Adafruit Rotary Trinkey - USB NeoPixel Rotary Encoder

SKU: ADA4964 Brand: Adafruit

It's half USB Key, half Adafruit Trinket, half rotary encoder...it's Rotary Trinkey, the circuit board with a Trinket M0 heart, a NeoPixel glow, and a rotary encoder body.

$14.60 AUD, inc GST

$13.27 AUD, exc GST

In stock, ships same business day if ordered before 2PM
Delivered by Fri, 17th of May

Quantity Discounts:

10-25 $12.75 (exc GST)
25+ $12.35 (exc GST)

It's half USB Key, half Adafruit Trinket, half rotary encoder...it's Rotary Trinkey, the circuit board with a Trinket M0 heart, a NeoPixel glow, and a rotary encoder body. We were inspired by this project from TodBot where a rotary encoder was soldered onto a QT Py. So we thought, hey what if we made something like that that plugs right into your computer's USB port, with a fully programmable color NeoPixel? And this is what we came up with!

The PCB is designed to slip into any USB A port on a computer or laptop. There's an ATSAMD21 microcontroller on board with just enough circuitry to keep it happy. Three pins of the microcontroller connects to a rotary encoder with built-in push switch. Another connects to a NeoPixel LED. Finally, one pin can be used as a capacitive touch input. A reset button lets you enter bootloader mode if necessary. That's it!

Rotary encoders are soooo much fun! Twist em this way, then twist them that way. Unlike potentiometers, they go all the way around, and often have little detents for tactile feedback. But, if you just want to add one to your computer, you know its a real pain. This board is designed to make it very easy.

The SAMD21 can run CircuitPython or Arduino very nicely - with existing Rotary, NeoPixel and our FreeTouch libraries for the capacitive touch input. Over the USB connection you can have serial, MIDI or HID connectivity. The Rotary Trinkey is perfect for simple projects that use a rotating user input and underlit colorful output. Maybe you'll set it up as a volume knob, scroll wheel, or zoom macro tool - whatever you like!

Please note this board DOES NOT come with a rotary encoder soldered in - we expect folks to pick their favorite rotary encoder and knob! Five solder points and you're done.

We think it's just an adorable little board, small and durable and inexpensive enough that it could be a first microcontroller board or inspiration for advanced developers to make something simple and fun.

ATSAMD21E18 32-bit Cortex M0+ - 48 MHz 32 bit processor with 256KB Flash and 32 KB RAM
Native USB supported by every OS - can be used in Arduino or CircuitPython as USB serial console, MIDI, Keyboard/Mouse HID, even a little disk drive for storing Python scripts.
Can be used with Arduino IDE or CircuitPython
Single under-lighting RGB NeoPixel LED
One Capacitive Touch pad
Standard '5-pin' rotary encoder footprint can be used with any "PEC11" or "PEC12" compatible rotary encoder.
Cute & keychain-friendly!

Technical Details

Product Dimensions: 32.4mm x 16.5mm x 4.0mm / 1.3" x 0.6" x 0.2"
Product Weight: 2.1g / 0.1oz

Product Comments

Start the conversation

Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page (no login required).

Products that weigh more than 0.5 KG may cost more than what's shown (for example, test equipment, machines, >500mL liquids, etc).

We deliver Australia-wide with these options (depends on the final destination - you can get a quote on the view cart page):

$3+ for Stamped Mail (typically 10+ business days, not tracked, only available on selected small items)
$6+ for Standard Post (typically 6+ business days, tracked)
$10+ for Express Post (typically 2+ business days, tracked)
Pickup - Free! Only available to customers who live in the Newcastle region (must order online and only pickup after we email to notify you the order is ready). Orders placed after 2PM may not be ready until the following business day.

Non-metro addresses in WA, NT, SA & TAS can take 2+ days in addition to the above information.

Some batteries (such as LiPo) can't be shipped by Air. During checkout, Express Post and International Methods will not be an option if you have that type of battery in your shopping cart.

International Orders - the following rates are for New Zealand and will vary for other countries:

$11+ for Pack and Track (3+ days, tracked)
$16+ for Express International (2-5 days, tracked)

If you order lots of gear, the postage amount will increase based on the weight of your order.

Our physical address (here's a PDF which includes other key business details):

Unit 18, 132 Garden Grove Parade
Adamstown
NSW, 2289
Australia

Take a look at our customer service page if you have other questions such as "do we do purchase orders" (yes!) or "are prices GST inclusive" (yes they are!). We're here to help - get in touch with us to talk shop.

Have a product question? We're here to help!