MingKwai typewriter

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Illustrated Kristina with an IBM Model M keyboard floating between her hands.

Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The MingKwai Typewriter

May 12, 2025 by 4 Comments

Sometimes, a little goes a long way. I believe that’s the case with this tiny media control bar from [likeablob] that uses an ESP32-C3 Super Mini.

An in-line media control bar with four purple-capped key switch buttons and a knob.
Image by [likeablob] via Hackaday.IO
From left to right you’ve got a meta key that allows double functions for all the other keys. The base functions are play/pause, previous track, and next track while the knob handles volume.

And because it uses this Wi-Fi-enabled microcontroller, it can seamlessly integrate with Home Assistant via ESPHome.

What else is under the hood? Four low-profile Cherry MX Browns and a rotary encoder underneath that nicely-printed knob.

If you want to build one of these for yourself, all the files are available on GitHub including the customizable enclosure which [likeablob] designed with OpenSCAD. Continue reading “Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The MingKwai Typewriter” →