Q: Relocating RPi in a PiDP-8 build

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Ken Hansen

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Apr 27, 2024, 9:56:39 PMApr 27
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Hello all,

I recently completed my older PiDP-8 kit in preparation to build my PiDP-10, but I stopped at the final build-out of my kit...

I'm stuck on the placement of the RPi board and the need to drill holes in the sides of the case for various ports - YUCK!

One thought was to use a Pi Zero 2 W, but I had issues getting the software to run properly, so that has me planning to use an RPi 3A+ board (it has fewer USB and no Ethernet ports, so it's smaller, but it still presses up against the top edge of the case.

I'm thinking of using an IDC 40 pin male/female cable to relocate the RPi board away from the edge of the case - something like this:


It's an 8" cable - in *theory* this should work, it's just an extension of the GPIO pins - but will the added length cause problems? I remember a discussion about the PiDP-10 likely having issues if you tried such a thing in it, but would it also be an issue for the PiDP-8? As I recall the issue was the high-speed signaling the PiDP-10 (with all those LEDs!), and I'm hoping the PiDP-8 wouldn't have the same issue.

Thoughts?

Anyone do something similar?

If this might be a problem, I can go back and revisit the Pi Zero 2 W idea...

Thanks in advance,

Ken

Kaladin Light

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Apr 29, 2024, 3:14:50 PMApr 29
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I don't know the answer to your question but I didn't like the idea of drilling holes to run cables through so for the ports I wanted I bought them as panel mount ports and installed them that way.  This way they looked more like they were built into the case.

Ken Hansen

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May 1, 2024, 10:03:47 PMMay 1
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I took a chance and ordered a couple 8" male/female cables from Amazon, they arrive today, and I'll give it a try...

It was only $10 for two, and if they don't work out I'll have a couple breakout boards for my RPi and breadboard projects.


Ken

On Apr 29, 2024, at 14:14, Kaladin Light <0.ka...@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know the answer to your question but I didn't like the idea of drilling holes to run cables through so for the ports I wanted I bought them as panel mount ports and installed them that way.  This way they looked more like they were built into the case.
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Obsolescence

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May 1, 2024, 10:09:10 PMMay 1
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Ken,

On Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 3:56:39 AM UTC+2 n2...@w5fc.org wrote:
I recently completed my older PiDP-8 kit 
[..]
I'm stuck on the placement of the RPi board and the need to drill holes in the sides of the case for various ports - YUCK!

Oh, you have a pre-2018 PiDP-8! It needed the ports on the side. I am not sure, but if you see that a Pi Zero will fit you should be able to use that with the new SD card image here:

Pick the SD card image for the Pi Zero 2, not the one for the Pi 4. That should work just fine, and if not, please let me know!

Kind regards,

Oscar.

Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein

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Jun 11, 2024, 2:50:35 PMJun 11
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Or you could use an extender male-female 40 pin ribbon cable like this
This is from a shop in Germany but I'm sure you can get it anywhere.

Cheers
HB

Ken Hansen

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Jun 11, 2024, 3:14:11 PMJun 11
to Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein, PiDP-8
I found this cable, but haven't gotten back to PiDP-8 project yet:


Ken

On Jun 11, 2024, at 13:50, 'Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein' via PiDP-8 <pid...@googlegroups.com> wrote:


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Malcolm Ray

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Jun 12, 2024, 9:09:47 AMJun 12
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That's exactly what I did. The slot I cut in the back panel for the cable was rather ugly, but was hidden under the Raspberry Pi.
The end result looked quite respectable.
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