Kahenraz wrote on 2022-08-06, 03:56:

I would like to be able to use a screw and nut to secure the side l spade connector, otherwise we may want to consider something else. It's not good that it's tearing off within only a few uses.

It’s not tearing off. I was talking about the heat sink clip pad

I can put a hole on the pad though 😀 but if we are talking about terminal blocks what footprint do we use?

I like the pluggable terminal blocks for anything that might need to be inserted or removed periodically for testing. There are a lot of generics; I think they are called Phoenix Blocks on DigiKey.

I don't think it matters so much which brand is used, as long as the pins line up on the PCB. The maker would also have the option to use a regular non-pluggable version, if they wanted to.

I would favor whatever the Chinese pin standard is, if it's at all different, since the connector will be cheap and ubiquitous.

Sphere478 wrote on 2022-08-06, 16:57:

It’s not tearing off. I was talking about the heat sink clip pad

I see this is a problem because we're not using an interstitial socket with an anchor point on it? The PCB is going to be very weak by comparison, but fiberglass isn't necessarily fragile either.

I don't think you should need a high clamping force on these CPUs. I tend to bend the clips so that they don't exert too much force on the socket hooks, for longevity. I have had the unfortunate luck of breaking one of these off of a socket once by using the wrong clip.

What amperage are those blocks rated for? Because we are talking as much as 15a

I can re design the clip pad to make it better.

I’m thinking about ordering the pcb a little thicker next time.

Further inspection of the first failed attempt suggests that while press fit is working on my setup right now, it is not enough, there are a few pins that are not clamped at all

These are gonna have to be soldered

here, I swapped the trim and vout on the pcb.

I'm sick at the moment so it might be worth double checking the work. It does use the berg connector but the real work is in the footprint and resistors which I know are correct so you can always take that information and make your own board.
From my understanding reading the datasheet, It talks about the N vs P type module in regards to a switch to power on the module. However it does mention that if there is no trim resistor the N variant gives out 0.69v (ish) where as the P variant gives out the source voltage (minus the tiny voltage drop from the module itself).
I went with the N variant for that fail state alone and I recommend you do the same.
I bought them off of mouser, search for "OKL2-T/20-W12N2-C " and you'll find it.

-Lime

Sphere478 wrote on 2022-08-06, 18:55:

What amperage are those blocks rated for? Because we are talking as much as 15a

I don't know about power ratings. I just happen to like these connectors.

Always check the datasheet.

I did, looks like 13 amps.

Here are some thermals of that restricted part in the flood. Looks good.

Also proof that this 5v wire is too small 🤣. Also proof that the spade is up to the task.

I’m working on the release version right now. I think the pcb is pretty much ready after these changes. The next hurdle is figuring out how to solder it.🤔

CalamityLime wrote on 2022-08-06, 21:40:

here, I swapped the trim and vout on the pcb. […]
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here, I swapped the trim and vout on the pcb.

I'm sick at the moment so it might be worth double checking the work. It does use the berg connector but the real work is in the footprint and resistors which I know are correct so you can always take that information and make your own board.
From my understanding reading the datasheet, It talks about the N vs P type module in regards to a switch to power on the module. However it does mention that if there is no trim resistor the N variant gives out 0.69v (ish) where as the P variant gives out the source voltage (minus the tiny voltage drop from the module itself).
I went with the N variant for that fail state alone and I recommend you do the same.
I bought them off of mouser, search for "OKL2-T/20-W12N2-C " and you'll find it.

-Lime

Awesome! Thanks lime!

Looking at the thermals I'm wondering if the power-in side of the pcb should be bulked up.
IE removing the jumper headers to switch between 5 and 12 v, I suppose it's better to leave that to the person installing the interposer

I really didn't think that the 5v side of things would heat up so much and the wires in berg connectors tend to be a little thinner than the one you used here.

I hadn't thought about that. The wires in a berg connector may very well melt.

I mean, there's the lazy way out with using the same solder connectors for vin as I used for vout

That is like a 18 ga wire maybe 16 ga. I think a berg would be okay but what about dual footprint for a molex and berg? A personal favorite of mine is a edge connector for sata and a hole for a zip tie to hold it on. But molex makes more sense 😀

Okay, I’m not liking this.

