Cutting the Raspberry Pi A+ board

[Dijital]

Hi all,

This might be an odd question but my project is massively size dependant, is it possible to cut the red area off of a Raspberry Pi A+ off and still have it function?



As far as I can tell there is no other circuitry there other than the connection to the pins.

I know about the compute module but it does not suit my needs also, I know this violates the warranty.

Thanks in advance!

[DougieLawson]

NO.

You can de-solder all of the header pins, but you can't shorten the board.

[ame]

Why not? Is there an image of the PCB artwork somewhere? If we can verify there are no continuous traces at that edge the you could desolder the header then (carefully) slice through the board with a Dremel or something (wear a mask and safety goggles).

Naturally, this means that those GPIO pins are no longer usable.

[PiGraham]

You could save a bit by removing the connectors on the other edge, if you don't need them.

AFAIK the PCB artwork is not available, but there is this early info for the original Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/final-pcb-artwork/

As you might expect the traces around the GPIO pins are to the GPIO pins and you could probably cut that board with some chance of it working afterwards. Obviously A+ is not the same layout as A/B.

You could get an answer at the cost of an A+. Try it and see. Chances of destroying the Pi must be quite high

[mahjongg]

the biggest risk lies not into breaking any circuit traces, the risk lies in shorting two adjacent traces together. This risk may be minimized if you make a very clean cut, and sand it smooth afterward.

also, I would desolder and remove all pinheaders before attempting to do this, if you need some pinheaders you can solder only those you need back.

good luck.

[DougieLawson]

You're going to lose £15.50 http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/processor ... s/8332699/ but best of luck with it.

[beta-tester]

hmmm... i don't know your project, but maybe a RPi model C is a better solution.

[W. H. Heydt]

hmmm... i don't know your project, but maybe a RPi model C is a better solution.

You mean the Compute Module, aka "CM"?

[DougieLawson]

I think beta-tester meant the model C which was announced in some parts of the universe on 1st April and some foolish aliens thought it was better than a Pi2B.

[DougieLawson]

I think beta-tester meant the model C which was announced in some parts of the universe on 1st April and some foolish aliens thought it was better than a Pi2B.

And you own one...

Don't tell the MiB I'm a non-resident alien.

[kusti8]

I think beta-tester meant the model C which was announced in some parts of the universe on 1st April and some foolish aliens thought it was better than a Pi2B.

And you own one...

Don't tell the MiB I'm a non-resident alien.

You better hide the evidence.

[beta-tester]

hmmm... i don't know your project, but maybe a RPi model C is a better solution.

You mean the Compute Module, aka "CM"?

yes, i meant that module (DIMM format?)...

[W. H. Heydt]

hmmm... i don't know your project, but maybe a RPi model C is a better solution.

You mean the Compute Module, aka "CM"?

yes, i meant that module (DIMM format?)...

SODIMM, actually. It's smaller than a standard DIMM. The carrier board, on the other hand, may be a good bit bigger. The available prototype carrier is, IIRC, bigger than a Model B/B+/Pi2B.

[Dijital]

Well, I bit the bullet and took a dremel to the A+. Its a pretty bad cut.

Worked. Obviously, I do not recommend this.

Tempted to see how much of this board I can chop off!

[pluggy]

Well, I bit the bullet and took a dremel to the A+. Its a pretty bad cut.

Worked. Obviously, I do not recommend this.

Tempted to see how much of this board I can chop off!

Can't beat an acid test.....

[Burngate]

I really love this.
How much more can you chop off?


Reminds me of a day spent on a course given by the manufacturer of some new kit we were buying - a media player with raid storage in a JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Discs)
The guy wanted to demonstrate the raid capabilities, so whilst it was ingesting one set of files and playing out some others, he pulled one of the discs.
Naturally, everything carried on without a problem. Putting a new disc in also created no problem, with the raid being rebuilt on the fly.

Some wit (probably me) asked what would happen if two discs died. So he said "try it". So we did.
Naturally, the ingest died, but the playout carried on, seemingly without a hitch!
So we pulled a third disc. Then a fourth.
Eventually all ten discs were pulled, and it still carried on playing all its streams!
We then noticed all the streams were playing the same thirty-second loop - there must have been enough room in the ram for that much video.
Pushing back the discs did (I recall) recover most of the system

[texy]

Well, I bit the bullet and took a dremel to the A+. Its a pretty bad cut.

Worked. Obviously, I do not recommend this.

Tempted to see how much of this board I can chop off!

Can't beat an acid test.....

...but DougieLawson categorically said "NO" and that £15.50 would be wasted - so he is not GOD after all

Texy

[pluggy]

I don't think Dougie ever claimed to be GOD, an old geek with way too much time on his hands perhaps.....

Your attitude to a £15.50 computer board depends on how easily you can come by another one. I've made a lot of mistakes that have cost me a lot more than £15.50 in my time, damn the risk, get the Dremel out.

[headamage]

Well, I bit the bullet and took a dremel to the A+. Its a pretty bad cut.

Worked. Obviously, I do not recommend this.

Tempted to see how much of this board I can chop off!

Can't beat an acid test.....

...but DougieLawson categorically said "NO" and that £15.50 would be wasted - so he is not GOD after all

Texy

Meh, he was also mocking MS for Win10 on Pi being vapourware, 2 days before they announce the preview and show the robot demo...

[pluggy]

Vapourware or no vapourware it isn't going to do what most people would expect windows 10 to do on a Pi.

Why's everyone got it in for Dougie ?, he never struck me as THAT annoying. Maybe I've gone too soft in my old age....

[BMS Doug]

Vapourware or no vapourware it isn't going to do what most people would expect windows 10 to do on a Pi.

Why's everyone got it in for Dougie ?, he never struck me as THAT annoying. Maybe I've gone too soft in my old age....

Maybe when someone get things right too often people are pleased to them proved wrong?
I'm sure Dougie will survive their criticism.

[Massi]

Dougie will lay his wrath upon you all.

I'm on your side, dougie

[DougieLawson]

I'm too thick skinned. Insult me as much as you like, but don't object when I retaliate.

[Jednorozec]

I don't think Dougie ever claimed to be GOD, an old geek with way too much time on his hands perhaps.....

There are times when he seems to be omniscient and other times when he's damning all the sinners. I'm also not sure if he ever sleeps.

[Dijital]

I don't think Dougie ever claimed to be GOD, an old geek with way too much time on his hands perhaps.....

Your attitude to a £15.50 computer board depends on how easily you can come by another one. I've made a lot of mistakes that have cost me a lot more than £15.50 in my time, damn the risk, get the Dremel out.

This was pretty much what I did