Software experiments
Touch interactions, Windows controls and interface behavior are being tested on the existing Morse Station hardware.
PLANNED PROJECT DOCUMENTATIONNOT YET BUILT
A planned companion.
Tested before it is built.
The F75 Companion Screen is a proposed detachable touchscreen that sits beside the AULA F75 and adds L99-style controls without replacing or electrically modifying the keyboard. The final enclosure and electronics have not been manufactured. Interface ideas are currently being tested using the ESP Morse Station's ESP32, 240 x 320 ILI9341 display, XPT2046 touch controller and wiring.
- Stage
- Planning and validation
- Current test platform
- Morse Station hardware
- Planned platform
- ESP32-S3 + ILI9488
- Guide revision
- 1.1 - 09 Aug 2026
01 / PROJECT STATUSA design proposal,
A design proposal,
not finished hardware.
The supplied renders show the intended enclosure and component arrangement. They are design studies, not photographs of a completed device.
Hardware validation
The proposed ESP32-S3, ILI9488 display, battery chain and backlight circuit must be assembled and verified safely.
Independent device
The planned module does not connect electrically to the F75 keyboard battery or PCB. It is intended to communicate with companion software separately.
02 / SYSTEM ARCHITECTURETwo separate devices.
Two separate devices.
One trusted bridge.
The companion does not pretend to be a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse. It sends private Bluetooth LE messages to its Windows companion app, and that app performs the requested PC action.
INPUTTouchscreen
→WIRELESSESP32 + BLE
→TRUSTED BRIDGEWindows app
→OUTPUTPC or F75 RGB
Live information
The Windows app sends time, media information, laptop battery, connection details and system-monitor data back to the display over BLE.
Action requests
Touch gestures request mouse, keyboard, media, numpad and shortcut actions. The trusted app decides what is executed.
No app, no control
If the companion app is closed, the ESP32 cannot control Windows or change the F75. The keyboard and touchscreen remain independent hardware.
03 / INTERFACE AND SOFTWAREA compact control deck
A compact control deck
for daily PC tasks.
The planned home screen uses a rounded 4 × 2 app grid. The software is still being developed and tested on the Morse Station prototype hardware.
01
Media
02
Trackpad
03
Touch NumPad
04
Calculator
05
Shortcuts
06
Gallery
07
System monitor
08
More / settings
Trackpad
Movement, left/right clicking, scrolling, sensitivity and DPI controls, with filtering, a dead zone, acceleration and fractional movement accumulation.
Media
Windows volume down/up, play/pause and mute from a compact media island.
NumPad
A touchscreen number pad for Windows input.
Shortcuts
Eight customizable buttons for apps, websites, folders and keyboard shortcuts.
04 / SYSTEM MONITOR AND F75 LIGHTINGUseful telemetry.
Useful telemetry.
Careful keyboard control.
The Windows app is planned to report laptop battery, CPU, RAM and NVIDIA GPU use, CPU/GPU temperatures, time and date. Fast values update about every two seconds; battery can update less often.
Built-in F75 effects
Choose from roughly 20 onboard effects, apply presets, adjust brightness and speed, switch lighting off, or restore a saved configuration.
Read, preserve, verify
The app reads the keyboard's existing 128-byte configuration, preserves unrelated values, modifies only the intended RGB settings, writes the result and verifies it.
2.4G dongle or USB-C
Lighting control is planned for the F75's 2.4G mode or wired USB-C. It is unavailable when the keyboard is exclusively in Bluetooth mode. The official driver should be closed during changes.
05 / PLANNED FINAL HARDWARE
The proposed component stack.
This is the target configuration from the wiring guide. None of these parts should be treated as a completed final assembly.
| Part | Role | Planned use |
|---|---|---|
| ESP32-S3 DevKit | Planned controller | Dual-core 240 MHz board with 8 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM and USB-C. |
| 3.5-inch ILI9488 SPI TFT | Planned display | 480 x 320 resistive-touch display with XPT2046 controller and optional microSD. |
| Panasonic DWSP3200P66 | Planned battery | 1-cell Li-Po, 3.8 V nominal, 3200 mAh, 12.16 Wh and 4.35 V charge limit. |
| TP4056 USB-C board | Charging and protection | Charges the pack to about 4.2 V, so some battery capacity remains unused. |
| Selectable boost board | 5 V supply | Raises the battery output to a fixed 5.0 V rail and must be meter-tested before use. |
| AO3401A P-channel MOSFET | Backlight control | High-side ON/OFF switch for a compatible LED/BL input. |
| SPST switch and capacitor | Power control | 2 A switch with a 470-1000 uF, 10 V capacitor across the 5 V rail. |
06 / POWER SYSTEM
Battery to a verified 5 V rail.
The planned chain is battery to TP4056, switched boost input, fixed 5.0 V boost output, then the ESP32-S3 and display. Every stage must be measured before the next part is connected.
