Our QT Py boards are a great way to make very small microcontroller projects that pack a ton of power – and now we have a way for you to quickly add a nice mechanical key that also can glow any color of the rainbow.
We call this the Adafruit NeoKey BFF – a “Best Friend Forever”. When you were a kid you may have learned about the “buddy” system, well this product is kinda like that! A board that will watch your QT Py’s back and give it more capabilities.
This PCB is designed to fit onto the back of any QT Py or Xiao board; it can be soldered into place or use pin and socket headers to make it removable. Onboard is a Kailh socket, which means you can plug in any MX-compatible switch instead of soldering it in. You may need a little glue to keep the switch in place: hot glue or a dot of epoxy worked fine for us. Also comes with a single reverse-mount NeoPixel pointing up through the spot where many switches would have an LED to shine through.
The key-switch is default connected to A2 and the NeoPixel to A3, but there are onboard jumpers you can cut to re-configure if you desire.
QT Py is not included.
Please note,each order comes with one assembled PCB and break-off header. A mechanical switch and key cap are not included! Use any MX-compatible switch: Kailh, Gateron, etc all work!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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