@samraat-756

The i2c_pocket_scanner is a handy little testing tool built on an RP2040 chip (using a Seeeduino Xiao board) that helps you instantly find and troubleshoot electronics on your desk without needing a complicated keyboard setup. Running on QMK firmware, it constantly scans the physical wires (SDA and SCL pins) to look for connected gadgets like OLED screens, dials, or sensors. Because computers can be slow to recognize a USB device when it first plugs in, the code is smart: it uses an automatic 5-second timer to loop the test over and over again so you never miss the data. Best of all, it acts as a dual-screen monitor, sending the full diagnostic list right to your computer’s QMK Toolbox console while simultaneously updating a clean summary on your physical 0.91” desktop OLED screen.

Devlog: Building a Custom Airbus-FCU Macropad

Total Build Time: 18 Hours, 45 Minutes

Project Overview: This project was a multi-day journey to design, route, and program a custom Airbus-FCU macropad from scratch. Powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico, the board features 4 EC11 rotary encoders (with push-button functionality) and 6 Cherry MX switches. While heavily inspired by the A320 FCU for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (via the Fly-By-Wire A32NX API), it’s also mapped to serve as a daily-driver productivity pad featuring media controls, zoom, and copy/paste functionality.

Hardware & PCB Design (KiCad): I originally planned to use an Epal Arduino Mega 2560 Pro Mini clone, but after falling down a rabbit hole trying to create a custom, dimensionally accurate footprint, I pivoted to the RP Pico.

• The Routing Grind: I spent hours meticulously mapping the tracks to ensure zero intersections while matching the physical layout of the real FCU (minus the displays due to size constraints).

• The “Oops” Moment: Right as I was moving to the firmware stage, I realized I completely forgot to wire the “B” pin for one of the encoders (EC8_B) to the microcontroller. I had to jump back into KiCad, route the missing pin, and re-lay the tracks to accommodate the fix.

Enclosure & CAD (Fusion 360): Autodesk Fusion 360 (an absolutely goated CAD program) was used to design the enclosure. I aimed for a minimalist aesthetic with clean, rounded edges.

• Fitment: A significant chunk of time went into troubleshooting physical tolerances—ensuring the top plate cutouts, the PCB, and the input hardware all sandwiched together perfectly. I also designed a custom window cutout in the case to keep the RP Pico visible.

• Engravings: I wanted neat text engravings to label each input. My initial font choice had overlapping geometry that broke the extrude tool, so I compensated by swapping to a simpler, cleaner font that rendered perfectly.

Software & Firmware: I researched both MobiFlight and QMK MSYS to handle the brains of the board. MobiFlight’s recently updated UI introduced a bit of a learning curve since they moved away from a traditional text editor to a mouse-driven GUI. Ultimately, I used VS Code alongside QMK to write the firmware.

• The Code: I wrote out the keyboard.json and carefully matched the keymap.c file to handle my dual-purpose setup (Mute/Vol, Brightness, Zoom, Horizontal Nav, Next/Prev Track, and Copy/Paste).

• Compiler Woes: On the final day, I hit the dreaded QMK compiler errors when trying to generate the final .uf2 file. The culprit turned out to be an outdated keycode naming scheme I was using for the horizontal scrolling. Once I tracked down the correct syntax, the firmware compiled smoothly.

Final Thoughts: Between re-routing traces, fixing geometry errors in CAD, and debugging C code, this build was a massive test of patience and problem-solving. The final result is a highly functional, dual-purpose sim and productivity tool packed into a sleek custom case!

Devlog: Building a Custom Airbus-FCU Macropad

Total Build Time: 18 Hours, 45 Minutes

Project Overview: This project was a multi-day journey to design, route, and program a custom Airbus-FCU macropad from scratch. Powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico, the board features 4 EC11 rotary encoders (with push-button functionality) and 6 Cherry MX switches. While heavily inspired by the A320 FCU for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (via the Fly-By-Wire A32NX API), it’s also mapped to serve as a daily-driver productivity pad featuring media controls, zoom, and copy/paste functionality.

Hardware & PCB Design (KiCad): I originally planned to use an Epal Arduino Mega 2560 Pro Mini clone, but after falling down a rabbit hole trying to create a custom, dimensionally accurate footprint, I pivoted to the RP Pico.

• The Routing Grind: I spent hours meticulously mapping the tracks to ensure zero intersections while matching the physical layout of the real FCU (minus the displays due to size constraints).

