Hello!
I've been scratching a design for my new keyboard and wanted to try something fun. It's gonna be a 34-key unibody split, but I thought it would be cool to use the space in the middle for something fun. Many parts like cirque touchpads, roller encoders and such are hard to obtain in my area, so I didn't bother. Then I found a post by LazaroFilm with a small smartwatch LCD made by WaveShare and thought it would be a fun idea. I browsed their catalogue and noticed that none of the models are ideal for the job. The RP2040 touch LCD lacks GPIO and mounting points, the RP2040 LCD is pretty cool, but not having touch support is a bummer. Finally I thought that maybe it's better to go with a separate controller like a pico, and an 1.28" Round Touch LCD. It has touch support (duh) and 4 mounting screw posts. Pretty good. My only issue is the 13 pin JST connector used to hook it up to an MCU. It's gonna be a PCB design, no hand wiring, so I don't want a mess of cables dangling around. If only I was able to hook up a goldpin connector, or something, it would come together pretty clean. I was toying around with an idea of designing an adapter board, but there's not much room to play with and the pins are pretty tightly spaced (1.25mm). Also, it would be really great to come up with something that can be easily done without special equipment. All I have is a soldering station. No hot air, no nothing. I'd love to be able to design something that anyone can make at their desk.
I'd be grateful for any clever ideas. Thanks in advance! Cheers!
FYI, the non-touch version doesn’t use standard pin sizes. They’re much smaller (I got one and was super disappointed). For the connector. Right now I have a tangle of wires but I’m planning on cutting them and solder them. The benefit of the connector is that it makes it super easy to remove the module. To keep wires clean, you can braid them, or keep them together with some heat shrink.
Ugh. That kinda sucks. Although now that I actually took a look, it's written in the specs. It's 1.27mm goldpin. Less popular, but still pretty simple to get around. I think I might actually be able to convert my module from JST to 1.27mm goldpin with something like this. The difference between 1.25mm and 1.27mm across 13 pins should not be big enough to make a difference. I hope...