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I'm a Raspberry Pi noob, and accidentally purchased a 26-pin Pi Cobbler - then realised I have the newer 40-pin Raspberry Pi Model B.

The 26-pin cobbler won't physically fit on the GPIO board due to its size. But assuming I'm able to file down one corner of the cobbler to make it fit without damaging the GPIO board, would I still be able to use the 26-pin cobbler?

enter image description here

I obviously won't have access to the new pins, but will it break anything to just use the available 26 pins?

Stephen Lead
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2 Answers2

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Yes, it will work. The only exceptions are as you already noted that you won't have the extra 14 pins. Adafruit even sells a cable that does this without any modifications.

Adafruit included this:

"Even though the 'top 26 pins' are still compatible pinouts, IDC cables have a bit of a thicker part and the ends, so it will bump into the #27 and #28'th pins when you try to plug it in. If you're desperate, you can cut those two pins with diagonal cutters."

in their "Introducing the Raspberry Pi Model B+ post." Though I would not suggest cutting the pins no matter how desperate.

Some other options:

  • swapping out the 26 pin idc connector for a 40 pin version on one end of the cable,
  • cutting the pins out of a 40 pin stacking header.
Steve Robillard
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Note that filing the corner will probably damage the connector, so that the upper clip holding the wires in place will no longer hold firmly. Here's a similar connector with the clip detached, to make it clear what I'm talking about:

enter image description here

If you don't stress the cable (e.g. your RPi is sitting on your TV table and you touch it once a month), there will be no negative impact. For harsher environments (e.g. car projects), I strongly recommend you to get a compatible cable, or cut the pins off the GPIO so that your current cable fits unmodified.

Dmitry Grigoryev
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