RA4M1 - What is the best way to access the pads (on the back)?

[hansolo]

Hi folks
I’m thinking about the best way to access the pads on the back of the XIAO and bring them to the breadboard. I would also put the XIAO itself with headers on a breadboard. Does anyone have any useful tips for me? Perhaps a ribbon cable? I’m not sure if that will fit in terms of space Thank you

[Seeed_Harrison]

Maybe some pogo pins?

[OzerO]

In the same boat. I can think of two options:

1. You may not like it. But soldering was the best option I could come up with for my project. It is really scary to solder something that small, but if you are going to keep using these boards, which I think I am, as I really like them, then get yourself a soldering iron if you don’t have one, and start practicing. A lot… Before you even try it for real on one of these boards. You might be surprised that in a week or so you may get really comfortable with it.

2. I was thinking of 3d printing a bed for the XIAO and using pogo pins as @Seeed_Harrison mentioned. Maybe someone already has a drawing they can share?

3. (I said two options, but here is a third). Keep giving feedback to SEEED and hope they will come up with more usable designs in the future. This is not gonna help you now, but this is how we progress. It is not an easy task to design these boards. I’m loving the XIAOs and will keep giving feedback so they can improve future versions, and meanwhile help us out with providing options that we didn’t think about.

[Seeed_Harrison]

@OzerO

Maybe someone already has a drawing they can share?

This person @PJ_Glasso has a lot of experience on this topic. See:

Another Xiao Socket adapter Revision III

[_2] [Small_Moment] [Xiao_socket_octo_small] A truly solderless socket for testing Castellated PCB micro controllers like the SeeedStudio Xiao Nrf52840, my First crack was fashioned after Rizo’s ESP32 Sockets, Very cool. No pins to bend with this one, just print and add a few pieces of the hardware pin sets. You can add the pogos as I did for connection to the debug pins on the dev board. NO more soldering and unsoldering the PCB’s until final assembly. ;-p files are up on Thingiverse enjoy…

[hansolo]

Thank you for your feedback! Pogo pin sounds interesting, but i wouldn’t know right away how to implement it on my breadboard. Maybe for a later step. I have now soldered on a ribbon cable to use the pads / pins. Not perfect and it looks freaky but it works for my prototype

[PJ_Glasso]

Hi there,

If it works then Great, You can also 3D print a Socket with the holes for pogo’s and just open them up with a drill bit so your wires fit thru, if you want they also make pogo pins with pins on the bottom to insert into a PCB thru-hole or Breadboard. I use a soldering Iron to push them into place as it melts the PLA+

HTH
GL PJ