Pimoroni Explorer - SWD Support

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1

Hello, World !

I received the Pimoroni Explorer (starter kit version) a couple of days ago. I want to use the Pico C/C++ SDK to work with the board instead of MicroPython.

I successfully flashed a “Hello, World” / blinky app to the board using DFU over USB. Everything works so far, but I am wondering what the best way is to attach a debugger to the board.

On the schematic, I see that SWD pins/pads are exposed (p.3).

Are these the pads I can see on the board here?

IMG_8024
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What is the best way to solder a connector onto these pads? Is there anything I should be careful about? I am planning to use the Raspberry Pi Debug Probe or a J-Link if necessary.

Thanks a lot !

2

I’m not sure about a connector, there’s no strain relief there so you might struggle to get something too stable. You could always take something like the JST-SH debug cable, clip the black connectors off, and solder the wires to the pads. You’d just need to be sure which way round the wires need to go, and you’d need to be careful about not pulling the wires. That way you should be able to use it with the Raspberry Pi debug probe.

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3

After soldering, you could add some glue as a strain relief.

As an alternative, you could solder SMD-pins to the pads. I did this for the Badger2040:

badger-with-smdpins
badger-with-smdpins600×363 63 KB

But I am not sure if the pads of the explorer have the correct distance for these standard 0.1" spaced pins. If not, check if PH3 will fit.

The SMD-pins will distribute the strain to three solder points, and the added bonus is that you can take off the debug-pins without problems.

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4

Thanks @Shoe and @bablokb
I did not know about SDM-pins, I will look that up. Otherwise I was thinking of soldering a fly-wire of this sort (with three leads and rated for small currents of course), but I am not sure how durable these will be in the long term.