To build the macropad you need
| Component | Qty | Price ₹ |
|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Pico | 1 | 320/- |
| 12x12x7.3mm Tactile Push Button Switch | 20 | 120/- |
| Keycaps (round or square for tactile switches) | 20 | 80/- |
Note: Avoid Omron Tactile Switches which have little nubs on the underside.
Optionally you could also add
| Optional Addons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Buzzer | 1 | 10/- |
| I2C display | 1 | 250/- |
| 1.27mm 1×40 Pin Male Single Row Header Strip | 1 | 20/- |
| Shorting Jumper | 1 | 2/- |
| WS2812B 5050 Addressable RGB LED | 1 | 5/- |
- Soldering Iron with fine tip
- Flux
- Start with soldering the (optional) WS2812B 5050 Addressable RGB LED on the underside of the PCB.
- Solder on the Raspberry Pi Pico.
- Plug the Raspberrry Pi Pico into your PC.
- Save the latest Circuitpython UF2 file to the Pico.
- Upload the test code.py to check if your LED was soldered on properly. The LED will cycle through various colours.
- Solder the switches.
- Optionally break off a header strip into a 3-pin and 4-pin piece, and solder them into the jumper and I2C display holes on the PCB. This is needed only if you want to add in I2C peripherals.
- Plug the Raspberrry Pi Pico into your PC
- Upload the sample code.py to the Pico.
- Download the adafruit_hid folder and neopixel.mpy, adafruit_pixelbuf.mpy and neopixel_spi.mpy libraries and save to /lib on the Pico
- Edit code.py using Thonny or an editor of your choice, to customize the keys' functionality.
- Follow the assembly instructions for the case of your choice.