This is too much holage next to that clip.

I’m ditching the spade holes.

A molex might make the most sense but it makes the board bigger, what do others think I guess?

If you want to go full ham, you could use a RC XT60 connector. That's rated at 60A continuous, I think. If you plan to use a Molex connector, can you clarify what might happen if someone were to plug an ATX peripheral connector into it? Because I can see that definitely happening, especially at some point in the future when the documentation becomes separated from the product.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-08-07, 00:40:

If you want to go full ham, you could use a RC XT60 connector. That's rated at 60A continuous, I think. If you plan to use a Molex connector, can you clarify what might happen if someone were to plug an ATX peripheral connector into it? Because I can see that definitely happening, especially at some point in the future when the documentation becomes separated from the product.

While molex is a brand that makes many connectors, at least when I use the phrase "molex connector" I'm talking about the 4 pin version that you plugged into old cd drives/hard drives.
The Xt60 is nice for projects and 3d printers, using it within a computer might be easier said than done since you'll have to connect it to the PSU somehow, I know the previous idea I gave has the same issue and I don't know how to nicely solve the issue for that either.
Personally I wonder what happens when the next generation of psu's comes along that gives off only 12v, I guess we'll have to make a something that can step 12v down to 5v at 20/30 amps. That's a lot of 7805's 🤣

my vote is molex/berg dual footprint we can't make this too elaborate and have too many fancy parts. think of the poor people trying to assemble this 🤣

-Updated silk screen to make it easier to read.

-Moved the power pads and added 5.0mm terminal block connectors.

-Corrected alignment of the heatsink clips.

-Improved the clip solder pad to prevent peeling.

-

Okay, I'm dangerously close to uploading pi.0

but there is a catch....

and honestly I have no idea yet how to solve this.

those socket pins need to be soldered very precisely. and as of now I'm not yet sure how to do it. I'm thinking of ordering some solder paste with a needle applicator and trying that.

Pressing it on seems to make a good connection on some while leaving others totally loose. so solder it is! I left the holes the same size btw so expect to have to press it.

Here is a thought. a capacitor can be put in the place of the terminal blocks.

Okay, good luck soldering it, but I think it is ready unless you guys see something.

-I prototyped at 0.8 thickness. but I think 1.0 thickness would be a good one to try. less clip deflection and more coverage of the pin shanks.

-Plan on having to press (and solder) this on.
Re: Socket 5/7/SS7 (Voltage Interposer) Tweaker. (Beta)

-The LIF standoffs need to be trimmed

-The 3.3v I/O tap might be able to be used on motherboards that require a 3.3v converter pci card as a alternate way to supply the system with 3.3v power

-If not using terminal blocks, you may be able to install capacitors in the holes for extra smoothing.

-Resistor values:
*2.2k UP/500 ohm DOWN should work for BF0,1,2 (these pins are divorced from the motherboard)
*Tillamook BF2 resistor values will vary by mobo suggest 500 UP/100 DOWN
*WT/WB pull up 1k
*WT/WB pull down. (no application for this function as of yet, or resistor value. leave open)
*ads# shown working as 0 ohm. would like someone to report if 25 or 100 works though
*brdy# shown working as 0 ohm. would like someone to report if 25 or 100 works though
*vcc2det shown working as 0 ohm. would like someone to report if 25 or 100 works though

It just occurred to me. Why don't we use a bent spade connector in place of the PCB for the latch hook? If it's soldered on the bottom side, then the PCB could simply reinforce it from the top and keep it from bending over time and coming loose.

Is there room for this?

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-08-07, 15:02:

It just occurred to me. Why don't we use a bent spade connector in place of the PCB for the latch hook? If it's soldered on the bottom side, then the PCB could simply reinforce it from the top and keep it from bending over time and coming loose.

Is there room for this?

images (5).jpeg

I can’t find the footprint for them

And I think there are several different footprints for them. That don’t fit one another.

I can try out how strong the spades I used are on my test unit that I have been experimenting on.

I was actually going to do that, (use those).

But alas, I think we gotta be careful about how many holes we put in the pcb, that clip exerts a fair amount of force. (Especially over time and heat)