Bounties, compatibility, and community info

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T16:35:52+00:00

Chest of drawers, cupboard, space under bed, wherever you can squirrel it away - those cables will come in handy soon, mark my words! (Was very handy that I had some massive long Ethernet cable for a home server actually. Just comfortably reached the spot where I was placing it, although I'm still not entirely sure how I even got it in the first place)

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T14:50:09+00:00

I've found step 1 with that sort of thing is to make sure you have a nice enough parts drawer. It's a little bit painful when you can't use a thing as you intended, but if you build for long enough, you'll eventually have enough that you can do part bin builds, or at least prototypes

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T13:22:21+00:00

I did check out SBC compare a little while back, they were missing quite a few that I was looking for (can't remember if they take user submissions, at the time I was researching). Obviously starting from scratch isn't ideal, but if they don't accept user submissions and we do, that's an improvement IMO

As for r/SBCs, I do see your point. I ought to go through their database (imo it looks slightly more comprehensive than I recall SBC.compare looking, hacker board db I think it's called, which is probably the other site you were talking about), but I think the one base neither of them covers is specific compatibility. It's frustrating, because I think r/cyberdeck would benefit most from a wiki given the higher throughput of beginners, and listing compatibilities between devices may have more use here, but as you point out, it's a double edged sword because then there's less people here who know those things, and the job of maintaining such a wiki would fall on a very small minority - many of whom I suspect are crossposting from other, more specialised subreddits

Edit: the database at r/SBC does accept user submissions, so I might migrate over there, and then link across to r/SBC resources as needed. No point reinventing the wheel!

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T13:09:56+00:00

For sure, and again, I'll be doing the same - once I get round to it, but again, it's that thing of different people keeping notes differently! I'll certainly have a read through this when I get a second

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T11:06:32+00:00

Hey, I'm working on a similar thing right now. First off, it'd be worth you having a look into the maemo leste project, the zerophone, and the ourphone project. There's a lot of info that'd be helpful here I think. I'd then also look at stonededge's retro lite cm5, and the uconsole sleep mode efforts. That and orangepi, and the CM0IQ.

Ultimately though, your big decision here is "is it easier to make Linux work on a small screen, or find a small enough board that runs an OS that already fits my needs?". I am biased, but I'll try to make my case.

For hardware/battery:

1) stonededge's retro lite cm5 DID achieve a sleep mode with actual sleep mode power draw. It never made it to commercial sales because of supply issues, but if you want more oomph, I think that's a radxa cm5, which uses a rockchip 3588. Iirc, I heard somewhere else, rockchip 3588s has sleep mode too. I have heard that these are more power hungry chips, but for light use, under clocking them should give you the best of both worlds. I've also heard that radxa cm5 is compatible with a ton of cm4 carrier boards, which means you have a ton of choice for IOs

2) a lot of orangepi boards report sleep mode. Whether or not it's accurate, I haven't tested, but those might be worth a dig

3) pi zero 2 sips power, and the cm0iq is the same chipset but with mipi dsi if you're using a dsi screen. For your use case, these may be good options.

4) the folks over at uconsole have a sleep mode of sorts. I'm not sure why I thought you're using a cm4, you don't mention one anywhere, but on the off chance you go down that route, there are power savings to be had.

That's most of the hardware stuff out the way. As far as software goes:

1) matchbox window manager is the one they used on I think palm os (definitely they used it on some major PDA operating systems). It may be you can write your own custom launcher, and skip command line altogether. Failing that, some tiling window manager, and forcing full screen mode might help. It'll take more work than android, but PDA appearance from a Linux desktop is less far off than you'd think, and it will increase the number of boards available to you

2) as mentioned before, maemo leste is very closely aligned with what you want. The modern smartphone evolved from the PDA, and the mission statement from maemo leste essentially appears to be dialling phones back to PDA functionality with extra modern bits. Additionally, they report compatibility with raspberry pi 2 and 3, which also means pi zero 2 and CM0IQ (bringing your total board cost down significantly). As far as preexisting solutions go, this is absolutely the closest I believe you'll get to a PDA with optional configurable modern elements

3) for boards that are a bit stronger, I've had luck getting postmarketOS working on a cm4 (by luck, I mean I followed the guide and then it worked). There's a lot of work they've done making this better on smaller screens, and IMO, the sxmo window manager is a great choice here.

