IT'S ALIVE!!! (final cyberdeck update)

ominous crash of thunder

I've been putting off posting this for couple weeks as I was just waiting for the custom keycaps to arrive.

While I'm so glad it's finally done, I really enjoyed building my first cyberdeck! There was a lot of agonising over which parts to use, finally settling on something, then realising I hadn't accounted for something and having to rework it. Really got my brain going, which I desperately needed.

I've been in a depression funk for a while, for reasons I'll spare you from. I found it difficult to find much motivation for anything, and I was mostly just consuming things and not doing anything 'productive' or active. Reading books, watching shows, doomscrolling (which obvs didn't help the depression). Luckily, some of my doomscrolling brought this lovely site and community to my attention, and I was instantly taken with it. Massive props to @genghis_khan for making this old-school version of the net and clearly putting so much work into it. This is the internet of old that I've missed.

Coincidentally, the circumstances in my life have recently improved and allowed me crawl out of a years-long depression spiral. I'm feeling lighter and more positive, and I was starting to yearn for a creative outlet. And so, here we are.

As mentioned in my previous post, my 7 y.o. son became really interested in this project from the moment he saw me looking up parts and I talked him through what it was. I really loved doing this project with him, he's been really invested since the start. It's been great to bond with him over it. Every day he'd ask if any new parts had arrived and if we could do any of it before bedtime. He's had a part in pretty much every stage, from selecting parts, sawing and staining wood, replacing keycaps, tightening screws, connecting everything to the RPi, and helping me pick and place stickers.

PHOTO ALBUM

Parts List

Board: Raspberry Pi 4B (8GB RAM)

Had this to hand already and gathering dust. It was formerly a retro gaming device in the sitting room. The kids have a Switch 2 now so it hasn't been missed.

Case: Lykus HC-3310

The Pelican case from my inspiration build wasn't quite right in terms of measurements. This might be slightly too large, but the upside is that the extra space allowed a lot of room for error especially for a first build.

Screen: ROADOM 10.1" Touchscreen

I see a 7" touchscreen tends to be the generally preferred option for cyberdecks and I appreciate that a larger screen is going to draw more power. But I'm liking the bigger screen. Touch is nice as I didn't have to consider a mouse or a keyboard with a built-in touchpad.

Power Bank: INUI 20,000 mAh

The power bank options are slightly limited for the RPi as it can be very particular about voltage and amps. That did make the decision easier, though. I'd initially considered a battery HAT, but I didn't want to keep taking out and charging 18650 batteries. Plus, when I'm on the go with the cyberdeck I can charge other devices with this. It also has a built-in torch!

USB Hub: ORICO USB Hub

The fact that this just clamps on is perfect for fitting to the wooden panel without loads of extra aggro. Highly recommend this for a hub in your cyberdeck builds.

Keyboard: MAGIC-REFINER MK21

Haven't had a mechanical keyboard in years and missed the 'clicky clacky' sound, which seems perfect for a cyberdeck. This only had MX Red switches available so I also got some cheap MX Blues to replace them. Fits perfectly in the case.

Keycaps: Yuzu Keycaps (w/ custom font below)

Look, if I'm going to the effort of building what is essentially an expensive and impractical laptop, I might as well go all the way with the cusomisation. And seeing as how it's a cyberdeck, an appropriate Cyberpunk theme seemed warranted. Unfortunately, I can't publish it as a creation to Yuzu as it uses a proprietary font.

Font: Techno Codex by Masyafi Studio

Spent ages trying to find a free font that fit the aesthetic I was going for. Most of them were demo fonts or American based, meaning they were missing icons for things like the '£' symbol. Happy to support another artist for a cool font though, and I'm really happy with it. I've also put the font on my phone w/ Pro Launcher as I much prefer the text-based list rather than app icons.

Wrist Rest: Glorious Gaming Wrist Rest

I got lucky with this as it's the perfect size for the width of the case. Adds a bit of comfort when typing and makes it look a bit neater/slicker. Credit to my wife for this suggestion; it hides a lot sins and provides extra comfort. While I appreciate the reference to Yahtzee's jab at PC gamers from Zero Punctuation, I didn't think it quite fit so I've covered up the printed logo with a spare CP2077 sticker that fits perfectly; may substitute a different sticker later. I cut into the bottom of it to slip in some magnets and taped it back up, so now it 'snaps' to the metal weights in the lid and won't slide around.

Extras & Miscellaneous:

• Magnetic door catches for keeping the wooden panel in place
• Flush ring pull handles for pulling the panel off when needed
• Velcro for securing the power bank and keyboard
• Weights to prevent the case from tipping back when open
• Magnetic USB adapters for connecting the keyboard and power bank
• 3/16" wood panel
• Varnish for the wood panel
• Cherry MX Blue switches
• Stickers from various packs, but also some specific ones like the Trauma Team insurance and some from Christos Alamaniotis (he also does some wicked shirts!)

Operating Systems

I first changed the boot order on the RPi to try to boot from USB first, if present, and then fall back to booting from the SD card. Since this is primarily going to be for writing, I put Warewoolf on the SD card as the default boot. I got FydeOS installed onto a USB using the RPi imager, so when inserted before powering on it'll boot to that instead of Warewoolf. Thinking about making a couple more USBs like this for some variety/utility. Will likely try a TAILS USB again for this.

Warewoolf: A specialised program for writerdecks that sits on top of Raspberry Pi OS Lite and launches automatically on boot. I'm an intermediate Linux user (leaning more to beginner than expert) and this was a little painful to setup as the instructions I eventually found were very "draw the rest of the fucking owl" at times. Nearly gave up a few times, but was very satisfied when I eventually got it working.

FydeOS: I tried many, many operating systems and flavours to find something that wouldn't be laggy on Cyberspace but kind of gave up on it. I then found FydeOS a couple days after giving up, which is basically an alternative Chromebook OS. Lo and behold, there is no navigation or typing lag on Cyberspace. It's better suited to the touchscreen as well, since it doesn't leave a random cursor.

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FAQ

Q: Isn't it heavy and impractical?
A: Indeed it is.

Q: What injuries did you sustain?
A: I sliced my thumb open massively with a knife when trying to remove some glue and bled all over the case. We are now eternally bonded by a blood pact. My handsaw may have also nicked my finger a few times.

Q: What is your workbench/tool situation like?
A: My 'workbench' was a wobbly dining room chair which I took outside when sawing and drilling. It's a miracle anything fits together as well as it does. I used a single rusty handsaw, some old brushes from my kids' craft supplies, my son's screwdriver set, a butter knife, and an old piece of sandpaper my dad just happened to leave at our house.

Q: Wait, why don't you have any proper tools? Why are you ransacking your kids' stuff?
A: My tools were very cleverly placed in the shed when we first moved into this house. In our infinite wisdom, we continued to stuff random crap in the shed and I haven't been able to access my tools for some time.

Q: Was it stupidly expensive to do this?
A: Yes.

Q: Would the old laptops you have lying around have sufficed for browsing cyberspace and writing?
A: Also yes. Stop being so judgey and let me enjoy this.

Q: Do you love it with all your heart?
A: Absolutely!

Thanks for following along, the support has been great here.