njlaprell/inkkeys

https://there.oughta.be/a/macro-keyboard

inkkeys

Details and instructions can be found on https://there.oughta.be/a/macro-keyboard

In contrast to most of my other projects, I decided to put this into its own repository as it is slightly more complex and I am hoping for community contributions.

If you have pull-requests, bug reports or want to contribute new case designs, please do not hesitate to open an issue. For generic discussions, "show and tell" and if you are looking for support for something that is not a problem in the code here, I would recommend r/thereoughtabe on reddit.

Mac Install

Installing on the mac requires several dependencies, some of which are not apparent without a little digging. In order for the AppKit dependency to properly compile, you must be using Python 3.3.* or higher. Note that pulse audio is linux only, so it must be commented/removed from the python code. You will not be able to install the dependency. The following commands should mostly put everything in order to run the controller.py script.

brew install pkg-config
brew install cairo
pip3 install pillow
pip3 install pyserial
pip3 install psutil
pip3 install AppKit
pip3 install pyobjc

Common problems

NOTE: This fork already has the changes below implemented.

Display revision 2

Apparently, the original design used revision 1 of the display, while many newly ordered version are revision 2. There are a few differences and thankfully, Corky402 made a good list of required changes on Reddit.

Here is an excerpt of the original post for reference:

If you want to test your display hooked to a Arduino or Raspberry Pi you need to run examples for the epd2in9_V2 not the epd2in9.

To get this awesome project working there is no need to make any alterations to the PCB, just simply plumb the Waveshare up on the connectors as I describe, not as per Sebastian's original post.

PCB Pin Waveshare wiring loom

+5v Grey

GND Brown

DIN Blue

CLK Yellow

CS Orange

DC Green

RST Purple

BUSY White

In short you are swapping the RST & BUSY lines on the PCB.

Next, go to your Arduino sketch. This is for the hardware-test script. Enable line numbering and go to line 43 which reads -

GxEPD2_290 display(/CS=/ PIN_CS, /DC=/ PIN_DC, /RST=/ PIN_RST, /BUSY=/ PIN_BUSY);

Change this to -

GxEPD2_290_T94 display(/CS=/ PIN_CS, /DC=/ PIN_DC, /RST=/ PIN_RST, /BUSY=/ PIN_BUSY);

Then go to settings.h

Lines 2 - 7 need to be altered so change that section of code as follows -

const byte PIN_DIN = 16;

const byte PIN_CLK = 15;

const byte PIN_CS = 19;

const byte PIN_DC = 18;

const byte PIN_RST = 10;

const byte PIN_BUSY = 14;

The sketch will then compile and when uploaded to the board you will get the Waveshare drawing all sorts of Austin Powers time machine circles that make your eyes spin!

Alternate Neopixels

If a different LED is substituted for the PL9823, the usage in the led.ino file and hardware-test.ino file may be different. For the APA106 LED, the NeoPixels are initialized this way:

Adafruit_NeoPixel leds = Adafruit_NeoPixel(N_LED, PIN_LED, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

Serial Hang

An instance using a Mac and the YeeKees Pro Micro controller encountered issues where sending binary data resulted in the Pro Micro no longer recieving serial data (but sill sending). It is unknown at this time if the issue is how pyserial is implimented on Mac or a limitation of the YeeKees Pro Micro controller (two different controllers yielded the same issue). The workaround is to chunk the byte data and send it 100 bytes at a time.

E-Ink Display Issues

E-ink display renders icons faded in some cases and missing pixels in others. Cause is unknown at this time and may be related to timing.

Gallery

Original design as presented on there.oughta.be with the 3d printing files from this repository.

Design by John, Mat and Roland from the UK. The case was CNC milled from beech with a similarly machined clear perspex lid.

Fork Notes

This fork uses a KeeYees brand Pro Micro controller and APA106 LEDs which are different from the original specs. The python code is also run on a Mac and has been updated to rotate the display 90 degrees so that the device can be rotated on it's side. This is a work in progress.

Known Issues

• The text for the title must have a minimum height of 40 or the controller goes unresponsive and responds with unknown characters when the display is refreshed.
• Resending images often times out and has the effect of fading the current display when the display is shut down.

TODO

• Re-impliment the icon overlays.
• Re-impliment the ability to use text instead of icons.
• Add the ability to place text above/below the icons.