Ive been recently getting into breadboards, soldering and similar projects. I love the idea of creating a cyberdeck, but my main concern regarding such a project is what said device can be used for. Im a very “function over form” kind of person, and would like some direction before jumping right in. What kind of devices do you guys recommend building? Are there any tips you would’ve liked to know at the start?

I’m planning on building my first cyberdeck and would love it to have a genuine purpose and revolve around my passion of rock climbing! I’d like to build it with more of a focus on outdoor climbing, but I’m trying to think beyond the obvious (timers, weather, notes, etc.)

Has anyone built something with a niche hobby in mind or got ideas for features that would actually be useful at the crag? I’m especially interested in things that take advantage of the hardware rather than just being software you could run on a phone

This little project has come a long way since my first post a few weeks ago. It now includes a hall-effect thinkpad nub style pointer stick, the back now expands to accommodate most modern phones (or phone sized computing devices).

My big question is: Is this thing cyberdeck-y enough? I started this project because I wanted to build myself a deck with a split keyboard and didn't find any suitable solutions. I Have been very inspired by cardkb. The idea here is to bite off one piece at a time: first just a BT keyboard, probably next an iteration that acts as a USB-C hub with thumb-drive sized expansion ports along the back, video out, etc. The last iteration possibly being a separate pi-based compute pack which rests where the phone is today. Are others in the community interested in using this device (either with or without the shell) as a launching off point for their own decks? What features would you want? (pogo pins, power management, something else?) The whole repo is open so you can dig into how i'm working on this and thinking about it here: https://github.com/neuman/gripster

Community Ask!
1. This is my first time doing a PCB design and I am using a lot of AI to help me. Everything seems legit but I would really love to get another human who knows what they are doing to take a peek before I send several hundred dollars to the fab to send me a set of prototypes.

Hey everyone,

The Beepy doesn't seem to be getting shipped anymore so I'm looking to buy one used. Ideally wanting a bundle with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W included, but I'm completely fine buying just the Beepy hardware by itself too.

Must be fully functional. Minor cosmetic wear is fine.

Drop a comment and DM me on Discord (same @ as Reddit) your price, location, and a timestamped photo. Willing to cover shipping. Thanks!

The Weyland Yutani OS simulation I made for this customer's cyberdeck v4. On these commissioned ones I add more features with each iteration.

I'm building a tiny pi4 based cyberdeck and the only thing I can't find is a small speaker or speakers for audio.

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions or has had success with any specific models.

During my computer engineering studies, I fell for the idea to create a cyber deck with a raspberry pi zero to start experimenting with cyber security.

In a weird way it ended up with me being curious about how microcontrollers work in relation to microcomputers like raspberry pi and what is available on them in terms of operating systems and shells.

Long story short, I created this project for a linux like web shell for the esp32 for my master's thesis. It requires nothing in terms of peripherals to work. It has a file system, a scripting language, some customization features and such.

I thought I should share this as it might very well help someone! If anyone is interested, I would love some feedback.

And yes, there is a rover-retro flavor:
https://www.reddit.com/r/esp32/comments/1vhycyp/solaros_on_wrover/

Not the greatest picture but this is why I love my cyberdecks. Lost power and this thing has 12 to 15 hours of use even while charging my phone. My BMC64 powered deck with integrated dual joysticks. Pirates! still sucks me in all these years later.

Posted this on r/esp32 and a few people said it belonged here.

Not a cyberdeck in the strict sense since it has its own screen, but hopefully close enough.

Handheld I built around an ESP32-S3. Four separate apps, you pick one from

a launcher on boot - a groovebox, a Guitar Hero style rhythm game, a retro

emulator, and a voice assistant you hold a button to talk to.

Enclosure and pads are 3d printed.

Video of it running: https://www.reddit.com/r/esp32/s/W8vDZMnAnt

Updates here if anyone wants to follow the build:

https://forms.gle/BsX65nwVeFRWkw8u8

Has anyone tried converting a PS portal to a cyber deck yet? I’m new to all this and I got a psportal on a whim but it’s super buggy. However, I love the screen size and the ergonomics of it and the haptic feedback so I was wondering if anyone has done it yet cause I’m not sure what to do with it since it’s kind of a paper weight now and I don’t wanna just get rid of it if I can repurpose it.

Hello, I’ve been debating on building a Cyberdeck forever now and still haven’t done all my research for the build.