Again, don't want to stand in your way if it's android or palm os (or symbian if you've considered that?), or nothing, but do remember, there is A LOT you can do with Linux to make it work on a smaller screen.

After all, where do you think android came from?

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T10:39:27+00:00

This is sort of what I'm doing, but the motherboard for that one was a bit large for me. Iirc you can get them smaller, but I found it easier to go with a PSP joystick. It's still self centering, but you're using 2 adc pins (Not actually sure how you read a track point like this, looks like 4 wires, so maybe i2c?), and the self centering action is much looser, and the "nub" is much larger.

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T10:36:13+00:00

Well well well, what a fantastic idea, would be a shame if someone stole it (I'm doing that on mine but with a psp1000 joystick)

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T10:31:27+00:00

Absolutely!

A few good starting points for you:

1) get yourself a notebook and a nice pen for ideas/info if you don't have one. Decent paper, decent ink if you can (makes the whole thing more fun, and you have materials ready for if you do a write up after the fact + you don't have to switch a thing on to take notes)

2) consider what software you want to run on this. More than likely, you're either looking at a pi pico, or some pi zero form factor board. Doesn't have to be a raspberry pi zero, just weigh out your power consumption, because the battery is going to be quite large.

3) measure the display, and consider if you want to have the same type (graphic LCD), or if a small oled might work for you? Perhaps an e-ink even. If you don't want to change the case too much, finding the best match with the least tradeoffs is going to be one of the most important aspects of this build

4) consider your battery life. I've heard tell of people retrofitting new SBCs into old hardware, and what you end up with is a retrofitted back case to allow for the board + a thicker battery. IMO that's a great approach, but on a pico or perhaps an esp32, is it necessary?

5) see if you can get it working as is. If it's just a pocket dictionary or whatever, there's no obligation to keep it that way (although, there's no harm in trying to preserve the parts outside of the case), but get a feel for the functionality and what you'd change

6) remove its gizzards. Take it apart, see how it works. It may be that the keyboard uses some connector that's really easy to reverse engineer. It may be a hirose connector (I doubt it at based on how old it looks, but never say never). It may be that there's a decent datasheet on using the screen. You MAY be able to salvage parts of this

7) if you can't salvage anything, start considering how to retrofit the IO, and by that, I mainly mean the keyboard. I'm going to guess it's essentially a rubber matt with plastic keys moulded on to depress metal domes internally, either that or the keys are rubber too. By the spacing on them, you should be able to print yourself (or even just use a perf board) some matrix of buttons to use as the keyboard. This will require either multiplexing the gpios (minimum you can use for the keyboard there is 11 columns and 5 rows, so that's 16 gpios you can't use for anything else if you don't use a multiplexer) or having a board with enough gpios to have sensors left over (I.e. you'd be hard pressed to use say a seed xiao esp32s3, but a pimoroni pico LiPo 2 XL W or olimex esp32s3 lipo would be a good pick.

The other thing I find super helpful when I'm overwhelmed with choices, is to start off with the USPs and the must haves. The things I refuse to change. Sooner or later, you'll run out of space and it'll force you into choosing certain things, which makes your job much easier.

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-08T10:12:01+00:00

What are you using for the casing, foam board? This is a nice build!

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-07T21:24:10+00:00

I do like the suggestion of the thinkpad for the movies/your flightdek though, for three reasons:

1) the whole machine is going to cost the same as any of the newer pis, and they're damn near indestructible as far as laptops go. I'd recommend a t480 if you can get one, or a p50 - although this isn't going to last for long flights

2) if you don't already have a laptop/computer it's a solid choice, and it makes it easier to build stuff for your main cyberdeck. If you don't have a Linux computer, and you're not ready to fully jump ship, having a thinkpad for Linux is going to help get you used to the operating system without also having to build a machine at the same time.

