I like minimal solutions to problems. I was playing with a CircuitPython-enabled QT Py on a breadboard with and a rotary encoder and I ended up making a USB knob, like many others have done before. But I realized: waitaminute, I can literally just plug the encoder directly onto the QT Py…
Thus was born the QTPy-knob. It’s one of the simplest USB knobs I’ve come across and it’s because the happenstance that a rotary encoder can usefully be plugged directly into a QT Py board and that CircuitPython is so powerful now it’s just a few lines to go from rotary encoder pulses to sending arbitrary USB keyboard or mouse commands.
I really liked the Griffin PowerMate from over a decade ago, so I decided to design a 3d-printable enclosure that echos the design of the PowerMate, but that works with the restrictions of the QTPy+encoder stackup and a Neopixel ring. The result is pretty good I think.
All design files are in the qtpy-knob github repo.
The code is must easier now than the media-dial project I started cribbing from. This is due to the fact that CircuitPython now has native support for rotary encoders and this knob is trying to do much less than media-dial project.
The electrical wiring is virtually non-existent, only needing three wires if you elect to add a Neopixel ring.
The assembly is described in the video above a bit, but you can also see what’s up in this CAD animation (thanks to the Adafruit_CAD_Parts repo for making the enclosure design easier)
The result with opaque plastic and clear LED diffuser ends up looking pretty cool.
