Skip to main content

SPI Flash Adapters

Bus Pirate 5 has a "flash" command to read and write 8 pin SPI flash chips. Soldering chips on breakouts for testing got a bit wasteful, so we whipped up some simple socket adapters that fit the Bus Pirate header.

pinout for 8 pin SPI flash chips

The sockets on each board are connected with the "most common" SPI flash footprint. Found a chip with a different pinout? Power and ground have a switch that selects between the Bus Pirate VOUT/GND and IO0/IO1 pins for full flexibility.

SOP8 SPI Flash Adapter​

SOP8 150mil and 208mil are the most common and inexpensive flash packages at the moment. After looking at a number of sockets we decided these bad boys, favorites of the mobile phone repair market, were the way to go. Easy to insert and remove a chip, but a bit bulky with delicate pins. The cost is in the pins, 16 pins cost double that of an 8 pins socket.

Inserting a chip:

  • Press down gently on the top of the socket. The spring fingers will retract.
  • Place or drop the chip into the socket with the chip pin 1 marker (dot, stripe, etc) aligned with the socket pin 1 marker.
  • Release the socket, the spring fingers will grip the chip.

Removing a chip:

  • Press down gently on the top of the socket. The spring fingers will retract.
  • Gently lift the chip out of the socket with tweezers or turn the socket over and let the chip fall into your hand.
  • Release the socket, the spring fingers will close.

SOP8 LOTES Socket Version​

This board also supports 150mil and 208mil SOP8 SPI flash chips using a socket made by LOTES. We like the previous socket better, but these are low profile, easier to carry and more convenient to store. However, they are also more expensive and prone to breaking. There are a limited number of these available if you'd like to compare the sockets yourself.

Inserting a chip:

  • Gently lift the top flap of the lid. The is the flap closest to the white circle that marks pin 1 on the PCB.
  • Gently lift the lower flap.
  • Place or drop the chip into the socket with the chip pin 1 marker (dot, stripe, etc) aligned with the socket pin 1 marker. You may have to align the chip and press down a bit to seat it fully.
  • Close the lower flap and then gently close the top flap, pressing it to lock the chip in place.

Removing a chip:

  • Gently lift the top flap of the lid. The is the flap closest to the white circle that marks pin 1 on the PCB.
  • Gently lift the lower flap.
  • Now this is why we don't like the LOTES sockets: the chip is hard to remove. We've had the best success holding the socket upside down and picking the chip out with tweezers.
  • Close the lower flap and then gently close the top flap.
caution

The lid flaps are delicate and really prone to snapping off. Be especially careful with opening the socket and removing the chip. We broke more than a few while testing and definitely prefer using the other SOP8 socket.

WSON8 SPI Flash Adapter​

Lead-less WSON 5x6/6x8 flash chips are becoming more common, but are a bit more expensive than SOP8 chips. The sockets are significantly more expensive than other sizes. We're doing small batches, so our cost is pretty high. If you need something more affordable, look for a WSON8 to DIP8 adapter on your favorite China stuff shopping site and use it with the DIP8 adapter below.

Inserting a chip:

  • Push the retaining clip forward to unlock, then lift up to open the socket.
  • Place the chip in the socket with the chip pin 1 marker (dot, stripe, etc) aligned with the socket pin 1 marker.
  • Swing the retaining clip down, then push it back to lock the socket.

Removing a chip:

  • Push the retaining clip forward to unlock, then lift up to open the socket.
  • Gently lift the chip out of the socket with tweezers, or turn the socket over and let the chip fall into your hand.
  • Swing the retaining clip down, then push it back to lock the socket.

DIP8 SPI Flash Adapter​

New through hole DIP flash chips are getting rare, but they’re everywhere in vintage computers. These 16P aquamarine ZIF sockets are the universal programming solution. Pull up the little lever, drop in a chip, and push the level down to lock the chip in place.

Inserting a chip:

  • Pull up the lever to open the socket.
  • Place the chip in the socket with the chip pin 1 marker (dot, stripe, etc) aligned with the socket pin 1 marker.
  • Push the lever down to lock the chip in place.

Removing a chip:

  • Pull up the lever to open the socket.
  • Gently lift the chip out of the socket.
  • Push the lever down to lock the socket.

Power and Ground Selection​

SwitchNormalIO pinDescription
VCCVOUTIO0Connect VCC pin (8) of the socket to VOUT or IO0
GNDGNDIO1Connect GND pin (4) of the socket to GND or IO1

SW1 and SW2 along the side of the adapter select the power (VCC) and ground (GND) connection to the chip socket. For normal use select VCC:VOUT and GND:GND. If a chip has a non-standard pinout it is possible to connect the VCC and GND pins of the socket to Bus Pirate pins IO0 and IO1.

Pin Connections​

Bus PirateDIP/WSON/SOP8SPI Flash AdapterDescription
Vout8VCCBus Pirate power supply to socket VCC
IO08VCCPin IO0 to socket VCC
IO14GNDPin IO1 to socket GND
IO27HOLDHold pin
IO33WPWrite protect pin
IO42MISOMaster In Sub Out
IO51CSChip Select
IO66CLKClock
IO75MOSIMaster Out Sub In
GND4GNDBus Pirate ground to socket ground

Resources​

Get Bus Pirate 5​

Community​

Documentation​

Bus Pirate 5 documentation is broken into hardware and firmware sections. Here's some other fun stuff you might enjoy.