matosicv0.0.0.08
Build log.
Notes from making a small mechanical macropad solo. The good decisions, the expensive mistakes, and the moments where it finally worked.
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2026-05-21
The first key fired
Parts arrived in waves. I hadn't soldered in ten years. A friend taught me continuity. After days of nothing, a fresh-XIAO diagnostic proved the module was alive, I re-read my own schematic, and the macropad finally lit up.
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2026-05-15
JLCPCB's auto-match almost shipped me 1206-footprint LEDs as 0603 parts
Five things I learned on my first PCBA order. The TL;DR: never trust a fab's auto-matched BOM. Always populate the LCSC field on every symbol before you export.
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2026-05-02
Why I forked the ANAVI Macro Pad 10 instead of starting from scratch
I wanted a 9-key macropad with an encoder, and a battle-tested design already existed under a license that let me build on it. Why ego is a bad reason to redesign someone else's PCB.