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Replacing the System Blue mini with micro USB connector - Printable Version

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Replacing the System Blue mini with micro USB connector - hazelnut - 2022-02-26

Has anyone tried replacing the mini with a micro USB connector on the System Blue?  It looks like it should be a direct swap and micro USB cables, especially longer ones, are far easier to source than mini USB thanks to the Pi ecosystem.


RE: Replacing the System Blue mini with micro USB connector - hazelnut - 2022-02-26

Possibly answering my own question here, but from a general search it appears that through-hole micro USB sockets don't actually exist. Would this be why the obsolete mini USB is used in the System Blue?


RE: Replacing the System Blue mini with micro USB connector - hazelnut - 2022-02-27

Definitely answering my own question: As far as I can tell, through-hole micro USB sockets, and USB-C sockets for that matter, don't exist, I couldn't find any supplier for them.  I looked at trying to hack an SMT socket in there via a carrier board but it'd require a lot of surgery and I'm not sure it'd be possible in any case.

One comment I can make now that its up and running, perhaps the docs could be updated to mention that the Blue will beep every ten seconds until you enable your web account for it, took me awhile to figure out why it was beeping continuously even with alarms disabled.


RE: Replacing the System Blue mini with micro USB connector - old_dutch - 2022-02-27

(2022-02-27, 04:58)hazelnut Wrote: Definitely answering my own question: As far as I can tell, through-hole micro USB sockets, and USB-C sockets for that matter, don't exist, I couldn't find any supplier for them.  I looked at trying to hack an SMT socket in there via a carrier board but it'd require a lot of surgery and I'm not sure it'd be possible in any case.

One comment I can make now that its up and running, perhaps the docs could be updated to mention that the Blue will beep every ten seconds until you enable your web account for it, took me awhile to figure out why it was beeping continuously even with alarms disabled.

Why not buy an adapter. They have them in all sort of taste to connect whatever charge connector you have. They cost only some US$ 1 so don't make it to difficult or complicate.


RE: Replacing the System Blue mini with micro USB connector - hazelnut - 2022-02-27

(2022-02-27, 07:10)old_dutch Wrote: Why not buy an adapter. They have them in all sort of taste to connect whatever charge connector you have. They cost only some US$ 1 so don't make it to difficult or complicate.

Good point!  That would bypass the problem of many (most?) USB cables dropping the voltage too much to be usable, I could run a decent-quality cable as far as the adapter that doesn't create too much voltage drop.