Whilst I’ve had a Pi (model B) with a Pibow case from Pimoroni for a couple of years now, I’ve only recently started connecting it via ethernet and have noticed a minor issue with the “100Mb” indicator LED being non-functional, even when the ethernet connection is confirmed to be running at 100Mb.
A quick Google suggested a few other people with similar issues, and all seem to be down to R31 on the underside of the board being missing/damaged. Some of those reports mention that they are also using Pibow cases, and looking at my own it’s clear that the plastic edge of layer 1 of the case intersects slightly with R31, causing it the be sheared off when the Pi is mounted in the case.
Is this a known issue? Has it been resolved in more recent versions of the Pibow case?
I’ll prod someone who’ll be able to answer this. I don’t have a Model B in a Pibow for reference.
As far as I can tell, it’s not a problem with the B+ or Pi 2 since the plastic doesn’t actually make contact with the surface of the board at any point. It sort-of stands off the SD cart slot and some pegs from the through-hole USB ports. I thought the B Pibow did that too, but I haven’t looked at one for years.
I’ve dug up an old B Pi and PiBow and you’re right. It does intersect slightly with R31, although I couldn’t get it to sheer the resistor off even with a significant amount of abuse, twisting, sliding and pushing. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, I think it may be something to do with the perspex thickness tolerances making the odd PiBow fit tighter than others. We’re happy to sort you out if you believe the PiBow has damaged your Pi.
Pretty sure it was the case that knocked off the resistor - managed to get a picture showing the issue http://imgur.com/Nzz24WK - it doesn’t move around in the case and hasn’t ever been removed since first mounted. It must just be a tolerance issue as you say.
Given how minor it is, it’s not really worth the effort of returning the Pi, but wanted to make sure you were aware of the problem.
Wowser, that’s definitely closer than on mine! Looks like an easy enough repair though, little tap with a hot iron.
Thanks for your concise feedback, the B PiBow is long out of production, but we’ll keep this in mind if anyone else pops up with this problem.