Stratus Hackpad
Stratus is a transparent macro controller engineered to expose the essentials. Built around a custom PCB and layered acrylic structure, it transforms raw circuitry into functional design
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Dhruv
Hackpad
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Dhruv
added to the journal ago
research and schematic setup
I chose QMK as the firmware because it is the best choice for custom keyboards and has a lot of help and documentation. After that, I looked up which chip to use and chose the RP2040, which is the same chip that the Raspberry Pi Pico uses. QMK has good support for it, and there is a lot of reference material available, which makes things easier.
I used EasyEDA to get everything ready once I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I split the schematic into two sheets: one for the microcontroller and the other for the other parts. I changed the title blocks on both sheets, set the page size to A3, and added my name and the version number 1.0. yada yada
Next, I got the RP2040 from LCSC and spent some time changing the symbol before putting it in the schematic. I put the pins in a logical order: power at the top, I/O on the left, USB differential pairs together, and crystal pins at the bottom. This organization makes the schematic much easier to read and work with later on, even though it took a little while.
Dhruv
started Stratus Hackpad ago
3/6/2026 - research and schematic setup
I chose QMK as the firmware because it is the best choice for custom keyboards and has a lot of help and documentation. After that, I looked up which chip to use and chose the RP2040, which is the same chip that the Raspberry Pi Pico uses. QMK has good support for it, and there is a lot of reference material available, which makes things easier.
I used EasyEDA to get everything ready once I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I split the schematic into two sheets: one for the microcontroller and the other for the other parts. I changed the title blocks on both sheets, set the page size to A3, and added my name and the version number 1.0. yada yada
Next, I got the RP2040 from LCSC and spent some time changing the symbol before putting it in the schematic. I put the pins in a logical order: power at the top, I/O on the left, USB differential pairs together, and crystal pins at the bottom. This organization makes the schematic much easier to read and work with later on, even though it took a little while.