Tag: button

MIDI Dual Mini Controller

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2026-09-09
No Comments on MIDI Dual Mini Controller

I make this controlled I call the MIDI Controller LC (4 Button) and I make a few of them each year, but like anything there’s always someone who wants something similar but not exactly what you have to offer… and that’s okay! I do custom projects all the time.

Someone got in touch with me and wanted a half-sized version, just two buttons (red and green) to control an audio system, with one button pausing play (red) and one button starting play (green) so that’s what we built. It’s basically a cut down version of the MIDI Controller LC.

Instead of trying to remodel the MIDI Controller LC smaller I ended up using some of my OpenSCAD code that I use for generating custom enclosures and already had the objects to create holes for the buttons, MIDI 5 Pin DIN port, USB port, and screw holes. Modeling and printing the parts was fairly easy.

I don’t know if I will add this one to the shop… it’s always hard to know how many items is too many items, and I don’t want to overwhelm or confuse potential customers. But hey… it’s here if I need it in the future!

Tags button, controller, midi, usb

Uncategorized

Custom Controller (Six Connections)

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2026-09-02
No Comments on Custom Controller (Six Connections)

I’ve built a lot of USB controllers… sometimes they are for museums, or tradeshow companies, or just individuals. Most of the time what I build looks like a finished product, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes what is needed is just part of a larger system, and maybe the rest of the system isn’t built yet, or someone else is providing it.

This controller allows the client to connect their own pushbuttons, six of them, which they’ve installed into a cabinet. When pressed, each button will send a unique character to a computer via USB.

The client will have a cabinet with buttons, wires soldered in place, hanging down, ready to be attached to this controller. I don’t always love these snap connectors but when things need to move fast, they work. I think this project needed to completed in just a few days, so rather than spec out other connectors, or use screw terminals, these connectors work just fine. I tend to keep a box of them around just in case. (You may remember this one from back in 2022.)

A few more things… the bottom shows two holes, one has a status LED, and the other is a reset hole in case new firmware needs to be installed. (There is a button that can be pressed with a paper clip to put the device into USB drive mode to accept a HEX file with new firmware.) There are four mounting holes for attaching the device with screws inside a cabinet if needed.

I usually like these types of projects. They are not difficult, and give me a little challenge, and I try to make improvements each time one comes along.

If you need some sort of custom controller, let me know!

Tags button, controller, usb

Uncategorized

Light-Up Film Prop Buttons

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2026-07-08
No Comments on Light-Up Film Prop Buttons

This post is mostly photos but I wanted to document a build a did back in February. I was contacted by someone working on a film who needed a prop. A large (202mm x 202mm x 83mm) device with two buttons that would light up when pressed.

Banana for scale. This is a laser cut (and etched) banana but it’s approximately banana-sized.

US quarter for scale… just in case you don’t like bananas used for scale.

Usually (when I build USB devices) the bottom cover is just a flat piece that gets screwed on. For this one I ended up using connectors for the wiring and mounting the electronics (and power) on the bottom cover.

Since the firmware was simple enough I didn’t think it would need to be updated, but it is possible. This is handy if I ship something and things change and the customer wants some other behavior. I can just email new firmware with instructions for installing it.

Here’s the actual bottom… and what I am most proud of. I didn’t want the customer to have to remove the whole cover to access the batteries… and we needed a power switch, which I did not want to put on the side of the unit.

So there is a battery compartment (with its own lid) on the bottom, and a rocker switch for power.

There are just four screws to remove to get access to the battery compartment.

Typically for devices that are USB controllers I just use a USB cable for power, but this needed to be battery powered. Luckily the Raspberry Pi Pico can be powered from 1.8v to 5.5v on the VSYS pin. So three AA batteries coming in just over 4.5v when brand new works well.

Here are some renders of the 3D model. I’d like to start incorporating some of these ideas into other enclosures I create. Often I got for simplicity at the expense of usability… and there is always room for improvement in the things I create.

(I have a list of other interesting custom devices I’ve built over on the wiki.)