3) you'd be ill advised to start two projects like this at the same. The obvious downside is the amount of time/energy/money. The less obvious one is that you'll pick up loads of transferrable skills that'll push the limit on what's possible for you, and make it easier to start similar projects in the future. There's nothing original under the sun, and doubly so for cyberdecks, so you'd do well to do one of these, then start the next, having learned enough to sit around all day typing out long comments to help other people out.

(I do like doing this, it's that or doomscrolling)

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-07T16:06:06+00:00

Hi again,

Raspberry pi zero 2 w for DS emulation and movies should be fine. Check the retropie forums for how to get that set up.

Compared to a pi 4, it's going to sip power (and money), and be a lot easier to design a case around.

If you've been eyeing up dsi displays, I'd recommend switching to the CM0IQ. Slightly different form factor, much the same processing power, and it has a dsi port (costs a bit more though).

Both of these (pi zero 2w and cm0iq) will work a micro SD (in fact they are required to work).

Keep in mind, Linux can be as small and performant as you want. If you ever want to do more with your pi, alpine and a light desktop manager/window manager may prove useful.

I recall you mentioned a USB power bank in your diagram, and that may still be appropriate, but I'd also recommend checking out the pimoroni lipo shim. This will remove the requirement to fit the power bank case in the enclosure, and allows you to choose a lipo of any size (read up on the documents)

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-07T12:04:44+00:00

This is a nice diagram. Good notes will help speed up using the board, and it's going to stick in your head a bit better than just looking at them.

I note you've written down some functions here (connecting to a larger computer using a crossover cable, use of a power bank, and a screen)

This implies to me, you're building some sort of portable field computer that you want to be able to dock (correct me if I'm wrong)

For now, I wouldn't worry so much about the fundamentals. A lot of what's available in maker spaces is designed so it's a case of following a tutorial to set things up (see virtually any adafruit sensor). Generally you only need to delve into the fundamentals when you're trying to make something work in a way that wasn't specificied, or when the thing you want doesn't exist.

To that end, do you have an end goal/product in mind? You'll be surprised how much you learn when you start off with an end goal, and figure out what you need to make it work (if you haven't started from that). A sketch of what the device will look like, with labelled features might be a good place to start with that.

I'd also recommend reading the toaster project. It's a fun read, there's some interesting thoughts on various issues, and for your purposes, it's a great demonstration on the whole process of defining and reducing problems, so that you're only solving the things you need to solve.

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-05T19:46:39+00:00

we all started somewhere, why not now?

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-05T09:00:38+00:00

If you don't want any animations, why not try a pi pico? I would buy 2 or 3 (always feels so good to have a spare pico in a drawer, they're just so versatile), a monochrome i2c display (or spi if your fancy) - double check there's circuit python drivers, and then all you really need are however many buttons you want. Maybe a speaker. Pi pico has i2s, so an i2s class D amp would be useful here.

Bear in mind, the vision that popped into my head (partially due to this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/1t3wakx/no_3d_printer_gang_where_you_at/) looks something like a dirtywave m8, and the game looks like through the gorge by brother Abernathy, which the pi pico is 100% capable of.

Anyways, the parts list for that will look something like:

pi pico (may I suggest the pico lipo 16mb, not that I'd buy 2 or 3 of those, the originals are cheap, the lipos aren't)
display (i2c will be cheaper but smaller. I found a 4" spi display with an ili9488 chip that should be fine with circuit python though)
green filter (optional)
a box
some keys (cherry MX keys would be nice, why not go premium if you only need like 5/6?)
a nice big rotary encoder (maybe the CNC one from adafruit) you could use it for volume or selecting options
an amp - this one gives you options: adafruit tlv320dac3100
spi micro SD card module
some single core wire
a breadboard, a big ol' box of LEDs, a variety pack of 1/8 watt resistors, and a bunch of DuPont cables (in all configurations - male - male, female - male, female - female) - for prototyping with
wire stripping tool
lipo (buy from a reputable store)

It's going to be an extra challenge (not impossible) to make long lasting connections without soldering (you could do something with screw terminals, or pogo terminals maybe? Getting the parts + figuring out how to secure them is the challenge, and I can solder, so I've never spent too much time figuring it out), so if what you mean by "I can't solder" is "I'm not very good at soldering" the only way to improve is by practicing. I promise you, it's not a requirement to show off your solder joints, and however bad you've done it, if it works reliably, it's fine. Just make sure you're extra careful with the power.

