Create your own cyberdeck

Create your own cyberdeck It seems as though we haven’t been able to get away from cyberdecks this year, with the maker community falling back in love with these homemade machines. This Maker Monday, we thought it high time we shared a tutorial to help you build your own. What is a cyberdeck? Is it a wearable computer, a pocket computer, a launch monitor/centre for rockets or high-altitude balloons, or a knowledge store for the zombie apocalypse? The answer is all of the above — and anything else you can think of. It’s something you create to solve a need that a conventional tablet or computer cannot fulfil, or to make something personal just for the hell of it. Planning/design thoughts There are four main parts to a cyberdeck: brains, peripherals, power supply, and case. We are going to look at each in turn. Brains The brains of a cyberdeck include its processing unit and long-term storage. Things to think about when selecting the central processing unit (CPU) are power consumption, processing power, and size. A single-board computer (SBC) is ideal for this, as they use less power than a conventional PC CPU. The Raspberry Pi line-up includes some good options for a cyberdeck, making it a popular choice for these builds. For storage, Raspberry Pi has a few options: SD card, USB flash drive, USB hard drive, USB SSD, or M.2 NVMe drive with an M.2 HAT if you are using a Raspberry Pi 5. Peripherals Peripherals are how you interact with the cyberdeck. They can be standard items like a keyboard, mouse, display, speaker, camera, etc., or they can be more specific, like voice-controlled components, joysticks, an encoder for a scroll wheel, trigger buttons, and so on. A small USB hub is useful if you are connecting many USB devices. Depending on how you are exposing the SBC’s ports, you may need panel-mount port extensions. Power The power supply must be large enough to power the SBC, peripherals, and accessories. To calculate the size of the power supply needed, add together the power requirements of each device. You can find this information in their data sheets or user manuals. For example, a Raspberry Pi 5 requires 25W; that’s 5V at 5A if you want to use the USB ports at full power (this is the worst-case scenario, with the USB ports fully loaded). At full brightness, Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 pulls approximately 3W. Therefore, you need a power supply of at least 28W. This translates to approximately 5.6A. This was calculated with the formula I = P/V, where I = current (A), P = power (W), and V = voltage (V); therefore, 5.6A = 28W/5V. Options for the power supply include a power or UPS HAT, a DC-to-DC converter board powered from batteries, an auxiliary power supply, or a power bank. A cyberdeck does not need to be powered by batteries. Some types of batteries, especially LiPos and related types, can make your life interesting for all the wrong reasons — treat them with care, make sure they are charged correctly, and ensure they are not over-discharged. It’s a good idea to fit a fuse as close to the battery as possible and monitor the battery’s cell voltages when in use. Case The case defines the cyberdeck. Past builds have used old pocket computers (including their original keyboards), briefcases, mint tins, wooden boxes, and prop replicas. A good starting case is a Pelican-style hard case. These are widely available in a variety of sizes and price points. They make for a robust case, normally have a carry handle, and are weatherproof. Construction A case can be built using fast prototyping methods, such as 3D printing or laser cutting, or with materials like plastic foam boards, plastic sheets, and even cardboard. The case needs to fit all your parts — and don’t forget about the cabling. The construction of your cyberdeck depends on what tools and services you can access. 3D printing and laser cutting are well suited for building your cyberdeck, allowing you to design a custom case. Mini 10mm extruded aluminium profile offers great support for the chassis and, when used with 3D-printed/laser-cut panels, makes a strong, versatile case. 3D-printer pens, mouldable plastic, plastic sheets, and plywood can be used to form panels, supports, and any other elements. Some companies offer 3D-printing and laser-cutting services if you can’t access the equipment yourself. Extras An important part of every cyberdeck is the extras. They finish off and define the build. Think switches, LEDs, software-defined radios (SDRs), accessible I/O pins for hacking, I2C ports for adding sensors and secondary displays; or a Raspberry Pi Pico acting as a second processor to monitor those switches and sensors, drive that secondary display, control those LEDs… Plus anything else you can imagine. Collecting your parts For this guide, we have selected the following parts, all of which are available off-the-shelf. Some soldering will be required (or you could use Wago blocks instead). Raspberry Pi 5: This model of Raspberry Pi is perfect for a cyberdeck, as it’s powerful enough for everyday tasks, controlling other Raspberry Pi projects, and programming. It also has good connectivity options for projects, including GPIO pins. Raspberry Pi Flash Drive (128GB): These flash drives are faster than a microSD card, more robust, have a larger physical size (so are less likely to be lost), and are easy to swap out — especially if you want to use a different operating system, such as a media centre or retro gaming OS. Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 (7″): This display has a resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels (landscape). The touchscreen removes the need for a mouse in most cases. Rii RK302 Bluetooth Keyboard: This keyboard was selected because it fits inside the case used in this tutorial and has a low profile. As it is designed to sit on a table when in use, its chassis is flexible and will need to be supported when in the case. It does have the advantage of connecting via Bluetooth. Pimoroni Picade Max USB Audio: This is a compact USB-C sound card with a 3W stereo amplifier — a one-cable/PCB solution that has the added bonus of keeping the 40-pin GPIO header free. The Picade Max Encoder has also been included for volume-control purposes. Power: Using a power bank simplifies arrangements and is a safer option than a LiPo battery. However, this build uses a LiPo battery with an inline fuse and a DC-to-DC converter that outputs 5V at 5A via USB-C PD. A Raspberry Pi 27W USB-C Power Supply can be used to run the cyberdeck from mains; to keep things simple, this build will be using an external charger for charging the battery, and the battery will be disconnected while charging. Pelican-style case: This is a CASOMAN 11.5-inch waterproof case. The Pelican brand is known for its well-made cases and has become the common name for rugged, waterproof boxes (like Hoover has for vacuum cleaners). Raspberry Pi RTC Battery: Adding the battery to Raspberry Pi 5 will activate the built-in RTC, which will keep time when your cyberdeck is off-grid. You need to add the following line to /boot/firmware/config.txt for the battery to charge: dtparam=rtc_bbat_vchg=3000000 USB leads: For internal routing, we like the flat, customisable, ribbon-style cables available from Adafruit and The Pi Hut. You can mix up the ends: for example, a right-angle micro HDMI to a full-sized HDMI plug. For this build, we’re using standard USB cables and a 500mm display ribbon cable to connect the screen. Building your cyberdeck Gather the parts for the build, burn your selected OS to your storage device (you can use Raspberry Pi Imager to do this), then connect the parts together and test that everything works. CAD (cardboard-aided design in this case) helps with prototyping the layout, seeing how things go together, and determining what space is required for cabling. Next, we convert the lessons learnt from step 1 into (traditional) CAD models. We used the Maker version of SOLIDWORKS, but other popular software includes Fusion360 and the open source FreeCAD. Print, laser-cut, and build your supports as designed, ready for installation. You will find that you have to make adjustments to your designs as you build your cyberdeck. Start with the lid and check that the parts fit. Then move on to the speakers and the Picade Max USB Audio; install the amp behind the display, at the top, and the speakers either side of the display, behind the grids on the front plate. The volume control sits behind the top plate, central to the left speaker. The volume-control knob protrudes through the display plate. Next, fit the display into the top plate using double-sided tape or foam to hold the display in place, then fit the back brackets. Glue the supports into place with a hot-glue gun or double-sided foam tape after checking the fit for a second time. Connect the speaker wires to the speaker connectors, then connect the 500mm display ribbon cable and the power cables you will need to extend the display’s power cable. The display ribbon is covered in a cloth tape used for electrical harness; this supports the ribbon and blends it into the build, matching the USB cables. A USB-A plug cable with bare wires is soldered to the display’s power cable; use heat-shrink to cover the joints. Using a USB cable frees the power pins on the 40-pin GPIO header for HATs and projects. Self-tapping screws are good for securing the display panel to the supports; other options include supergluing nuts or using heat-set bosses. Check that your supports and plate fit in the bottom half of the case. Glue the supports into place. Connect your Raspberry Pi to the display, making sure it boots and that the display is working. You could put a latching switch to turn off power to the display (it would need to be in series with the display’s power inputs and the power source). Once you’re happy with the position of the Raspberry Pi, and you know that both the display and the speakers are working, fix your Raspberry Pi into place. You can use glue or Velcro tape to hold your parts in place. We designed a mount plate for the Raspberry Pi and the battery holder. Next, fit the keyboard grips to the keyboard plate. Don’t fix down the plate, as you will need to be able to access the Raspberry Pi to power it up/down and change the power source. From here you can customise. There are a few ways to customise your build. You could use a Raspberry Pi Pico as a second processor to control an additional, smaller display, or to drive some LEDs — because you can never have too many LEDs in a build. Or, you could add sensors to monitor power consumption and keep an eye on your battery level… The possibilities are endless. Cyberdeck special issue of Raspberry Pi Official Magazine This tutorial features in Raspberry Pi Official Magazine #168, which was a cybderdeck special. You can now read it online for free. You can also subscribe to the print version of our magazine. Not only do we deliver worldwide, but those who sign up to the six- or twelve-month print subscription will receive a FREE Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W! 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