BATTERY3.8 V Li-Po
→CHARGERTP4056
→SWITCHSPST 2 A
→BOOSTFixed 5.0 V
→LOADESP32-S3 + TFT
| From | To | Wire / note |
|---|---|---|
| Battery labeled + | TP4056 B+ | Confirm polarity with a multimeter. |
| Battery labeled - | TP4056 B- | Use the labeled negative contact only. |
| Battery center contact | No connection | Insulate it individually; do not short it to + or -. |
| TP4056 OUT+ | SPST switch input | The switch disconnects the complete load. |
| SPST switch output | Boost IN+ | Use short, adequately sized wire. |
| TP4056 OUT- | Boost IN- | Common system ground. |
| Boost OUT+ | ESP 5V/VIN and TFT VCC | Connect only after confirming 4.9-5.1 V. |
| Boost OUT- | ESP GND and TFT GND | All signal modules require a common ground. |
| Electrolytic capacitor | Across boost OUT+/OUT- | Cap + to 5 V and stripe to GND; use at least 10 V rating. |
07 / DISPLAY, TOUCH AND SLEEPOne shared SPI bus,
One shared SPI bus,
separate chip selects.
The proposed pin map avoids ESP32-S3 native USB pins GPIO19/20, boot strap pins and GPIO35-37 that may be occupied by octal PSRAM.
| Display label | ESP32-S3 connection | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
VCC | Boost 5 V rail | Only for a module marked 3.3-5 V or 5 V capable. |
GND | GND | Common ground. |
CS | GPIO10 | ILI9488 chip select. |
RESET / RST | GPIO14 | Display reset. |
DC / RS | GPIO9 | Command/data selection. |
SDI / MOSI | GPIO11 | Shared SPI data from the ESP32-S3. |
SCK | GPIO12 | Shared SPI clock. |
LED / BL | AO3401A drain | Planned ON/OFF backlight input. |
SDO / MISO | Leave disconnected | ILI9488 SDO can block touch or SD on the shared bus. |
T_CLK | GPIO12 | Touch shares the SPI clock. |
T_CS | GPIO15 | Touch chip select. |
T_DIN | GPIO11 | Touch shares MOSI. |
T_DO | GPIO13 | Shared SPI MISO into the ESP32-S3. |
T_IRQ | Leave disconnected | Firmware is planned to poll the XPT2046 instead. |
08 / STORAGE, CALIBRATION AND SLEEPShared storage, calibration,
Shared storage, calibration,
and true backlight switching.
After five minutes without touch input, the planned firmware turns the backlight fully off and puts the ILI9488 to sleep. The backlight uses an AO3401A P-channel MOSFET as a simple ON/OFF switch rather than PWM dimming.
Optional shared SPI storage
SD_CS uses GPIO17; SCK GPIO12, MOSI GPIO11 and MISO GPIO13 are shared. Leave the slot unused until its board-specific pinout is confirmed.
Optional boot button
A momentary button from GPIO21 to GND can enter touch calibration when configured as INPUT_PULLUP.
Planned ON/OFF circuit
GPIO18 controls an AO3401A P-channel MOSFET. LOW is ON and HIGH is OFF. The guide does not specify PWM brightness control.
09 / CURRENT LIMITATIONSClear boundaries
Clear boundaries
for the planned build.
These constraints are intentional or remain unresolved in the current design. They should not be mistaken for completed capabilities.
- 01The battery reading is for the Windows laptop, not necessarily the F75 keyboard battery.
- 02The keyboard's physical 2.4G / USB / Bluetooth mode switch remains unchanged.
- 03F75 RGB control works through the 2.4G dongle or USB-C, not while the keyboard is exclusively in Bluetooth mode.
- 04Bluetooth-profile Fn shortcuts and the keyboard's Windows/Mac behavior remain internal to the F75.
- 05The current keyboard configuration does not expose an RGB-direction field.
- 06PC actions and F75 lighting changes require the trusted Windows tray app to be running.
10 / FIRMWARE AND FIRST POWER-UPMigrate first.
Migrate first.
Power in stages.
The existing ILI9341-specific firmware cannot drive the planned 480 x 320 ILI9488 correctly without a display-driver, resolution, layout and pin migration.
PROPOSED ESP32-S3 PIN DEFINITIONS
PIN_SPI_SCK = 12
PIN_SPI_MISO = 13
PIN_SPI_MOSI = 11
PIN_TFT_CS = 10
PIN_TFT_DC = 9
PIN_TFT_RST = 14
PIN_TOUCH_CS = 15
PIN_SD_CS = 17
PIN_BACKLIGHT_SW = 18
PIN_CALIBRATE = 21- 01Inspect battery
No swelling, puncture, heat, corrosion or damaged insulation.
- 02Confirm polarity
Meter agrees with the labeled + and - contacts; center remains isolated.
- 03Set boost with no load
Output is stable at 4.9-5.1 V, not 8, 9 or 12 V.
- 04Check 5 V rail
Correct polarity at ESP 5V/VIN and TFT VCC connectors.
- 05Power ESP alone
It boots normally, nothing heats and 5 V remains stable.
- 06Add TFT with backlight on
Display initializes without heat or supply resets.
- 07Add touch polling, then SD
Touch remains stable and SD introduces no shared-bus conflict.
- 08Add backlight switch last
GPIO18 switches the backlight fully ON/OFF.
11 / SAFETY AND SCOPE
Measure before connecting.
Clone modules vary. Printed pin labels and meter readings take priority over board position, wire color or marketplace listings.
Heat, swelling or odor
Disconnect the battery if it warms, swells, smells unusual or has damaged insulation.
Never exceed 5.1 V
Stop if the boost output is outside 4.9-5.1 V or changes unexpectedly when USB is connected.
Labels before assumptions
Re-check polarity, boost-board jumpers, display voltage support and LED/BL behavior before applying power.
Read the full wiring reference.
The original five-page guide contains the complete proposed wiring tables, power-up sequence and safety notes for the future hardware build.