I saw an interesting usb micro connector used for raspi zero adapters and would like to find a source / manufacturer / part number. I would like to make a usb-linked board for pi zero and this looks like a nice way to interface (compared to pogo pins on PP pads or soldering castellations to them).
MiSTer FPGA has a board with them and I asked Nat, who said they don’t know the part number - CM sorts that. I probed gently but I respect that he may not want to give up his source for no effort. However, he was good enough to send me two for free(!)
Please could someone improve my google-foo with useful search terms (usb plug, mezzanine, standoff etc haven’t yielded answers) or point me to a manufacturer’s catalogue with them in? I’m wondering if @ToyBuilder or @dunaden with their SZ sourcing experience may be able to help thankyouplease.
It looks like the ones I use on my Zero Dongle. I’ve been getting them from AliExpress for a few years but if you find a better source please let me know .
My sourcing experience is mostly through Alibaba or sleuthing through datasheets to look for hints that sometimes yield the original factory.
My immediate suggestion is to sign up with Alibaba and request an RFQ with that picture.
Start with companies that have a few years of Alibaba registration and ratings. Here’s a few companies that I’d reach out to:
If they don’t manufacturer it, they may still know who does and may end up reselling it to you. There are also buying agents (for a while, DirtyPCB offered that service, but I don’t think they do anymore?), but I don’t have personal experience using that.
And, as a last resort, you might want to secure a supply line through the MiSTer supply chain and pay the toll if you really like that part.
And, as a truly last resort, take a vacation in China!
Hmmm, $0.26/ea at qty 100 seems pretty reasonable.
The company has a listing on Alibaba – they are a 11 year “Gold Supplier” – so definitely worth reaching out through Alibaba:
During my search I also stumbled across 3 other ways that some other sellers tend to use for achieving similar to what you want to do (not sure if these are well known methods but I suppose they might be given that @chrisb specifically advertises his dongle as solderless).
First is just soldering the PCB directly to the USB lines on the zero: example 1, example 2
Then I also saw a couple that did something similar to the soldered versions but with short pogo pins (I’ve used something similar for battery backup boards for the zero before and it worked pretty well but I never put it through the rigors for reliability) which is pretty cool
Hi @dunaden thanks for the detailed information. It really is interesting and helpful to have insights into how to find a supplier in China.
I have seen the pogo pin and castellated (or “massacred pth” in most cases) pads method before (option 1 link “detected unusual traffic on my network” so may be blocked outside CN?) but the double USB connector part is a new one on me - thank you!
For reference, all I did here was tool around on Taobao and the Chinese version of Alibaba. I also poked around a couple of local sourcing sites like the Chinese version of LCSC but didn’t have any (quick) luck. I wouldn’t take this is a best practice for searching for parts by any means.
Glad it might have at least given you some ideas
I’m actually just finishing up some cooking with my girlfriend and am about to head over to a friends house for a bunch of food and drinks. Then going for a 2 day hike with some friends over the weekend. Altogether a pretty low-key and relaxed event, thank you for asking!
I hope things in the UK (?) for you and yours are going well too.
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