There’s something about the 1980s “Luggable” computer form factor that just gets me. Maybe its because I always wanted one in the ’80s, or the retro-future look, or just the convenience of having all your ports and interfaces conveniently on the front. Whatever it is, I’ve been sketching out designs for a DIY version for a while now.
This version uses a Pelican 1340 case, slightly modified to remove some internal lumps and protrusions. The brain is a Raspberry Pi 4 with 7″ screen. I laser-cut a custom front panel and 3D-printed the “Drive Bays” (files available here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6672979)
The larger top “drive bay” holds an accessory set (adapters, SDR, etc) store in a small tackle box. The bottom bay holds a Voltaic V88 battery pack. I picked up a few of these at a local surplus auction and I really like them. They are small enough to be legal in carry-on luggage, but powerful enough to keep the Raspberry Pi running for 4+ hours. They can output a variety of voltages through the barrel plug, can be charged with various input voltages, and can also output USB QC and USB C. They’re all-around a great external battery for your laptop or projects like this.
The Cyberdeck is great for running my satellite antennas and other SDR projects. Despite not having much cooling and being a black case, it seems to run just fine outside in the sun. And yes, I have an old bathtub in my yard next to the satellite hacking deck. I guess I’m a space redneck or something.
Almost immediately after building this deck, I found a real live Osborne 1 luggable at another auction. That will appear in a future video as soon as I re-cap the power supply.
This cyberdeck is great not only for my satellite experiments on the go, it was also a fantastic part of my exhibit booth at Open Sauce 2024, a Youtube/maker/science convention in San Francisco. I used the deck to run one of my hacked satellite antennas for microwave imaging. It was a real attention-grabber at the booth and I think more people may have stopped to look at the deck vs the dish!
The build video for this cyberdeck can be found below:
You can also find my earlier (and less refined) cyberdeck project here: https://saveitforparts.wordpress.com/2023/02/08/the-saveitforparts-spacedeck-v1-a-cyberdeck-for-space/
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