Qw/ST Pad (I2C Game Controller)

Add a whole bunch of buttons to your Raspberry Pi or Raspberry Pi Pico project with this cute, compact, chainable I2C gamepad.

Each Qw/ST Pad has eight chunky buttons for inputs (plus two smaller buttons for settings adjustments) and four user-controllable white LEDs (we’ve used them in our examples to show how many controllers are connected, but you could use them for whatever you like). We’ve added cuttable traces on the back to change the I2C address of each Qw/ST Pad so you can have up to four Qw/ST Pads connected at the same time – perfect for multiplayer shenanigans!

Connecting it up is easy thanks to the two Qw/ST connectors which let you plug it into any microcontrollers or HATs with Qwiic or STEMMA QT connectors, like our Space Unicorns, Pico Display Pack or Display HAT Mini. Qw/ST cables are sold separately, we sell a variety of different ones here.

Note: The mounting holes are M2.5 and are 3mm in from the top corners (52mm centre to centre). Corner radii are 3mm at the top and 10mm and the bottom.

Features

• TCA9555 I/O Expander (datasheet)
• 8x large user buttons (labelled U, D, L, R, A, B, X and Y)
• 2x small user buttons (labelled + and -)
• 4x white LEDs
• 2x Qw/ST (Qwiic/STEMMA QT) connectors 
• I2C interface, with addresses: 0x21 (default), 0x23, 0x25 or 0x27
• 3V to 5V compatible
• Fully assembled, no soldering required
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi computers (Python library)
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi Pico/RP2040/RP2350 (MicroPython library)

Specifications

• Dimensions: 58x25x6.7mm (LxWxH, approx)

Resources

• Schematic

Software

If you’re planning on using Qw/ST Pad with Raspberry Pi Pico (or other RP2040 / RP2350 boards) we’ve spun up a standalone MicroPython library, with some fun examples to try. You can install the library through Thonny’s ‘Manage Packages’ by searching for qwstpad-micropython.

• Qw/ST Pad MicroPython library and examples

There’s also a full-fat Python library if you want to use Qw/ST Pad with a Raspberry Pi computer.

• Qw/ST Pad Python library and examples

Package Contents

• 1x I2C Game Controller