these look quite good.
but one has to ask, what is the reliabilty with repeated connect / disconnect?
it’s a shame that USB-C is so much bulkier than that of Micro-USB.
The zero-hachi system seems quite interesting.
Dense, relatively high power ratios, and high reliability.
Some size comparisons:
micro-usb connector: 7.86x5.1x2.8 mm
qwiic (4-pin JST SH 1.0): 5x5x2.8 mm
zero-hachi, 4-pin: 5.48x2.5x1.6 mm
pico-lock, 4-pin: 8.6x4.85x1.5 mm
(I picked 4-pin because that’s what would be needed for USB.)
So, quiic is the narrowest, pico-lock is the thinnest, and zero-hachi is the shortest. zero-hachi is also the smallest by volume.
Sooo, maybe:
2-pin zero-hachi for speakers.
3-pin zero-hachi for buttons (b1, b2, gnd), serial (rx, tx, gnd) and accent neopixels (+, -, data)?
4-pin zero-hachi for USB
and a QWIIC connector for I2C?
Since the connectors can go on both sides of the board, they may take up less space than solder pads…
We could also use zero-hachi for the main blade, but would need a lot of pins to get enough amps out.
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Never mind.
zero-hachi is rated for 20 connect-disconnect cycles.
That is fine for semi-permanent connections like buttons/serial/neopixels, but it will not work to replace the USB connector.
The JST SH 1.0 connector seems to have better contact material (bronze) but I can’t seem to find a document that specifies how many operations it’s rated for.