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Keyboard Builders' Digest / Tips & Tricks

Stampy controller

An RP2040-based controller for handwiring keyboards: Stampy by Keebio.

KBD.news
Published June 22, 2023
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Heavily inspired by the Postage Board Mini by LifeIsOnTheWire, Keebio's Danny came up with Stampy, an RP2040-based version recommended for handwired builds.

(Don't confuse it with the Stamp.)

What is Stampy?

In contrast to other development boards like the Pro Micro, Elite-C, and dozens of other controllers featured on this blog, Stampy gets soldered directly to 3 switches, meaning that no extra space below the controller is needed.

Another sign that this devboard was designed specifically for keyboards is that 3 pins are preset for columns, and 1 pin is preset for a row, so in fact you get a 3-button macropad PCB.

Features

  • RP2040 microcontroller
  • 16Mbit (2MB) of flash memory
  • MX-compatible
  • 26 available I/O pins
  • USB Type-C connector
  • QMK-compatible

Notes

  • GPIO pins available: 0-8, 10, 11, 14-28.
  • 4 of the pins are connected to the 3 switch footprints: GPIO14 (row0), GPIO11 (col0, left switch), GPIO10 (col1, center switch), GPIO15 (col2, right switch).
  • The reset button is connected to RST and 3.3V (not GND).
  • Due to the tight spacing of components, you will have to clip some plastic pins of 5-pin switches.

Resources

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Published on Thu 22nd Jun 2023. Featured in KBD #125.

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