Be careful with Pi Zero and CSI slot

[occupied]

They are seemingly very fragile (I'm fairly sure this is the first component I've broken during installation in 20 years)

[gordon77]

I noticed the camera cable is thicker than the old camera cable, did that have any effect on the failure of the connector?

[occupied]

I noticed the camera cable is thicker than the old camera cable, did that have any effect on the failure of the connector?

Yes, you're quite right that it is thicker. Possibly it contributed, or maybe I was just being ham-fisted. I'll get a replacement at some point and see if I break that too

[ecotec]

same thing happened with mine, despite being extremely careful I broke one side of the black connector when installing the cable. I've managed to re-use the black wedge as it was just the corner that broke off and will hot glue over the top to hold the cable.
- really annoying!

[shuckle]

I broke mine also. And I do not remember breaking anything before, so that thing is really fragile. You need to push it down at the same time when closing it to avoid breaking it.

[bensimmo]

Do you think it will hold up to your average school kid?

[jbeale]

Good to know. I've managed to break two of the tabs in the larger 15-pin CSI connectors on the regular RPi B+ and RPi 2 boards, although I was in a hurry not being very careful with it.

[ecotec]

Do you think it will hold up to your average school kid?

I would expect a few breakages - super fragile!

[occupied]

Do you think it will hold up to your average school kid?

I would have to agree with ecotec - if you're regularly using the CSI slot on a Pi Zero, at least with the thicker ribbon I got, I would expect some breakages.
Maybe a thinner ribbon cable would give a difference result.
That being said, mine still works but I have to wedge the remains of the clip in there

[Ongelma]

I have 5 pi Zero's and 3 of them are these new camera models. I have broke all of them... Ductape ftw!

[Cancelor]

Do you think it will hold up to your average school kid?

Nup.


These are a left/right instead of the up/down of other models; I'm sure that is going to catch a few people out.

It really is much thinner than other models, however I was just comparing it to my model B and the whole thing came off! Luckily it was the DSI connector I 'tested'!

[jamesh]

These connectors are indeed very fragile, but I cannot think of an alternative. Just take great care, they are not really intended for multiple use.

[Pithagoros]

I'm very grateful to those pioneers that posted their experience in this thread. Forewarned, I was able to go very carefully and so far no problem.

Thank you .

[Gentlemanlike]

Someone, do also have problems in getting access to the camera ? I did try it with my raspberry pi 3 no problem. if i try it with my rasperry zero same SD no access, i activated the camera again. Something special to take care of ? i also changed the cabel onces

[czar1na]

The clamps on the Pi Zero are indeed finicky - my Pi Camera ribbon easily slips loose Nothing has broken, but I do frequently find myself having to reconnect the ribbon to the Pi Zero.

I want my camera/ribbon permanently attached to my Pi Zero, so I'm wondering if there's a good permanent solution for fixing them in place, without damaging the Zero?

[scotty101]

I've seen a few 'professional' products that use similar ribbon connector add some "fabric tape" over the top of the connector so that it can't work itself loose .

[bensimmo]

The clamps on the Pi Zero are indeed finicky - my Pi Camera ribbon easily slips loose Nothing has broken, but I do frequently find myself having to reconnect the ribbon to the Pi Zero.

I want my camera/ribbon permanently attached to my Pi Zero, so I'm wondering if there's a good permanent solution for fixing them in place, without damaging the Zero?

A dab or two from a hot glue gun.

[czar1na]

test.jpg (29.06 KiB) Viewed 7451 times

I have to say, I've probably had to re-insert the ribbon into the Zero's CSI slot many hundreds of times over the course of my project, it is so incredibly easy to come loose and so difficult to secure. It seems to work exactly opposite from how you would hope. When I pull it open, the slightest touch bumps one of the two sides closed. When I insert the ribbon, it's nigh impossible to get the ribbon evenly and fully inserted into the slot - there's no locking mechanism like there is on the camera-side's ribbon clasp. If I do manage to get the ribbon fully inserted into the slot, it's finger gymnastics trying to close the clasp on both sides without one side of the ribbon slipping loose - I need to hold both sides of the ribbon to keep it fully in the clasp, another hand on the Pi to keep it stable, and more fingers to try to jam the clasp closed (at this point it magically becomes very difficult to close, while it closes seemingly of its own accord when there is no ribbon in it). After all this is done, the slightest touch or a light breeze, and the ribbon is fully out of the Zero's slot again.

Hopefully in a future version of the Pi Zero, the CSI clasp can be better designed. If a girl can dream - maybe it could be the same clasp as on the camera board!

EDIT: If I were to hot glue my clasp shut on the ribbon, where would be the best/safest place to glue? A (the ends of the clasp), or B (the center of the slot)? (See image) Do I have to worry about the glue seeping into the cracks of the CSI slot and damaging the parts?

[gregeric]

I'd be wary of daubing that stuff over the connector & cable until I'd explored other, more easily reversible, options. Like running tape down the back of the ribbon & on to the back of the PCB, same repeated best you can top side. You could also design your case such that it pinches the ribbon where it exits, thus providing further strain relief. My printed case hugs the edge of the Zero PCB & profile of that connector in an effort to lock the wedge in place.

The connector used on the zero is pretty much the only thing that would fit. It's not designed to connect to a cable which exits equipment: it's normally used as an inter-board connection and as such has no need to resist wiggling. Your use case is taking it way beyond what it was designed for!

[czar1na]

I'd be wary of daubing that stuff over the connector & cable until I'd explored other, more easily reversible, options. Like running tape down the back of the ribbon & on to the back of the PCB, same repeated best you can top side. You could also design your case such that it pinches the ribbon where it exits, thus providing further strain relief. My printed case hugs the edge of the Zero PCB & profile of that connector in an effort to lock the wedge in place.

The connector used on the zero is pretty much the only thing that would fit. It's not designed to connect to a cable which exits equipment: it's normally used as an inter-board connection and as such has no need to resist wiggling. Your use case is taking it way beyond what it was designed for!

Fair enough. No hot glue for now, then. I'd already tried taping the CSI connector in place, but I need to try a stronger tape, it seems!

[jamesh]

Connectors are a tradeoff - they are one of the most expensive parts of the board - putting in a super robust one (if one actually exists - these connectors are not designed for multiple insertions, and there probably are not any that are) would increase board cost dramatically.

[daveake]

They are delicate, even more so than the larger ones on other Pis. I've broken 2 or 3 of the clips, but the solution (as with most other issues in my hobby, if not life) is duct tape.

[gregeric]

Tape down the back, locking block stuck to the front: http://imgur.com/a/Ucxrq

When the lid closes, the block & ribbon are locked in place. Plus there's the wall of the case following the contour of the PCB/connector, right up against the wedge, resisting the tendency for that to wriggle out.

[czar1na]

I just tried the CSI slot on another PI Zero, and it is MUCH tighter and easier to use than the one on my current main Zero. So I've realized the issue is that I opened and closed the CSI slot on my Zero so many times that it got very loose. Bit of advice for others that it shouldn't be as bad as I described as long as you keep the opening and closing to a minimum.

[bensimmo]

I just tried the CSI slot on another PI Zero, and it is MUCH tighter and easier to use than the one on my current main Zero. So I've realized the issue is that I opened and closed the CSI slot on my Zero so many times that it got very loose. Bit of advice for others that it shouldn't be as bad as I described as long as you keep the opening and closing to a minimum.

I would say detach it at the other end on the camera... but it's a lot cheaper to replace the Zero than the camera.