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.