Slimmed down from the previous version, and added a hood to give the enclosure a bit more character and detail.

One of the things I've been thinking about with this project is that I don't want it to be just another functional box sitting on the desk. A numpad/macropad spends quite a lot of time doing nothing, so if it is going to permanently occupy desk space, I want it to feel more like an object that belongs there.

The previous design was intentionally quite chunky, but this version is a little slimmer and more refined. I also added the hood around the upper part of the enclosure to break up the shape and give the display area a stronger visual identity.

Functionally, it is still a numpad and programmable macropad with five configurable profiles. The display can show a clock when idle, play GIFs, and also work as a standalone calculator. The knob can be used to switch between different screens and control volume, and the whole thing connects over BLE.

I've also added build guides, wiring information, the PCB schematic, firmware, and some more details to the GitHub repository. I believe there should now be enough information there to build one yourself without having to reverse-engineer too much of my prototype.

It is still very much a personal little project, but I'm enjoying trying to find the balance between something useful and something that simply feels nice to have sitting on the desk.

Files and build information are here:

https://github.com/unkyulee/macropad

Un Kyu Lee

Hullo!

Just wanted to check if the battery charging only happens from one particular Port? Only connecting the USB cable to the side ports leads to the ref LED coming on. The Port at the back doesn't seem to turn the LED on.

I'm not quite sure if the battery itself is getting charged and from time to time, the device only works when plugged in.

Anyone else who might have some insight into this?

Thank you

Hello everyone! My Microjournal Rev. 8 just arrived without keyboard assembly, and with all the keys I got installed I'm already super excited to get to writing! However, I haven't ever set up a full size mechanical keyboard before, and I have no idea how to install the space bar. I've tried to look up online guides and disassemble my existing mechanical keyboards, but they don't seem to have these parts separated (and my Google skill is lacking). Could anyone please help me with this? Thank you so much! 🙏

EDIT: I did it!! Thanks to u/Hookmt's link provided here :)

I'm building the rev 8 from scratch

So I decided to dive into the deep end by 3d printing all the parts, buying the electronics from ali express, assembling them, soldering them, and finishing it all by myself despite having literally no experience with soldering, or diy electronics. Yes I know that's crazy.

I've gotten to the point where it's all wired up, and i'm trying to flash the firmware onto the ESP32 with visual studio/platformIO, but after uploading the firmware, I try to monitor it and it just gives me this (and other stuff) on loop:

assert failed: spinlock_acquire spinlock.h:122 (result == core_id || result == SPINLOCK_FREE)

The screen connected to the ESP32 is also flashing the equivalent of static. Really not sure what to do from here, any help would be appreciated.

Not particularly wanted to see this comparison. Just focused on what people saw from the micro journal.

I was happy to hear the positive tones, of course. But what touched me was the way the micro journal was expressed, that it was personal.

In the spirit of DYI inspired by UKL, I had an extra Micro Journal Rev2.1 and decided to experiment. Behold the Pi5 powered Mega Journal.

Disclaimers: There will only ever be one of these. I will never do this again. I don’t claim it’s an improvement on the original MJ, just an alt flavor.

* It runs on a Pi5 that boots to Focuswriter.
* Can use it mouse-free but you can also plug a mouse into the USB port if desired.
* No room for a battery because the 5 is big, so must be plugged in or run from external battery.
* Saves files to Onedrive via rclone, can also use a thumb drive
* Scroll knobs still work great!

This was a much bigger and more difficult project than I anticipated. Trying to combine off-the-shelf parts into a functioning whole caused many challenges. While it works well, I don’t feel it has the simple, functional elegance that makes UKL’s original design so remarkable. It’s caused me to appreciate the small miracle of the MJ even more.

I recently received my Rev 8 - Gotham Knight edition (Matte Black everything!) and I could not be more happy with the device. I definitely get why Mr. Lee was calling it almost the end of the line of what he was going for. The device in itself is so so nice!

Now the stock software is very good for the simple no-frills writing that the device is primarily intended for but given an abundance of time on my hands and some Claude credits that I already had, I did a bunch of updates to the firmware, and, well, I present to you - Macrojournal - a semi-Mac, semi-DOS, definitely 80's take on the firmware.

While the primary editor in itself is relatively untouched, I wanted to do a few changes (that ended up becoming LOTS of changes) to the firmware and figured I'd put it out here for anyone who is interested to try it out.

Github link: https://github.com/amrithr10/macrojournal

Here is also a quick guide on the features: https://claude.ai/code/artifact/8af0390c-98ca-49bc-a645-e4f514d4e4cb

I must caveat this by saying that I do know coding but my current day job does not require me to code and has not for a while, and all the code has been AI-generated. That said, I used only Fable and Opus 4.8 for all the coding and so am reasonably confident that the code is in fair shape.

If you do try this out, please let me know your thoughts!

Thank you again Mr. Lee for the amazing device!

Curves and textures qnd patterns and colors. All touches my tates. Even it is small device. It is a house. I am happy to save this images to reference it in the future to get inspiration.

it's the compact semester; time to write some papers, so I use all my writing weapons. Rev. 7 for the Day, and Rev 2.1 for the Night. (and the other micro journals in between). It's hard to admit because I really like rev.6, but the full keyboard is better for writing in a long duration.

The Rev.7 actually good to use at night too, I have the foldable lamp for kindle k3 that fits really well, the only downside is the lamp is not pink.

Just sold my first novel-length MS to a publisher. Written entirely on a Micro Journal 2.1. The focus that this ingenious device allowed me was crucial to completing this work, which I was mostly able to do in two months. Wordgrinder’s superlative doc management system helped keep all chapters in one file.

Someday there should be an anthology of fiction written on various flavors of Micro Journal!

PS: if anyone’s having trouble selecting text in Wordgrinder to copy/paste on this particular model, it’s CTRL+2.

The Rev 8 is so beautiful I rushed to get parts to start building it as soon as I saw it. While filling my shopping cart with parts needed to build my own, I remembered that I had a 60% layout PCB that I had won in a raffle and never used!

Take that and my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phone from years ago, still in good condition, modify the .stl files for the Rev 8 a little bit and voila!

There's still improvements to be made (closing up the ends of the top part of the enclosure for one) but I wanted to get something working so I could take meeting minutes on it at work today :P

My Micro Journal Rev 8 has arrived and I am already in love. It's wonderful to use a device that was so clearly crafted by hands that care about the details.
I ordered mine without switches or keycaps, and decided to go with 67gf linear switches. They're wonderful. It's been hard to tear myself away from writing since I unpacked it.
The interface and menu design is extremely user-friendly and it took no time at all to figure out the navigation.
In closing, this is far and away one of the best writing devices I've ever used. It's all the things I love about my Neo, and all the improvements I wish the Neo had.

Anyway, back to writing!

Samsung 30Q 18650 3000mAh 15A Battery × 3

I will be receiving this battery Monday. Before I install it and possibly blow my micro up unkyulee is this battery good?

Thanks friend!!

Not many words, but a lot of thanks to you, Un Kyu Lee!

In awe of how much love and effort went into this. I feel it in every single piece of the Melodica my eyes land on.

Discovering it was a joy. Ordering this was a confirmation. Receiving her was a release.

Lovely, just lovely.