If you were ever looking for a small relaxing evening project that you could then use day-to-day, you gotta consider the Pico Hat Pad kit by [Natalie the Nerd]. It fits squarely within the Pi Pico form-factor, giving you two buttons, one rotary encoder and two individually addressable LEDs to play with. Initially, this macropad was intended as an under-$20 device that’s also a soldering practice kit, and [Natalie] has knocked it out of the park.
You build this macropad out of a stack of three PCBs — the middle one connecting the Pi Pico heart to the buttons, encoders and LEDs, and the remaining ones adding structural support and protection. All the PCBs fit together into a neat tab-connected panel — ready to be thrown into your favorite PCB service’s shopping cart. Under the hood, this macropad uses KMK, a CircuitPython-based keyboard firmware, with the configuration open-source. In fact everything is open-source, just the way we like it.
If you find yourself with an unexpected affinity for macropads after assembling this one, don’t panic. It’s quite a common side-effect. Fortunately, there are cures, and it’s no longer inevitable that you’ll go bananas about it. That said, if you’re fighting the urges to go bigger, you can try a different hand-wireable Pico-based macropad with three more keys. Come to find that one not enough? Here’s a 2×4 3D printable one.
Now, if you eventually find yourself reading every single Keebin’ With Kristina episode as soon as it comes out, you might be too far gone, and we’ll soon find you spending hundreds of dollars building tiny OLED screens into individual keys — in which case, make sure you document it and share it with us!
Some tacked headers, an ec11 rotary encoder, two switches and a Pico: Pico hat pad!
Designed to be a cheap and easy macropad and a solder practice kit. Powered by #KMK using #circuitpython https://t.co/SVbF7X6Gto
(Kicad files will be uploaded soon) pic.twitter.com/AK7Sn8ceNE— natalie (@natalie_thenerd) December 19, 2022
many people probably need more keys
arrows + esc , enter.
This is why they should have a keyboard and not only a macropad….
That is why the Pico should a BLE interface
Kicad files are the bane of my existence but I understand the flexibility.
I just cant seem to convert them to gerbers.
oh? you download the .kicad_pcb file, open it in KiCad PCB editor, then go File->Plot. Use settings like these and you’ll get a gerbers/ subfolder containing a set of widely compatible gerber files.
Seemed to have worked. Thanks for the assist.
I’ve already ordered some I have the other parts on hand).
Not sure how the [I] panel attaches but I’m sure ill figure it out.
Geez. The pcb place came back and want to double the initial cost of production.
“ The order info shows that there is only one design , but actually, there are 4 different designs in your file, so there will be an extra cost for it if you want to make it as show in your file.Please kindly choose the correct designs when you place your order next time.”
I think I may have done something wrong somewhere.