Tags button

Uncategorized

Game Show Buzzer System V3

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2025-07-15

I built Game Show Buzzer System V2 earlier this year, and I had someone who wanted basically the same thing, so this is Game Show Buzzer System V3 with a few very minor tweaks. I’ve added LEDs into the control box so the host can see which player buzzed in.

Once again the control box plugs into a computer via USB and can send keys, keystrokes, USB MIDI data, or serial data. Each button plugs into the control box using a TRS cable. We used 6 foot but you could easily get 10 foot or longer if needed.

For this one the client will be using Resolume VJ Software & Media Server and each button is set to send a different MIDI noteOn signal to trigger a video to play. Like any game show if you hit your buzzer first you get to answer the question! In discussing functionality I explained how we usually have a “lock out” time before another button press will be recognized. The client thought a three second delay would be fine…

But! I mentioned we could always adjust that in the firmware later if needed… Also, I added a reset button directly on the control box. This would allow the “host” to press the button to end the lockout period. This is sort of a future-proofing feature.

I think if I were building a deluxe version I would add a control to set the lockout time… something like what I did for the Tradeshow Video Player Controller perhaps. But also, am I getting ahead of myself? Since I haven’t built it yet I will say “No” but then…

Also, this could be used as a standalone system without a computer. It’s less exciting, as there is no sound or video triggered when the button is pressed, but as a bare-bones quiz game system, it would work fine. If you do want sounds it would be trivial to plug into a computer via USB and use QLab or LeMIDI for those.

I started working on a four button version of this, but now I’m thinking I might want to just build the deluxe version and hope that someone might want to purchase it in the future.

I’m also considering different button options, as these are nice and big but they’re also fairly expensive. We could use The Button or any other button for triggering things. (But yeah, people certainly like hitting that big button!)

Tags arduino, button, controller, games, usb

Uncategorized

Giant USB Button

Look, I’m just going to come out and say it… this Giant USB Button is probably too big! It’s 228.6mm x 228.6mm x 120mm (which is 9″x9″ x 4.725″). The thing is, when someone asks me to build something for them, and it seems interesting, I can’t really say no. And I did say “no” this time, but mainly due to the tight deadline. I said I would need about twice as much time as requested and luckily the client came back with “We can do that!” So I got to work…

I didn’t want to screw around with a laser cut enclosure this time, and they basically wanted the Big Button I normally make, but… embiggened. I made this the very close to maximum size I could using my Bambu Lab P1S printer.

So 9″ square (or 228.6mm square) was the size, and the client liked it. I had almost done a button this large about 6 years ago. I gave the client a very high estimate, explaining the custom fabrication that would be needed for a clear acrylic dome, and they were almost on board with it, but luckily passed. It’s years later, printers have improved, and this client was okay with what I suggested.

There’s a large NeoPixel Ring from Adafruit on the inside because of course it has to light up.

Here is my normal human hand for scale. This Giant USB Button just seems ridiculously large. It’s too large! It’s like what, is André the Giant pressing it? (No, because he’s dead.)

Here is the Giant USB Button with a US quarter for scale. The US quarter is that tiny little round thing in the lower left corner.

There is a normal sized USB cable that plugs into the Giant USB Button and allows it to send commands to a computer. I don’t know what the client is using it for because I always forget to ask that question. I’m usually so focused on the project and getting everything to look good and function properly I never ask what it’s for!

Overall I am really pleased with how this thing came out. I had to but a box large enough to ship it since the boxes I usually use are way too small to fit a Giant USB Button. Oh, I also designed it to be parametric. which is handy because I got all the fitting right with a version that was probably half the size. I also made an even smaller version to experiment with different methods of closing the circuit. Again, I had fun with this one.

Finally, here’s an exploded view of the parts, except I forgot one piece! The original design used a piece of clear laser cut acrylic but I ended up swapping it out for a 3D printed gridded disk to save on weight. Anyway, this is most of the 3D printed parts of the Giant USB Button. (I didn’t include the electronics so you can use your imagination for that part.)

Tags button, usb