Breakout Card Kit Pluggable-Prototype-Breadboard SM/TH for Raspberry Pi

Overview

The Pluggable Breakout Card Kit routes all Raspberry Pi GPIO and power pins to heavy-duty pluggable terminal blocks, giving you a convenient, screw-terminal interface to every pin for prototyping and field wiring. The kit consists of a main card with a Through Hole prototype area, plus two add-on cards that piggy-back on top of the main card for Surface Mount projects.

• Routes all 40 I/O and power pins to pluggable terminal blocks
• Main card with prototype area for Through Hole projects
• Two add-on cards with prototype areas for Surface Mount projects
• 3.5mm Pitch Heavy Duty Pluggable Terminal Block Connectors
• All connector plugs included
• Wire range: 24 - 14 AWG
• Brass standoffs, screws and nuts included

INTERFACES AND I/O

DESCRIPTION

The Pluggable Breakout Card consists of a main card with pluggable connectors and two add-on cards which can piggy-back on top of the main card.

The main card routes all Raspberry Pi GPIO pins to heavy-duty pluggable terminal blocks. The 2x20 pin header can be plugged into Raspberry Pi or into any stackable expansion card. The Raspberry Pi GPIO pins are first connected to a 2x20 hole array placed right under the 2x20 connector, then routed to three 2x12 pin headers placed on the left, bottom and right side of the board, next to the pluggable connectors. The pin headers serve a double purpose: the GPIO pins can be routed to the outside world by installing jumpers on the corresponding pin headers, or transferred to one of the two Add-On Breadboard Cards for Surface Mount projects. All GPIO pins on the main board are labeled for easy identification.

The first add-on Breakout Card accommodates surface mount integrated circuits with 0.635mm, 0.5mm and 1.27mm pitch, plus one SOT23-5 and four SOT23-3 footprints. The second add-on card accommodates all circuits with 0.65mm pitch, and provides breakout areas for two of the most popular microprocessor footprints: LQFP32 and LQFP48. On both add-on cards, all Surface Mount pads are brought to holes spaced at 2.54mm intervals, and the remaining real estate is populated with 2.54mm pitch holes.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

MAIN BOARD

The Raspberry Pi GPIO pins are first connected to a 2x20 hole array placed right under the 2x20 connector. From here, the pins are routed to three 2x12 pin headers placed on the left, bottom and right side of the board, right next to the pluggable connectors. The pin headers serve a double purpose. The GPIO pins can be routed to the outside world by installing jumpers on the corresponding pin headers, or transferred to one of the two Add-On Breadboard Cards for Surface Mount projects.

All GPIO pins on the main board are labeled for easy identification.

A 12 x 22 hole array allows you to experiment with your Through Hole projects. The top row of holes is a VCC bus bar which you can connect to 3.3V or 5V through a 3 pin jumper. The bottom row provides a convenient ground bus.

Main Board With Connectors Installed

ADD-ON CARD #1

The first add-on Breakout Card accommodates surface mount integrated circuits with 0.635mm, 0.5mm and 1.27mm pitch. In addition, the card has one slot for a SOT23-5 and 4 slots for SOT23-3 footprints. All Surface Mount pads are brought to holes spaced at 2.54mm intervals.

Similar to the main board, a VCC bus can be jumper selected to 3.3V or 5V. All the remaining real estate is populated with 2.54mm pitch holes.

The card comes with three 2x12 female headers which plug into the pin headers of the main breakout board.

The Add-on card plugs on top of the main Breakout Card using three 2x12 female headers.

ADD-ON CARD #2

A secondary card for Surface Mount can accommodate all circuits with 0.65mm pitch. In addition, it provides breakout areas for two of the most popular microprocessor footprints: LQFP32 and LQFP48. All the Surface Mount pads are brought to holes.

PLUGGABLE CONNECTORS

All I/Os connect to heavy-duty 3.5mm pitch pluggable terminal block connectors, accepting wire gauges from 24 to 14 AWG. Connectors can be unplugged from the board for convenient prototyping and wiring without disturbing the rest of the setup. All connector plugs are included with the kit.

DOWNLOADS

WHAT'S INCLUDED

When you purchase the Breakout Card Kit you will receive the following items:

1. Three Breakout-Breadboard-Prototype Cards

2. All The Board-Mounted Connectors

3. Connector Plugs

4. Brass Mounting Hardware

QUICK START

1. Plug the main card's 2x20 header onto your Raspberry Pi, or onto any stackable expansion card.
2. Select 3.3V or 5V for the VCC bus using the 3 pin jumper on the main card.
3. Wire your Through Hole project directly to the pluggable terminal blocks or the 12 x 22 prototype array, or plug an Add-on Card into the main board's 2x12 pin headers to prototype your Surface Mount project.