Quick heads up: if you buy through links on this page (which I truly appreciate), I may earn a tiny commission. It helps keep this site going. But honestly, that's not my motivation. I've personally bought and tested everything listed here - I only recommend what I'd tell a friend to get. Win-win, if you ask me.
@rocket357 thanks for mentioning that! Fixed.
Busy constructing it! I started by lining the interior with Aluminium Duct tape for EMF/EMP considerations:
@Laser128128 cool stuff 👍 Looking forward to see the build!
Always wanted to know how effective aluminium tape is. If you put a mobile phone inside box and call it, will it shield the radio so phone appears offline?
I am currently building this project and first and foremost: Thank you very much for your BOM and the pictures.
Have you tried the 50 pin connectors already? When turning the display around to hide the connector behind it (surprisingly it fits that way) the cable is too short and also I cannot get an image when using the connector between the display and the driver board.
Looking very much forward to any updates from you on this project
@DrMullings I've put the extension connector behind the screen. See photo of the back of the screen:
I actually have a lots of updates, just waiting some crucial parts to arrive, so I could complete build and write the post. Looking forward to see what you make as well.
I'm looking into making this build as well! Updates in the future.
@Z4ph0d42 black - uninterrupted, red - on prong.
I built mine with a raspi 4b+.
I used the hdmi connector that OP did and in the configuration OP used (the video board and the pi sandwiched on top of each other). But this causes a significant amount of pressure on the screen. I ended up breaking my screen and having to order a replacement.
I'm waiting on a flat ribbon cable hdmi to arrive and it should solve all my issues.
I'll post more pics latter.
Such an awesome computer to build. Thanks for sharing the project and the BOM!
Built mine with Intel stick PC running Debian with awesomewm. Powered by 16Ah LiFePO4 battery for extra long service life. Added modules to boost the battery voltage to 5V, and added 5V + 12V inputs, so the computer will run (and charge) on both 5V or 12-36V inputs, or the battery. Also added a small voltage meter so battery soc can be monitored. Charging module is set to ~3.33V, so battery is never overcharged. Found a nice 8.9" 500 nits ips display that only draws ~350mA. Also added mechanical on/off switches to turn on/off display, charging module or completely disconnect the battery from everything.
Still a WIP. Waiting on smaller/flat HDMI cable to make room for more USB ports to add GPS and LTE modules. Only got 1 free USB port now.
Went with https://github.com/SalmonChris/KeyboardMouse for mouse control after making some edits to it (WASD + cursor movement and extra button keys).
I might start working on one of these, unfortunately it seems that the keyboard is no longer being sold.
I also would not recommend the keyboard op used. I used an identical one and after a month it fell apart and bowed from normal use. Just buy a small flat wireless keeb
Yes, the mentioned keyboard is low quality.
I would recommend the "MCSaite Ultra Slim Full Size Mute Wired USB Mini Keyboard For PC Computer", it is a little larger but fits after some small modifications. You can get it on both Amazon or Aliexpress. Photo's are from another project, but it will fit the case for this project as well.
ok, first of all its awesome that there are still people active in here.
I will look in to getting a different keyboard, maybe one with a trackpad. has anyone figured out the trackball or other mouse solution yet?
I have ordered the screen and case.
In the project pictured above I re-purposed an old laptop touchpad. You can find many trackpad pinouts of them online and then use a PS/2 to USB converter (which is hidden under the keyboard) to connect it to USB.
If you want a ready-to go solution, I can also recommend the ergonomictouchpad.com touchpads. Expensive, but many sizes available and works very well, even has support for gestures and right-click, which is also nice. I had one of them but sadly destroyed it while trying to shorten the cable, still not sure what went wrong exactly.
You can also look at finger or pen mouse options, but I have no experience with them.
oh I see, the rounded silver thing is a touchpad? I have at least one old laptop touchpad laying around, maybe i'll see if I can get it to work with a PS2 to USB adapter. I also might just order the blackberry trackball and some arduino-like tiny dev board and try to write the software myself. my case and screen are coming on august 26th, and I am going to start out with a Pi 2 as the computer until I can get a better one, since right now my Pi 3 is hosting HomeAssistant for me.
Happy to see other great builds here, thank you for sharing! I've also published a status update on the original build, hope you might find something useful.
Thanks for sharing this cool laptop !
I also built my own:
More info on my website.
Links are swapped for the extras section.