I recently received a Pico Jumbo as a present from a friend, and I was thinking about what I could do with it. So here are some thoughts and suggestions. Feel free to add your own ideas.
The first thing I noticed is that the Jumbo has about the size of a standard breadboard. Since these breadboards usually have a self-adhesive tape, I could just glue it to the Jumbo. But that would be just too simple so I was looking for a more over-engineered solution 🤔️ that would be somewhat on par with the Jumbo itself 😂️. And I also did not want to have something permanent, since chances are high that there are better ideas around.
So I designed a clamp that prints in about 10 minutes and holds the breadboard in place (the screws you see in the image aren’t really necessary):
The drawback is of course that it blocks a number of holes, but I think I can live with that.
Another idea was to use an Adafruit-Swirly type holder:
Note that the Adafruit Swirly itself wont work, since it requires M2.5 screws. But for the Jumbo, you need M3 (ok, M2.5 might work, but I have not tested it). The Swirly in the image above is a modified version with M3 compatible slots. Not optimal yet, I might add a solid boarder with holes lining up with the holes on the Jumbo.
Connecting wires to the Jumbo is also a problem. Crocodile clips are the first option, but I don’t really like them because they don’t make a sufficiently stable contact. Cable posts would be ideal, but the smallest I could find need 4mm holes, and the Jumbo only has 3mm.
As an alternative, I use M3 standoffs below and above the Jumbo and use fork-type cable connectors:
If you buy the correct size, you can make a stable connection - the M3 standoff will hold it in place.
Added bonus: you don’t need special crimping tools. Just take off the plastic of a normal DuPont-jumper and press the connector with pliers (right side). Or cut a wire, remove some of the insulation, bend the blank wire around and crimp it (left side).
As a tip: use higher standoffs for GND and lower standoffs otherwise. This will prevent shorts if you put the Jumbo an something conductive on your desk.
