My very own macropad
Hardware- 4 Devlogs
- 4 Total hours
Attempting to build a custom macropad
03/08/26
What I have done:
Today I worked on getting the layout of where each component will sit on the PCB. I also learnt abit about decoupling capacitors and will be adding one for my OLED screen. The final thing I worked on was adding 3d models for the 3d viewer of my PCB, although not completely finished so will finish next time.
What I have learnt:
During this session I learnt a bit the PCB designing process in KiCad, Also researched a bit about diodes because i kept forgetting the direction of current flow through them (Used AI to help me do this as it was able to explain it and make it easy for me to remember.)
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27/07/26
What I have done:
Today I realised i had made a mistake with my ground by using global labels when there is a power symbol for the ground, so i switched them all from global labels to the power symbol. I also assigned footprint to all my switches, rotary encoder switch and my microcontroller.
What I have learnt:
Not much new things had be learnt today as this was just to improve and finalise the schematics. Next time I will be moving onto the pcb part of it so i will be learning all about that.
20/07/26
What I have done:
So today i decided i wanted to add an OLED screen which isnt too big to allow me to display certain things like CPU temp and etc, but yet to be chosen what will actually be displayed. After wanted to add a rotary encoder for volume and then it can be pressed to mute the volume, this could be subject to change as it is not finalised. Finally spend majority of the time connecting everything to the MCU in a way that is not messy and still works.
What I have learnt:
Today I have learnt about an I2C bus and how the SDA and SCL work for my OLED. Further research and learning is needed for this topic as today was only a brief covering of what they are and how they work.
19/17/2026
What I have done:
For my first hour of this project I was designing the keypad matrix of my macro pad, Then had to spend some time wiring the matrix and decided on using global labels to link each section of my matrix to my microcontroller in a neat rather than messy way.
What I have learnt:
-I learnt how a keypad matrix works and how it should be wired and connected up
-I have learnt how to use certain function of KiCad like global labels, the symbol library and how to wire everything up
-Learnt how to prevent ghosting through the use of diodes in my matrix
