I go to highschool, and teens are always around when i try to login to my mail or github or any other account, so my password can be compromised.
To solve this, I created PicoKey, which is a hardware pass key in a very small form factor(34.5mm x 18.5mm). It uses the RP2350A chip, although I wanted to use my favourite MCU, the rp2040, it was not safe as a pass key, so I used the rp2350A this time, which is much more safer and secure than the RP2350A.
I think it can also function as a USB-HID device because it has an external button too and 16Mb of memory size.
It has USB-A in the PCB itself soo need for external connectors, however, you either need to order a 2.0mm thick PCB(expensive) or you need to order a 1.6mm PCB(pretty cheap) and make up for the 0.4mm using tape or some other method.
Small form factor: 3.45cm x 1.85 cm
Uses the latest MCU from Raspberyy Pi, the RP2350AA
Could Potentially have HID Compatibilityy
USB inbuilt the PCBB
Idea taken from @Rudy 's RP2350 hardware key
It is basically a single pcb, so assembling this project means soldering on all the components.
To solder, I would recommend buying a stencil along with the PCBs, or opting for PCBA from your PCB manufacturer, I am using JLC for this, and I will be opting for PCBA, as this is a 2 sided board, it will be much easier for 1 side to be PCBA(bottom side) and other by hand(top side).
The RP2350A is housed on the bottom side along with most of the components, and I have placed easy to solder components on the top, and the small pads for resistors and LED are a little bigger, which would help in soldering by hand.
I chose to make this project mainly for 2 reasons:
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i wanted to have a secure hardware key and didn't wanna sign in using passwords in front of everyone.
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I wanted to try out making a 2 sided PCB(where components are on 2 sides), to learn how to make such projects and the learning curve for dual sided PCBs.
| ITEM NAME | ITEM PRICE | FUNCTION | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pcb Manufacturing + stencil | 23.82 | main pcb and smt stencil | https://jlcpcb.com |
| PCB Components | 21.1131 | components on the PCB | https://lcsc.com |
| Total | 44.93 | USD |