I've been making some good progress on my PCBs. I figured rather than posting on the Amoeba post, I'll create my own here.
Recap and pics
Here's a recap:
- 1u hotswap (like the amoeba)
- 2u hotswap RGB
- 1u hotswap with per-key RGB in a 6x6 ortho breakable ortho board (Kompacted RGB)
First for the interested, here are some pictures !
RGB 2u:
https://imgur.com/B58LiUm
1u:
https://imgur.com/93KFY9X
Kompacted RGB:
https://imgur.com/mmgzwzw
Now, the 1u and 2u work just like the amoeba - but the Kompacted RGB is a little bit more special
Kompacted RGB
The stories goes like this: after making four macropads, handwired with amoebas - including one with RGB, I was fed up with it.
I wanted an ortho boards with a variable size (because sometimes you want 4x4, sometimes 2x6... and so on), hotswap and RGB (using SK6812 mini-e for that sweet per-key RGB).
After doing some research, I figured none existed, so I made it.
Here's how it works...
The rows and columns:
The board is 6 by 6, spaced by 19.05mm
All the rows and columns are connected in between them.
This means you only need to connect each column and row to your microcontroller once.
There are conveniently placed Row and Col pads on each switch.
The RGB:
It uses SK6812 mini-e.
All the Ground and Vcc of the leds are connected to each other. This means you need to connect Vcc and Gnd from the microcontroller to the PCB only once.
There are Gnd and Vcc pads on each switch.
For the signals - the SK6812 mini-e take one input signal, and output a signal (for the next LED).
Each rows has the signals of the LEDs wired together.
So if you're using multiple rows, you just need to connect the output of the last led of each row, to the input of the first led of the next row. There are Din and Dout pads on each switch.
The breakaway:
This board was designed to be breakable. It can be broken down into any dimension from 1x1 to 6x6.
The Gnd, Vcc, Rows and cols, and RGB will work exactly the same.
Some examples:
Top-view of a 4x4 macropad
Here's what the wiring inside looks like - only for the RGB:
https://imgur.com/FBK30Gv
You can see that I connected Gnd (black wire), Vcc (red wire), one IN signal from the pro micro to the first line, and then one signal from the end of each line to the next. (also a row and col on the top left... don't pay attention to that !)
Here is also a video of what it can look like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky6atAq7jCk
Please, let me know what you think, I'm personally very excited for them.
Cheers
EDIT: can't get the pics to work, added links