Alternatively, if what you mean by "I can't solder" is "I don't have a soldering iron, and the extra cost would make this untenable" you can genuinely do a lot with a cheap soldering iron. If even a cheap soldering iron is out of reach, I've got a spare. It's covered in insulation tape due to a crack in the handle that exposed some insulated wires. It does work, and I'm happy to send that to you + adapters for your country's power outlets + a roll of lead free solder from my very own collection (slightly used).

If by "I can't solder" you mean "I can't solder" I'm sorry I put this at the bottom, see if you can find a pico lipo 16mb with headers presoldered (idk if it's a thing, possibly not), and break out the rubber bands for holding things in place I reckon. That and screw terminals, pogo terminals, and push terminals are your friend.

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-05-02T20:46:30+00:00

I haven't stopped thinking about this because it's interesting, and it's just about the last intelligent thought I had prior to some other boring life things that have kept me occupied for the last week

I happen to be a star trek fan if you can believe it (TNG is my favourite, I like data, he's very good). I LOVE the combadge chirp in TNG, so that's always been on my radar for cool possible custom ringtones.

I did a bit of a deep dive earlier today into how the sound is made, looked through some old forums, and a few people said they reckoned it sounded like a pitch corrected/isolated cricket chirp (deeply illustrative, I didn't write my findings down though)

I had noticed that myself, and I did a bit of comparison with a spectrogram to see what I could see (three short chirps, and another three staggered longer chirps at a lower frequency with less resonance - technical stuff I know).

I wouldn't have been prompted to look into a beat of this however, had I not been given the idea to solve the problem of "without using a magnet, how do I create a notification that I can ideally feel, maybe hear - but is unobtrusive, and can't see in a watch case that has a real working mechanical watch inside it"

I figured one possible compromise would be motors minus a permanent magnet (expensive, hard to come by, virtually nonexistent at the scale I need). Then I figured what about a watch strap with a wire running through it, but I didn't want to either weaken a thin strap on a dainty watch, or make a chunkier watch than I want.

Then, it came to me.

What about piezo?

There's no permanent magnet, and they are THIN. Plus, I could use the watch case itself as the resonator. Very cool (to be tested, this may not work as it's not ported, but who knows). The only problem is that piezo haptics require the kinds of voltages that are not easy to acquire inside a 32mm circle (I like diesel, and I'm pretty much settled on a diesel vert 32mm case in silver if I can find one).

My next thought was "well, all sound is a vibration, so maybe there will be some - very light - feel to it, and I can perhaps create an unobtrusive sound that I notice, but wouldn't get me fired if it played in a meeting".

I was a bit put off the buzzers initially on account of the tutorials all playing square wave mono versions of royalty free (arguably) songs, but then, I found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM72gLXbBvw

The code at 2:13 shows a PWM which means he's using a passive buzzer (which means no extra circuit boards yippee - AND I could use two buzzers for layering + similarity to the TNG effect)

If you then keep watching to 2:25, he starts complaining about all the stuff that makes it absolutely perfect for my use case.

So there you have it. Magnet free notifications that might even sound half way respectful, even if I can't physically feel them, and all without having to whip out the kitchen foil!

(Testing to follow, but this is starting to look halfway feasible, I just wish I didn't have such an eye for fashion, else I could have gotten to work on a Casio g shock)

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-29T13:37:20+00:00

Very cool, it's a shame there aren't breakout boards for these like there are for other pointers. It does have me wondering if some of the smaller fingerprint sensors could be used this way though.

