A programmable 8-key macro pad built on a Raspberry Pi Pico with CircuitPython.
I only adapted these designs. The real credit goes to the following people, without whom this project would not have been possible:
- Based on DaveM's Stream Cheap, the retro deck adds a slot for a screen mount to be inserted and uses a Pico instead of an Arduino Pro Micro. Dave outlines the steps to build a stream cheap on his website.
- The Monitor was designed by TucksProjects.
- 3D print 8 key macro pad
- long press a key to activate a profile
- short press a key to activate the macro
- display current mode and last macro run on screen
| Item | Qty | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Pico | 1 | 4-23 USD | Adafruit (single) • Amazon (3pack) |
| Switches | 1 | 14 USD | Amazon |
| Key Caps | 1 | 8 USD | Amazon |
| Oled Screen | 1 | 7 USD | Amazon |
| Threaded Inserts | 1 | 18 USD | Amazon |
| Hex Socket Bolts | 1 | 19 USD | Amazon |
| Development Board | 1 | 15 USD | Amazon |
Any help is appreciated. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
If you have any suggestions or improvements, please create a feature request here or start a pull request here
Likewise, bugs reports can be submitted here.
- Why did you use a Pico instead of an Arduino Pro Micro?
- I like Raspberry Pi's, hadn't used a Pico yet, and had $6. I also wanted to try out CircuitPython.
- Can it launch apps?
- If you can launch it with a keyboard shortcut, then yes*.
- *I haven't tried though. I'm primarily using it to with keyboard shortcuts that are more complicated than I want to remember.
- Can I use it to play games?
- Sure, I guess. I haven't tried it yet. I imagine you'll have some ghosted keys, as this codebase is not rock solid (yet).
- Your code is shit.
- I know. I'm working on it. Please contribute by starting a feature request to make it better
The easiest way to get started configuring your Retro Deck is to duplicate and rename the example-mappings.json copy to mappings.json and edit it to represent your wiring.