Why does the Lipo-Shim have 2x6 header pins?

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1

I have a Lipo-Shim that I want to solder onto a Pi Zero W and I want to use a header of 2x4 pins because it seems that only physical pins 1, 2, 6 and 7 are used (3V3, 5V, GND, GPIO4). Indeed, the picture of the shim on https://pinout.xyz/pinout/zero_lipo shows 2x4 “pin holes”. But the actual shim has 2x6! The included male-female header connector is also 2x6.

I figured that despite the 2x6 layout and accessories it would probably be OK to use a 2x4 header, but there’s a slight niggle: “Then why did they make it 2x6?” So is the extra 2x2 only for (mechanical) stability? Seems weird to cover another four GPIO pins just for that.

Another question I have is about the included rubber foot. There’s no obvious place to rest it on a Pi Zero board. What’s recommended or what works well for people? I figured it could rest on the sdcard holder but it needs to be thinner to keep the shim level. So, cut it in half (height-wise), I guess.

2

2x6 is both for consistency with OnOff SHIM (fewer parts to worry about) and to encompass an additional ground pin. You should be fine with 2x4.

3

OK thanks. Off to the soldering mines!

4

It works. I thought I b0rked it with a slip of the soldering iron, but no 👍