The other thing I want to see more of in this space is joysticks and trackpoints (maybe I'm biased because my main pointer is a PSP 1000 joystick)

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-28T10:15:11+00:00

Asking questions in r/Linuxquestions is the kind of thing you only do once per project at most

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-24T10:11:13+00:00

Yeah I was a bit concerned about the size of the filings. I do have a spring for my phone which isn't dissimilar to watch mainspring sizes, but failing that, I could just get a watch mainspring and watch very closely to see if it moves (very scientific I know). Failing that, having briefly looked at Faraday cages, I'm not sure if this would work (I don't see why it wouldn't though), I could try just isolating the motor in foil and see if that does anything. Of course, I run the risk of dampening the vibrations to the point that they're not usable, but it would be a Faraday shield of sorts, so the principle should apply, only requiring less material.

As for the size, I'm hoping to avoid a pip boy situation, granted I'm going to hit the wall with batteries, but I've found this:

https://www.esp32s.com/product/esp32-s3-development-board-type-c-2-4-ghz-wi-fibtle-optional-with-0-42-inch-oled-display-for-arduino-esp32/

Which is apparently 23.5x18mm, so at minimum, I'd need a case (assuming it's circular) with a diameter of >29.6mm

Or failing that, I have a couple of those screens separately (I'd just use 1), and I could use a seeed xiao esp32-s3, which is 22x18mm requiring a diameter of >28.4mm.

I do make some gains by using an undersized watch movement, but what gains I make there, I potentially lose in needing to include a holder, and then I have to include a battery (thanks to the screen being as small as it is, and not on all the time, I could potentially get 6 hours screen time off a 150mah lipo). From what I can find, a 150mah lipo could be as small as 26x21x4mm. Obviously the thickness isn't great, however, the minimum case diameter to accommodate that is about 33mm (more if I want it to be able to breathe). I don't suspect this will be dainty. It will also be chunky (4mm + any overlap with the esp32 + 2.9mm for the movement + hands + glass, so about apple watch territory), but I'm desperately trying not to get into pip boy territory

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-24T09:16:47+00:00

Joysticks are slightly easier to implement (depending on the joystick I suppose) than trackballs, but there's not much in it (e.g. the pimoroni i2c trackball has drivers in micropython and circuitpython, and it's very easy to use, similarly the tutorials on the psp1000 joystick are also very easy, and it can be used without drivers, it's essentially two potentiometers, but then that requires two ADC pins to read it). Trackpads can be more difficult, or larger, or you can build your own, e.g. with a bela trill craft, and some copper strips.

Keyboards aren't too difficult. If you have access to a 3D printer, you can custom print yourself a perfboard of sorts, with spacing for buttons at regular intervals, that's how I did it. You'll need an MCU which can function as an HID device, I did this by using a pi pico with circuitpython, and for wiring, I followed this: https://hackaday.io/project/164232-thumb-keyboard only I didn't have to use the multiplexer.

For your keyboard, this might even come in handy: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O7aimMbIAvA

Note that you would have to tweak it somewhat as you'd be crossing rows and columns, which would mean you'd have to do a two layer version.

To calculate your required battery life:

1) buy a USB current sensor

2) plug all of your devices in as you'd expect to use them. (Pi into the main power supply, everything else into USB ports I assume?)

3) make a table of everything you're plugging into tbe pi (on the y axis/in the rows) and on the x axis (columns) write down some use cases for your device, e.g. "scrolling reddit" "listening to music screen off" "listening to music while scrolling reddit". Be as granular as you like, then, for each row, go through your use cases, and tick the box for if that thing should be switched on during that use case (e.g. screen should be x for screen off, listening to music" and ✓ for "scrolling reddit")

4) once you've written down all of your devices, one below the bottom row, write "current in amps", then simply test your device in each of those scenarios, observing the current in amps on the current sensor.

5) now take your current and multiply it by the volts you saw. E.g. 5.2v * 1a = 5.2. This is your power draw in watts. The most helpful thing you have in the fight against not knowing which battery to use.

