A dial sitting on your desk might feel like a throwback to old-school stereos, but Ploopy, a scrappy Canadian crew shaking up PC peripherals, is proving otherwise with their Ploopy Knob—a $37 open-source control dial that’s as handy as it is low-key.
It’s a small, no-frills rotary encoder powered by the Raspberry Pi’s RP2040 chip. At just a few inches wide, it’s not flashy, but functional. You could use it to quickly adjust audio levels, scrub through video edits, or dial in CAD designs, right down to 0.043 millimeters. The high-res encoder makes every twist feel smooth and snappy, with tactile clicks that just hit right.
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What makes the Ploopy Knob more than a funky gadget is its open-source core. It runs on QMK firmware—the same stuff behind hardcore mechanical keyboards—so you don’t need clunky apps gumming up your computer. Everything’s baked into the device, letting you set it up for all sorts of tasks, like horizontal scrolling, media controls, or custom shortcuts for apps like Adobe Premiere or Ableton Live. Want it to flip through browser tabs or adjust brush sizes in Photoshop? The flexible firmware’s got you, and the open-source community’s got your back with shared setups on places like GitHub.
The customization doesn’t stop there. Ploopy’s all about the DIY vibe, sharing the Knob’s design files under the CERN Open Hardware License Version 2. Got a 3D printer? You can make your own casing. They even encourage you to mess with the hardware itself, swapping out parts to make it your own.
For $49 CAD (about $37 USD), the Ploopy Knob is an affordable way to jump into their lineup of open-source goodies, like trackballs, mice, and even headphones. You can grab it pre-assembled or as a DIY kit if you’re into soldering your own circuits. Ordering’s easy through Ploopy’s site, but since they’re a small outfit, stock can run low. For the full DIY experience, their GitHub page has everything, including the design files and firmware code under the GNU General Public License 3.
Video editors can use it to glide through timelines with pinpoint accuracy, audiophiles can dial in equalizer settings, and gamers might repurpose it for quick in-game moves.
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