Disclosure statement:  Some production assistance was provided by a sponsor, the PCB manufacturing outfit PCBWay, in exchange for an unbiased review.  

Now, back to our program:

This journey started with a prototype calculator emulation project that I ended up documenting over at https://hackaday.io/project/188722-the-pico-16c-an-homage-to-the-venerable-hp-16c

The prototype was a bit sketchy; I didn't care for the cheap keypads I used, and the labelling could be better, so I thought it would be cool to use real keyboard keyswitches.  I started designing a printed circuit board to provide a basis for the device.

Meanwhile, the folks at PCBWay took note of the interest in my prototype and offered to sponsor PCB production in return for a few remarks about the service and so forth.  Check the end of this post for that.

As the PCB design progressed, I noted similarities with macropad devices based on the Raspberry Pi Pico, and decided to make use of some unused space for a couple of rotary encoders, in case I wanted to make use of them in the future.  I had no immediate plans.

I completed the design of the PCB, and decided at that point to take PCBWay up on their offer.  Using the convenient PCBWay KiCAD plug-in, I bundled up the gerber files and sent them off.  Within a week or so, I had received 5 copies of my board, which you can see in the gallery.

Note that there is one error on the board, which was completely my fault (not the manufacturer's).  I failed to make one connection, which is easy enough to bodge in on the back of the board (see photos).

The files to construct the Pico-16C (as I called it) are found on my github at https://github.com/someyob/Pico16cV2.  This includes software and 3d print models I used for the build.  The software will be forever in development.

MEANWHILE, I started playing the very excellent game Baldur's Gate 3 on my PC.  I noted the many keyboard controls available, and wondered if I could make use of the macro pad capabilities.  So, I acquired some more key switches, a 2nd Pico, and made what I believe to be the first ever Baldur's Gate Macro Pad.  You can find the github for that project here:   https://github.com/someyob/BG3MacroPad.  It works very well.  Still play-testing and adding functionality.  Is it silly?  Yes.  Do I love it?  Also yes.

So, regarding PCBWay, here are my thoughts and observations:

1)  Ease of transaction.  It couldn't have been easier to get this done.  The KiCAD plug-in is convenient, and PCBWay reviews the design, gets it into production and out the door very quickly.

2)  Quality.  The board looks fantastic, and populating the components was a breeze.  I was really impressed.  I have used their competitor in the past, and the quality of the board matches anything I've had done elsewhere.

3)  Price.  Note that I did not pay for either manufacture or shipping for this project.  A 100mm x 100mm is very inexpensive to get done.  As this board is 200mm x 125mm, the cost does go up.  I generally try to make projects smaller to keep it at that magical $5 price.  Note, however, that I did have to pay duty in this country to import those boards.

4)  Conclusion.  I highly recommend getting PCBs done in this way if you want to take your protoboard projects to the next level.  I have made many PCBs using copper clad boards and etchant.  Once my projects became too complex, this was no longer feasible.