flipTurn is a wireless, battery-operated / rechargeable foot operated page-turner designed to work with iPad music apps like Unreal Book. Based on an ESP-32 microcontroller, the device uses BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) to communicate with the iPad.
The flipTurn footswitch emulates a BT-105 series Airturn device and sends a limited set of simple keyboard commands.
Using bluetooth, flipTurn pairs the foot-switch peripheral with central device (in my case, an iPad or iPhone). To connect the peripheral in IOS: Settings -> Bluetooth -> find flipTurn and click to pair.
Once the footswitch is paired to the iPad, you need to confirm that it will be seen by the music app. Open Unreal Book App, go to Settings -> Airturn -> Airturn setup. If flipTurn is not listed as connected, click Add Keyboard Device.
Once paired, the peripheral will automatically re-pair upon startup.
| Footswitch Action | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Single Press | Page Music Down (Down Arrow) |
| Double Press | Page Music Back (Up Arrow) |
| Hold Press | 1) If on text entry search screen, open Virtual onscreen keyboard, and 2) Show Battery Status (for four seconds) |
| RGB LED Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| flashing Blue | Looking for Bluetooth Connection |
| solid Blue | Bluetooth Connected |
| Green | High Battery charge (~3.7 - 4.2V) |
| Magenta | Charge Battery Now (~3.2 to 3.7V) |
| Red | Low Battery Warning (~ 3 to 3.2V) |
| Flashing Red | Preparing to auto shutdown (< 3V). Charge battery to reset |
On power-up, RGB LED shows battery status for four seconds before indicating Bluetooth connection status.
- DFRobot Firebeetle ESP-32 DFR0478 module
- Rechargeable LiPo battery
- SPDT Slide Switch
- MicroSwitch, V-156-1C25
- 5mm RGB LED, Common Cathode
The 3D-printed footswitch case was a ground-up full CAD rebuild, inspired by Ruiz Brother's wired USB footswitch, Adafruit
See project at Printables for print files.
Software: GPL v2 Licence
Hardware: CC-BY-SA-4.0
Hardware (circuit and 3D print) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