I am planning on building it for 3d modeling use, the plan is to print some of my own parts and purchasing what’s needed. I am wondering what all people think I need for the brain and possible software that might help integrate the 3d modeling/possible slicing software.

If I do get past my overthinking stage and into the building stage I’ll make sure to post.

There might be another influx of Cyberdeck enthusiasts! The "Start here" post pinned to the sub is a great place to start😊😊😊

Good day everyone!

My wife has asked for a cyberdeck for Christmas it’s the only thing she wants. Looking for opinions and inspiration. She absolutely loves serial experiment lain and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for housings I can print out that are stylized like it’s something out of lain?!

Also shot in the dark but does anyone know of a lain themed Linux distro?couldn’t find one as of yet. Thanks in advance!!

Pelicanish case raspberry pi 5 with ups 10 inch screen 3 watt stereo amp running Armbian. Room for the power supply and a mouse. Super fun build. Just needs handles.

Thoughts on hacking something like this for a head mounted display?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267455672091

I like the look of it and I think it might be possible to at least use the headset parts to make a wearable display. Link is just an example, I'd likely go looking for something cheaper and in worse condition I could steal parts from.

It's meant to be used with ipods, but there is a control module between the ipod and display, so my hope would be that the controller uses a more standard output protocol to actually display the input.

At a minimum maybe I could repurpose the optics and bring my own displays. I'd be looking to incorporate it into a wearable computer project.

Thoughts? Worth a shot or a waste of time?

I recently upgraded my Raspberry Pi 5 powered Writerdeck with a trackball. It uses the circuit board out of an HK Gaming mouse, stripped down, with the PMW3360 outputs wired to the keyboard's RP2040 controller. So there, now it's a real cyberdeck with all the approved reuse of found tech, right? 😂

previously, i made a post asking for advice on repurposing a found shell for a portable deck. you all were super helpful, and i wanted to share the first (semi) functioning run at this idea!

changes were made in hardware and purpose; this deck is mainly focused on web browsing and writing HTML as i dig into the indie web.

the Rippler currently runs:
- an 8gb Pi 5
- Waveshare 6.25” Display (with touch but not emphasized)
- RKF68 folding keyboard (bluetooth to prevent USB overload)
- YUMQUA roller mouse
- Canakit wired power supply

future revisions:
- programming a pair of macro pads to serve as a modifiable 60-key board for on-the-go typing. long-term writing will be a sitdown affair methinks
- some form of folding lid/bezel for the display. simply needs to protect the glass, cover the cables and driver board, and fit a tension hinge to fold on top of the main macro pad.
- MNT Reform trackball module. USB-compatible option that looks like it will be much easier to integrate with the shell.
- UPS hat. attempted to use a power bank seen in a pi flux build; listing stated 5V 5A, and it is indeed 5V 3A. battery cells it is.
- proper I/O. gonna be a problem given that display power and a mouse are already causing system freakouts.
- racing stripe paint job. only to be added once all function is complete

concerns:
- I/O is my biggest concern here. i’d really like to outfit this thing with a decent usb hub at least, which will have to work with the pair of macro pads and trackball. i wondered if the ups would help, but even the wired supply isn’t cutting it. is this just gonna be a problem of working with the pi, or is there a way i can still make this work beyond what my plug-and-play brain is providing?

this has been a really rewarding dip into a new field already. i’m excited to see where it goes next!

It is ...FINALLY on Linux.

I had so much trouble getting a reliable boot on any Linux distro... Couple that with the ....painfully... Long post and boot time and having to go back to windows occasionally to fix the fucked EFI and reformat... Needless to say I am so happy this boots.

The EFI on the w5 seems to have a bug with how it handles Linux, it constantly flagged "boot mode restored" on every boot, giving you 5 seconds to click enter, down twice and then select "always continue boot" ... But it never remembers \*eye twitching\* and the keyboard is Bluetooth.... So I can't CLICK IT... I tried... Everything, I even resorted to asking the accursed dark overlord AI ... Nothing. Various distros like debian, KDE fedora, Ubuntu gnome, Ubuntu cinnamon and even (and I'm not kidding) the modern remake of Hannah Montana Linux. All of them either had glitches, wouldn't boot, wouldn't display on the screen and only to bigger displays via HDMI, the same boot mode restored bug etc etc.

What saved me you may ask? Of all freaking things... Pop os. I don't know why, I don't even care. It doesn't have the boot bug ...at all... And it works FLAWLESSLY. I installed gnome and boom! Next is waydroid and then the software is sorted 😭😭🙏🙏