• The “Oops” Moment: Right as I was moving to the firmware stage, I realized I completely forgot to wire the “B” pin for one of the encoders (EC8_B) to the microcontroller. I had to jump back into KiCad, route the missing pin, and re-lay the tracks to accommodate the fix.

Enclosure & CAD (Fusion 360): Autodesk Fusion 360 (an absolutely goated CAD program) was used to design the enclosure. I aimed for a minimalist aesthetic with clean, rounded edges.

• Fitment: A significant chunk of time went into troubleshooting physical tolerances—ensuring the top plate cutouts, the PCB, and the input hardware all sandwiched together perfectly. I also designed a custom window cutout in the case to keep the RP Pico visible.

• Engravings: I wanted neat text engravings to label each input. My initial font choice had overlapping geometry that broke the extrude tool, so I compensated by swapping to a simpler, cleaner font that rendered perfectly.

Software & Firmware: I researched both MobiFlight and QMK MSYS to handle the brains of the board. MobiFlight’s recently updated UI introduced a bit of a learning curve since they moved away from a traditional text editor to a mouse-driven GUI. Ultimately, I used VS Code alongside QMK to write the firmware.

• The Code: I wrote out the keyboard.json and carefully matched the keymap.c file to handle my dual-purpose setup (Mute/Vol, Brightness, Zoom, Horizontal Nav, Next/Prev Track, and Copy/Paste).

• Compiler Woes: On the final day, I hit the dreaded QMK compiler errors when trying to generate the final .uf2 file. The culprit turned out to be an outdated keycode naming scheme I was using for the horizontal scrolling. Once I tracked down the correct syntax, the firmware compiled smoothly.

Final Thoughts: Between re-routing traces, fixing geometry errors in CAD, and debugging C code, this build was a massive test of patience and problem-solving. The final result is a highly functional, dual-purpose sim and productivity tool packed into a sleek custom case!

I have finally finished making the ACP (Audio Control Panel) app for SkyOS! It features 3 songs from msfs2020 and fsx, and features a song time display, and controls to skip and go back a track, and a play/pause button ofc.

I have finally finished making the ACP (Audio Control Panel) app for SkyOS! It features 3 songs from msfs2020 and fsx, and features a song time display, and controls to skip and go back a track, and a play/pause button ofc.

Finished creating the wallpapers app, to switch the background to 3 different images, a Boeing 777, Airbus a350, or F-22.

Finished creating the wallpapers app, to switch the background to 3 different images, a Boeing 777, Airbus a350, or F-22.

At the time of making this devlog it is 12:14am. I am lwk exhausted, but just finished building my second, and so far most complicated app for SkyOS (in terms of the logic). It is a simple but functional Stopwatch cleverly called “Chrono”. I also want to mention ~1 hour out of the 3 hours logged in the second devlog, was spent building the chrono app

At the time of making this devlog it is 12:14am. I am lwk exhausted, but just finished building my second, and so far most complicated app for SkyOS (in terms of the logic). It is a simple but functional Stopwatch cleverly called “Chrono”. I also want to mention ~1 hour out of the 3 hours logged in the second devlog, was spent building the chrono app

After a bit of struggle getting the formatting of the elements of SkyOS to work properly, I have finally finished my first app! I call it FlightLog, which is a place to type anything you want, and save it. It works similar to Windows 11’s NotePad application, but simpler.

After a bit of struggle getting the formatting of the elements of SkyOS to work properly, I have finally finished my first app! I call it FlightLog, which is a place to type anything you want, and save it. It works similar to Windows 11’s NotePad application, but simpler.

Finally got a hang of html, and JS! Curently was able to build the basic framework of the onboarding window, and the top bar of SkyOS. I also put a stock image of a Soutwest 737-800 as the background, as it appropriately fits the theme of SkyOS.

Finally got a hang of html, and JS! Curently was able to build the basic framework of the onboarding window, and the top bar of SkyOS. I also put a stock image of a Soutwest 737-800 as the background, as it appropriately fits the theme of SkyOS.

Finally finished compiling the firmware for the flight_pad, after long hours of troubleshooting! I have effectively completed the project, but still need to make some tweaks to the case. After that, I plan to submit it!

Finished Designing the case for the FlightPad. It follows a simple, minimalist design asthetic, with a “FLIGHTPAD” engraving on top. This follows the sandwich style key mount.

Finished designing the PCB via KiCad, which utlizes both sides of the board, and a 3x3 matrix system. However, only one of the two rotary encoders’ buttons will be utilized due to a lack of pins

Finished designing the schematics of the FlightSim_Pad, including 9 switches and 2 rotary encoders