5 Replies
Yes — you can add a Cirque touchpad to a wireless Corne or Lily58 build, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Free pins & compatibility – The nice!nano already uses a number of pins for the keyboard matrix and nice!view (if installed). For I²C devices like the Cirque touchpad, you need SDA, SCL, VCC, and GND.
- The default ZMK pin mapping for Corne or Lily58 already has I²C enabled for the nice!view.
- If you have a nice!view installed, it’s already using P0.06 (SCL) and P0.08 (SDA). You can share those lines for another I²C device like the Cirque, as long as there are no address conflicts.
- If you don’t have a nice!view, you can still use P0.06/P0.08 as the standard I²C bus. 2. Power – VCC on the nice!nano is 3.3V, which is fine for many Cirque trackpads, but double‑check the model’s voltage requirements.
3. Firmware support –
- ZMK doesn’t have out‑of‑the‑box Cirque touchpad support, so you would need to modify and build your own firmware adding a driver/module for it. This can be more advanced, as it involves writing or porting driver code.
- If you’re not comfortable with ZMK development, consider if the integration is worth the added complexity.
4. Physical mounting – You’ll need to route the wiring from the I²C pads on the nice!nano to the touchpad, and possibly secure it to the case.
If you’re looking for a quick solution and already have nice!views, you can hook the Cirque touchpad to the same SDA/SCL lines and experiment, but firmware development will still be required before it works.
If you want, I can point you to the specific I²C pin locations on your board for soldering. Do you have a nice!view installed?
1. Free pins & compatibility – The nice!nano already uses a number of pins for the keyboard matrix and nice!view (if installed). For I²C devices like the Cirque touchpad, you need SDA, SCL, VCC, and GND.
- The default ZMK pin mapping for Corne or Lily58 already has I²C enabled for the nice!view.
- If you have a nice!view installed, it’s already using P0.06 (SCL) and P0.08 (SDA). You can share those lines for another I²C device like the Cirque, as long as there are no address conflicts.
- If you don’t have a nice!view, you can still use P0.06/P0.08 as the standard I²C bus. 2. Power – VCC on the nice!nano is 3.3V, which is fine for many Cirque trackpads, but double‑check the model’s voltage requirements.
3. Firmware support –
- ZMK doesn’t have out‑of‑the‑box Cirque touchpad support, so you would need to modify and build your own firmware adding a driver/module for it. This can be more advanced, as it involves writing or porting driver code.
- If you’re not comfortable with ZMK development, consider if the integration is worth the added complexity.
4. Physical mounting – You’ll need to route the wiring from the I²C pads on the nice!nano to the touchpad, and possibly secure it to the case.
If you’re looking for a quick solution and already have nice!views, you can hook the Cirque touchpad to the same SDA/SCL lines and experiment, but firmware development will still be required before it works.
If you want, I can point you to the specific I²C pin locations on your board for soldering. Do you have a nice!view installed?
Yes I have a nice view
Yes. I have a nice!view installated
Got it — since you have a nice!view installed, the I²C bus is already active on your nice!nano, and you can share those lines for the Cirque touchpad.
Here’s the mapping for the nice!view I²C pins on both Corne and Lily58 wireless PCBs:
- SDA:
- SCL:
- VCC: 3.3 V pad on the nice!nano
- GND: any ground pad on the nice!nano
You can solder the Cirque’s SDA to the same pad/wire as P0.08, and SCL to P0.06. Power it from the 3.3 V rail and connect GND.
I²C is designed for multiple devices, so sharing SDA/SCL with the nice!view is fine as long as the Cirque pad’s address doesn’t conflict with the screen.
⚠️ Important: ZMK does not currently include a driver for Cirque touchpads, so even with it wired, it won’t function until you write or port a driver for it in your firmware. That means cloning your ZMK config, enabling the I²C bus, and adding the necessary code.
If you’d like, I can help identify the best solder points for those pins on your PCB so the wiring is clean. Do you want me to point those out?
Here’s the mapping for the nice!view I²C pins on both Corne and Lily58 wireless PCBs:
- SDA:
P0.08- SCL:
P0.06- VCC: 3.3 V pad on the nice!nano
- GND: any ground pad on the nice!nano
You can solder the Cirque’s SDA to the same pad/wire as P0.08, and SCL to P0.06. Power it from the 3.3 V rail and connect GND.
I²C is designed for multiple devices, so sharing SDA/SCL with the nice!view is fine as long as the Cirque pad’s address doesn’t conflict with the screen.
⚠️ Important: ZMK does not currently include a driver for Cirque touchpads, so even with it wired, it won’t function until you write or port a driver for it in your firmware. That means cloning your ZMK config, enabling the I²C bus, and adding the necessary code.
If you’d like, I can help identify the best solder points for those pins on your PCB so the wiring is clean. Do you want me to point those out?
I would be very interested in how this turns out!
Me too, keep us posted !