2021-04-04

GPIO Connections Made Easy

When the time comes to swap out your Raspberry Pi because of a failure or an upgrade the process can become very difficult if you have a large number of GPIO connections. The Raspberry Pi GPIO header is 2x20 (40 pins total.)

Most Raspberry Pi projects employ single pin Dupont jumper leads to make individual GPIO connections. Fortunately, you can buy 2x20 Dupont connector housings (which are a perfect fit for the Raspberry Pi GPIO header) and transfer all of your single pin Dupont connectors into this 2x20 connector housing.

Now when you need to connect or disconnect all of your GPIO connections from your Raspberry Pi, you simply connect or disconnect the 2x20 connector housing and all of your connections go with it.

The Dupont connectors are easily inserted into the Dupont connector housing and are also easily removed if needed. They are held in place by a small plastic retaining tab on the connector housing. To remove a connector from its housing simply use an Exacto knife blade or other small pointed tool to lift the plastic retaining tab and slide the connector out of the housing. This allows you to add, remove or rearrange your connections as your Raspberry Pi project evolves.

The 2x20 dupont connector housing is shown to the right.

NOTE: If you want to take it a step further and make your own custom length jumper leads, you can find reasonably priced Dupont connector kits and crimp-tools on eBay and Amazon. However, connector kits and a crimp-tool are not necessary if you simply want to transfer your existing Dupont connectors to another Dupont connector housing as described above.

I purchased a Dupont Connector Kit and Crimper from Amazon:

QLOUNI 620Pcs 2.54mm Pitch JST SM 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pin Housing Connector Dupont Male Female Crimp Pins Adaptor Assortment Kit

IWISS SN-28B Crimping Tool for AWG28-18 Dupont Pins

Anyone working with the Raspberry Pi and other electronic modules that employ header pins to make connections will find that making your own jumper leads with Dupont connectors is extremely useful.