The official Arduino Motor Shield, R3, made in Italy, has header block tails that are not stupidly short.
You can plug thie shield in and i doesnt run into the USB header. You can plug a header into the
ISP socket under the shield, and the shield tails still bottom out in the Arduino Uno sockets.
WHY WHY WHY WHY does the entire rest of the world sell the shit blocks with short tails, such that
things don't truly fit under a shield that uses them?????
WHERE WHERE WHERE can I get tails like are on the motor shield. Someone previously advised
Samtex part ESQ-106-39-G-S (data sheet: https://www.samtec.com/documents/webfiles/pdf/ESQ_TH.PDF)
but even the header block with the longest tails in that product line still has tails that are shorter than the ones
on the motor shield and the ISP header causes shields to not plug in fully when its plugged in arrrrrrrg
Lead style -14 has 12.19 mm long leads.
Subtract 1.6mm (?) for board thickness leaves 10.59 to go into the Uno female header.
Still too short, eh?
Why don't the shields have a cutout around the USB-B header?
Why hasn't that USB-B been changed to a USB-B Mini yet? USB-B mini's are everywhere, and the even smaller USB-B Micro are popping up all over too.
What length do you think is needed to clear the USB-B?
I imagine you can always stack the stackable headers. Get a set of stacking headers (say 1 6-pin, 2 8-pin, 1 10-pin for the current Uno shield layout), and put them in the current headers on the microprocessor. Then stack the shield on these headers.
For stability, you would then want to trim down the pins of the headers in between so it just clears the USB connector.
Both the USB jack and the power jack are universally available in much smaller sizes that provide the same or better reliability and capability.
No excuse for any board to still be using the gargantuan stone age connectors. They are neither stronger, more reliable, nor provide more capability than the smaller options.
I never understood the logic of using 0603 and 0402 SMD components to construct the boards and then slapping the dinosaur equivalent of USB and power jacks on them.
kd7eir:
I never understood the logic of using 0603 and 0402 SMD components to construct the boards and then slapping the dinosaur equivalent of USB and power jacks on them.
Well, it makes perfect sense. SMD components are cheaper and easier (using automation) to assemble, so they are what you use. Unless you can cite a smaller variant of the USB "B" socket, it remains that these leads are the most readily available, particularly for the "hobbyist".
As for the power connector, the 2.1 mm pin "barrel" is really the only particularly common fitting. There are many other (smaller) sizes; too many in fact for any to form a "standard" The micro-USB used on the Pi is something of a pain but certainly is a reliably available standard for regulated 5V and therefore not relevant for "Vin".
kd7eir:
I never understood the logic of using 0603 and 0402 SMD components to construct the boards and then slapping the dinosaur equivalent of USB and power jacks on them.
Well, it makes perfect sense. SMD components are cheaper and easier (using automation) to assemble, so they are what you use. Unless you can cite a smaller variant of the USB "B" socket, it remains that these leads are the most readily available, particularly for the "hobbyist".
As for the power connector, the 2.1 mm pin "barrel" is really the only particularly common fitting. There are many other (smaller) sizes; too many in fact for any to form a "standard" The micro-USB used on the Pi is something of a pain but certainly is a reliably available standard for regulated 5V and therefore not relevant for "Vin".
Virtually the entirety of the electronics industry other than Arduino abandoned the USB B long ago. Mini and micro USB are both better, more durable, and more reliable than B. That's why the industry abandoned the B. The negatives of the USB B far outweigh any potential positives. At least with Due and the Tre Arduino is moving in the right direction as far as USB is concerned.
Actually the 5.5 x 2.5 is far more common than the 2.1. There is nothing forcing Arduino to even use a coaxial barrel connector.
I use type E 1.3 x 3.5 power connectors for all my devices - they are readily available from virtually any supplier of electronic components, they are rated 24VDC@5A, and they are less intrusive.
At least the future of Arduino has come into the 21st century as far as USB ports, now we just need them to graduate to a better power connector.
Mini and micro USB are both better, more durable, and more reliable than B.
But the leads / sockets tend to have a high resistance. On the Raspberry Pi this can cause a drop of over half a volt with some leads.
Since this affects Raspberry Pi, I say the issue is with the construction of the Raspberry Pi rather than the USB mini or micro - It's certainly not an issues with the millions of phones and tablets that use mini and micro USB. Nor is it a problem with the Arduino Due or Tre or Leonardo or Micro or Nano or Fio or Zero or...
The last time this conversation came up, somebody pointed out that the square type B connector used on the Uno/Mega is still used by USB printers, though they seem to be the last holdout, and most things have gone to the micro-B plug (except Apple which dances to its own tune). Part of this is the European law that mandated micro-B as a standard for cell phone chargers.
I've seen complaints that the micro B connectors tended to rip off of electronics more than the mini B, but with the exception of stuff from Adafruit, all of my USB gadgets have been micro B for the last few years.
The 5.5x2.1mm co-axial terminals seem to be heavily used for security cameras.
MichaelMeissner:
The last time this conversation came up, somebody pointed out that the square type B connector used on the Uno/Mega is still used by USB printers
As you would expect. The argument that the smaller connector would be "more durable" is certainly counter-intuitive.
And then there is the "mini", used on disk drives, hubs and all sorts of widgets.
MichaelMeissner:
though they seem to be the last holdout, and most things have gone to the micro-B plug ... Part of this is the European law that mandated micro-B as a standard for cell phone chargers.
Where "most things" means phones and tablets. Which makes perfect sense. The flimsy connector on an Aldi mobile phone which looks like a micro B but isn't, and breaks easily was rather annoying.
MichaelMeissner:
I've seen complaints that the micro B connectors tended to rip off of electronics more than the mini B, but with the exception of stuff from Adafruit, all of my USB gadgets have been micro B for the last few years.
But therein is the trick - in your hands or most of ours, this may well not be a major problem.
MichaelMeissner:
The 5.5x2.1mm co-axial terminals seem to be heavily used for security cameras.
And modems, and network switches, and many other things. But there are many variants, especially on laptops, some ridiculously small such as on my ASUS EeePC here!