Rotary Encoder as Mouse Wheel

Community help with my project
#1

Hey everyone,

Im working on a project that is essentially a giant knob that controls various parameters on my PC. Specifically in my DAW. I’d like to use a rotary encoder that my PC essentially sees as a mouse wheel so when I mouse over a specific parameter I can make an adjustment. I believe thats the best way as MIDI data works great but I would have to manually teach the software what the controller is outputting for each parameter.

I was wondering what you all would recommend for a board and how you would go about coding that idea. From some research I would think Id want the Leonardo as it has USB built in.

The build idea would be like this:

unless there are better suggestions for an encoder (looking for the smoothest and most accurate) and setup. Im all ears.

thank you!

#2

Hey,

Arduino Leonardo or Micro are good options because they can imitate a keyboard or mouse when connected via USB. You can use the built-in mouse and keyboard library from the Arduino IDE - https://www.arduino.cc/en/Reference.MouseKeyboard.
The main code logic is to read the encoder and send mousewheel-like commands to the computer.

Good luck,
Anat from circuito.io