RPi GPIO: Recycling Cables

The GPIO socket marked P1 on the Raspberry Pi is a 26-pin header with a 2.54 mm pitch for the pin spacing. This means that an IDE hard drive parallel cable will fit fine, providing there is no blanking key in the socket. An advantage of IDE cables is that the UDMA ones are for high data transfer rates.

If you work in IT and have plenty of parallel computer cables, then it is one option that can save money. If you are in the recycling business it might be a good idea to make these cables available to Raspberry Pi users instead of destroying them for their metal. Recycled parallel cables are great for those projects where the cable might remain with the circuit board a little longer than a breadboard construction. In addition, the great thing is that those cables will eventually wind back with the recycler with extra metals on them such as solder.

The Riches

I was just recently reading the Buffettology book and learned that I have a lot in common with young Warren. I learned that neither of us likes to spend much money, and as a result, we both shop in thrift stores and recycle everything. These days, a simple little experiment to blink an LED can end up costing a lot because the price of all the little components and their postage mounts up very quickly!

Blanking Key

One of the pins on this IDE socket has a blanking key, which would pose a problem if you were hoping to use the whole cable. Some sockets do not have a blanking key so they are the best ones to use.

Overhang

PC ribbon cables are usually wider and there will be an overhang, which is the part you do not use. However, apart from this, the rest of the cable seems to work fine.

The Twist

Unfortunately, floppy drive cables sometimes may have a twist at one end of the cable. However, this end cuts off easily, and the individual wires then require soldering to the project PCB.

Header Pins

If you decide to use just a small portion of the parallel cable together with their sockets then you may need some of these header pins to complete the connection.

Floppy Cables

This ribbon cable is for the purposes of connecting a floppy drive to a PC motherboard. As you can see, this particular one does not have a blanking key. Floppy drive cables are narrower and therefore ideal.

Conclusion

I hope this article was useful and provided some useful ideas to make a connection with the GPIO pins without breaking the bank. Of course always look after the pennies in this inflation period and never pay the asking price. Even when you are paying £2.00 for a cable, it is too much because they cost pennies to make.

Sure, if you are living in Beverley Hills, you can afford to pay twenty bucks for a ten-cent breakout cable; however, the reality is somewhat different in the UK. Therefore, if you are a seller you should keep this in mind.

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