Hello all! I’m building a 10-inch PiCade for my son who I know will use it for marathon game sessions. Is it possible to fit the Pi4 with both a Fan Shim and a PiCade hat? Thanks!
The Picade X Hat pinout is here,
And the fan shim pinout is here,
I think you will have conflicts / issues trying to use both. At the very least with no fan shim software installed the fan is going to do some strange things because of the i2s clock signal on BCM 18.
It may still be doable with some modifications to the fan shim.
Do so at your own risk mods that is. It wouldn’t be anything that would pose a risk of damage to the Pi, or Picade Hat. It would just reduce the functionality of the Fan Shim.
By default with no fan shim software installed the fan just runs continuously. It would cool the Pi’s SOC. If you modified the offending pin connections on it so they didn’t make contact with the Pi’s GPIO, it would still work in its basic form. The LED wouldn’t work and the fan on off won’t work, it would just stay on as long as it has power. You’d leave the +5V and Ground connections alone.
Pins 8, 10 and 12 would be the ones you’d need to modify. BCM 14, 15 and 18. One way to do it is to just drill them out and make the hole so big it can’t touch the Pi’s GPIO pin.
Another way to do it would be to solder two wires or jumpers from the Picade hats + and - Power solder pads to the +5V and ground pins on the fan Shim. Then mount the fan shim vertically over to the side of the Pi so it blows air on to the Pi from the side. A regular 5V cooling fan would work in place of the fan shim with that kind of setup. Might actually be bigger and offer better cooling. There are options if you get imaginative.
1 Like
The fanSHIM is not compatible with the picade, but it can be botched, as I have done. I tell you:
First, to use the X-HAT you must use the Booster Header. It is an extender for sale in Pimoroni.
Second, using the fanSHIM you cannot screw the 4 screws of the pi4 to the Picade, you can only use 3. Moving is not going to move, but it is not correct.
Third, using the Booster Header, you cannot correctly screw the X-HAT to the Pi4, you would need some type of extension that does not come with the Picade. The X-HAT remains attached to the pi4 only with the contacts of the Booster Header. Very little support.
Fourth, I could not use the fanSHIM software. This does not seem essential.
Fifth, using all of the above, the X-HAT USB-C power outlet is above the hole provided in the back cover of the Picade, so that when the lid is closed, the USB-C is locked. The solution happens because you make the biggest hole.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and warnings (which I’ve taken to heart since this is my son’s and not mine). I think I’ll stick with a good copper passive sync and try to figure out a ventilation solution for the case.