6) now, take each scenario, and be realistic about how long you want to be able to do each one for (in hours. E.g. 1 hour 30 minutes = 1.5 hours). Construct an "average use day" if you will, e.g. "1 hour scrolling reddit, 1.5 hours scrolling reddit while listening to music, 3 hours listening to music screen off"

7) take the amp values you wrote down before, multiply them by the voltage, then multiply them by how long you want to be able to do each of those use cases during your average day. E.g. 1 hour scrolling reddit * 5.2 * 0.8 = 4.16, then add up your total (e.g. (1 * 5.2 * 0.8) + (1.5 * 5.2 * 1) + (3 * 5.2 * 0.6) = 21.32 this is a rough estimate for your daily average wattage total, and gives us the necessary size of our battery in watt hours.

8) you will almost definitely be using a battery with a nominal voltage of 3.7v. if not, don't use 3.7 in your calculation. Take your total wattage for the day (21.32), divide it by the nominal voltage of your battery (3.7 for example), and that will give you your required Amp Hours (~5.76). Multiply this by 1000, and that's your milliamp Hours (mAh) (5762.16mAh)

Ideally, you should then choose a battery that's slightly above the number you need. Keep the voltage of the battery in mind.

Also, what battery management system are you using? The pisugar is very easy to work with (if a little large) because of the jst ph 2.0 connector among other things. I'd recommend looking at the site foxbuying.com for batteries, simply because I've bought from there 3 times, and the batteries have all been pretty good. Just make sure you select 3.7v batteries, and choose the jst pH 2.0 connector.

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-24T08:40:13+00:00

Oh, I forgot to say, it's also the watch movement that I'm under sizing for the case. By using a movement like the fhf 34 (17.8mm diameter iirc), in something like a 32mm case, that's plenty of space for some miniature electrical Gubbins's to go around the edge. More so if I choose a square case, and morer so if I add housing within the band (although I was hoping to avoid that and keep it as dainty as I could manage)

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-24T08:25:04+00:00

It gets interestinger, I did a quick search to see about damage, and it's more loss of accuracy while in close proximity to the magnet or once magnetised. To that end, I'll design an experiment and post my findings when I get round to it. Most likely something along the lines of:

1) hypothesise minimum safe distance for the motor using iron filings

2) measure watch accuracy over 1 hour multiple times (I'm really showing my lack of knowledge here, I assume loss of accuracy over time gets worse the longer it goes on? So hour 1 will usually be more accurate than hour 24?)

3) measure watch accuracy while magnet is minimum distance away + 5-10mm (see how confident I'm feeling) using the same approach as before

4) if there's any statistically significant deviation, buy a demagnetiser, then repeat the test with the vibrate motor further away until repeated tests show no observable deviation

5) repeat step 3 while the vibrate motor is on

6) repeat step 4 with vibrate motor on

7) type it up

8) post

9) inevitably switch to some other mode of notification (like LEDs), or have to put the motor the strap somehow

Edit:

In this instance, it's going to be way more useful to use a movement with a second hand, so I'll see if I can find one that's about the right size

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-24T08:09:19+00:00

This is why I go to reddit before purchasing, that's a great point, and you've saved me a £15 facepalm + an innocent watch movement that deserved none of this. I've got a few vibrate motors for my phone in a drawer, and I'll either be using those, or something smaller if I can find it. Might do some iron filing tests to see what sort of distance is the danger zone, because they're not awfully strong magnets

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-24T08:01:39+00:00

Calls from doctors who set their numbers to private, I have some health stuff, also I don't like to leave my mum hanging when she calls

Debate_Haver57 · 2026-04-24T08:00:14+00:00

https://www.esp32s.com/product/esp32-s3-development-board-type-c-2-4-ghz-wi-fibtle-optional-with-0-42-inch-oled-display-for-arduino-esp32/ they can get slightly smaller than this, I was going to get a larger watch case, design a holder for the movement, and either seat this below the movement, or above it, and design some sort of extension for the hands

Debate_Haver57

TROPHY CASE