes are 47.5mm 20 holes. So 47.5/19=2.5mm. A most suspicious number..
This indicates the pins are +0,04 and the holes are -0.04 each.
It is difficult to measure centre to centre and I find the most accurate way is to measure from say the left side of one hole and the corresponding left side of the 20th hole so you are not guessing the centre. Do the same with the male header pins. If you measure the pins down close to the actual Pico you will eliminate most of any bending of the pins causing some error. Or even measure the short side of the header pins on the top of the Pico if there is enough poking through the hole.
Anyway I would almost put money on the breadboard being the culprit
What to do??? Get another breadboard is your only option but try and avoid the $2 or $3 cheap types. Be prepared to purchase a bit of quality and treat it nice and it will last for years
Cheers Bob
PS: If you can get hold of a new strip of header pins (they come in 40 pin lengths) and offer that up to the breadboard holes and that will confirm which is incorrect.
Bob,
Yes, trying another, hopefully better constructed breadboard seems like the best idea. I’m somewhat annoyed because I was told that, yes, a Pico W will plug straight into a ZY-60 board before I ordered the bits. As stated earlier, I’m a novice. Anyway, it’s not the end of the world. I’m on a learning curve.
Cheers, L
Hi L
I have one of these boards of this size. Don’t know what make.
My vernier caliber has chosen this time to play up and the best I can do with a steel rule is 73.5mm over 30 holes which works out to be a pitch of 2.5345mm which given the measuring device is close enough to 2.54mm for me. So mine looks OK. Could be a better quality board or you have a dud ???
Cheers Bob
Just as a check can you line up the short side of the Pico pin strip as that should be straight without bent pin errors.
I just tried a new strip of header pins (20 pins) and it lined up perfectly.
Bob,
Tomorrow I will dust off my vernier calipers and check more thoroughly. I must say, the header pins on the Pico LOOK completely straight, true and in line, by my eye anyway.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Cheers, L
Nah, couldn’t wait till tomorrow. Using the Verniers, over 30 holes - 72.5mm. Divided by 29 is . . drum roll please, 2.5mm exactly.
Time to climb out of this rabbit hole, Bob. Time for bed.
Cheers, L.
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