Best products from r/cyberDeck

I love how everyone says 'basic use', and then 'browsing' is the first thing out of their mouths. A browser is incredibly complex. Web pages take a ton of power to render, and require a display that approaches 'standard' resolutions to be useful.


Of all the things I'd use a near-eye display for, browsing is literally the last on the list. It's an application where more screen real-estate is always better, and you'll never get enough.


It sounds to me like you're just looking to buy something, and the bottom line is that regular people just don't want to wear a computer around. Especially when it'll be less capable for browsing than a phone, and that's all that most people want to do.


As for suggestions, there are things on the market at varying costs. Here are some links to things of different styles, maybe one of them will be what you're looking for.

• Glyph headphones These were a big deal when they were first being introduced a few years ago, but they didn't sell well at all. I think people just considered them 'silly'. I just noticed they're under $200 now, and I've considered picking up a pair to try them out.
  
  
• Blade AR These are more recent, and probably more interesting in general. Reviews for these kinds of things are always middling at best, so I don't know how well they really work. Personally, I wouldn't buy them because I'm not sure if I could hack the display for an external computer, and this looks like it's meant to be more like VR glasses than a near-eye display. But, if you want an out of the box experience, maybe look that direction?
  
  
• VISIONHMD These are your pretty standard display glasses. Recent generations of these have just had their asses kicked by cheap VR. Most VR uses a phone display, which are easy to find and really cheap. That means a device like this, using actual near-eye technology is expensive to produce by comparison, and it can't do VR, the one application people think of when they pick up a headset. That said, the prices are dropping on these and the res is pretty good. I could see buying a pair just to remove the displays, personally, but if you just want a small computer you could probably add a pi to the strap and have something usable here.
  
  
• Vuefine This is definitely something more my speed. This is a single eye, reasonably good resolution, basic HDMI interface display. Stripping these down isn't be that hard, and I can hang them off just about anything.
  
  
  So, depending on what you want, there are definitely options.

I'm currently using a LiFePO4wered/Pi+, specifically the model with the larger 18650 battery and stackable headers. It can be bought on Crowd Supply.

And according to the creator, it has been tested and is capable enough to work with a Pi4. I would probably be best to put a small heatsink on the unit for continuous high loads like with a Pi3B+ or Pi4.

This unit will not power a Pi3B+ or Pi4 for too long, maybe an hour at best at full load. I get around 2-3 hours of just general use on a Pi3B. However, it offers some huge advantages:

1. Powering a Pi from most portable USB batteries designed for cell phones might present a challenge. Quality differs on these, so YMMV. Sometimes you will get a voltage dip on the output when you plug in a charger which might cause the Pi to hang or crash.
   
2. There are also other UPS units out there for the Pi, but I haven't seen any that can put out a constant 5.0v 2A like this unit can. Some are rated for 1.5A only which might be fine for a Zero, Pi2, or Pi3... but could struggle with 3B+ or 4. This will depend on the device you use. Hopefully in the future there will be more choices.
   
3. It uses a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery (LiFePo4), which has significantly more charge cycles at the cost of slightly less capacity when compared to other Lithium battery types.
   
   So what I recommend doing is combining a UPS unit of your choice (although the one I listed is highly recommended) with a separate power source such as any large USB battery or any USB phone charger. This will prevent interruptions in power when swapping batteries or plugging in power. It will also mean you have a power button with software assisted safe-shutdowns.
   
   On my setup I am currently using a Pi3B (non+) with the LiFePo4wered Pi+ (with 18650 battery and stackable header option), and an Anker PowerCore Fusion 5000mAh battery with built-in charger. Since I have my Pi3B inside a SmartiPi case with the official 7" touchscreen (similar to the other Cyberdecks built here) and I put a large heatsink on the Pi, it isn't possible for me to mount the LiFePo4wered Pi+ directly on top of the Pi like other HAT's. I bought the LiFePo4wered Pi with the stackable header option and a 40pin GPIO cable to link the 2 units and mounted it down below the screen. For those of you that might attempt this same setup with an Offical 7" LCD, make sure you install software for the LiFePo4wered Pi unit BEFORE you plug-in the hardware. Having both the touchscreen and the LiFePo4wered Pi unit installed without the software will cause a hardware or software conflict and the Pi and screen will lockup at EXACTLY 600 seconds (10 minutes).

Haha, thank you kindly!

The headset is super basic...I noticed folks where using HMD's to watch their drones, thought it would be a great way to use with a deck. Basically like having a large screen floating in front of you, no tracking or anything. The new Oculus Quest coming out next year has me salivating though....imagine of it could take USB input for a mech?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HMELD6G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_-xOYBbB847D3E

to keep it slim and looking like the original device i'd put the lcd in the top of the clamshell and then run a cable with hdmi, power and keyboard hookups down to a small box that can house the rpi4, fan and this geekworm battery power supply( i have it and it works great with the rpi4) you could even wire in a battery holder for larger lipos so instead of 18650's use 26650's to double the run time. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TJ64MFM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Right now I'm working on a redesign of my Nuc-build in more of what I think of as a "Deck" configuration--with an ergodox keyboard straddling either side of the Motherboard. Here's what I've got so far on the model.

I'd like to build it with a little more modularity, but I'm debating how far to take that--detatchable keyboard? Battery? Power Supply?

I'm also trying to figure out a good built-in cursor input. I think I'll likely be going with a touch pad, but damn I want a trackball. If I can figure out how to tear this guy down and build it into an ergonomic location, that'll be a dream come true.

I also plan on changing my power system from 12v to 18v. This would let me use the deck with most of my solar panels without an intermediate voltage regulator, and it'd lower the amp load on any regulators I do use, reducing the heat and bulk of the psu.

It was this model: https://newatlas.com/vuzix-vr920-video-eyewear/8668/

I suppose it helps if I spell icuiti right: http://www.virtualworldlets.net/Shop/ProductsDisplay/VRInterface.php?ID=31

Notice that it says icuiti on the front, but amazon labels it "by Vuzix"
You can apparently still buy them on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/VIDEO-AV920-VIRTUAL-62-EYEWEAR/dp/B000X471P0

These days myvu has a similar product for half the price: https://www.amazon.com/Myvu-Personal-Media-Viewer-MA-0495/dp/B000W9OJVA/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_23_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9E64FMFDRKFT8DFAHJ6J

Sorry about the wait, it was a busy couple of days! The specs are below:

BOM:

• 1920x1080 touchscreen ADAFRUIT!
  
• 2.4GHz backlit wireless keyboard (similar)link
  
• Box Vaultz
  
• 20,000 mAhr Amazon Basics power bank similar
  
  Beyond that its just a bunch of soldering, wiring, cardboard, and tape. I'm still trying to reduce the volume of all the cabling so that I can pack more in. I need speakers, a power switch, and I'd like to add a small USB hub.

>What did you search for to look up the guitar strap holder bolt things?

locking guitar strap pegs

>Any plans to make a new one with the Pi4?

I might just upgrade my Rev.3 with a new Pi. That's one nice thing about using Pi's, you can easily drop in a new pi and upgrade all of the core systems.

>Why did you decide to go with a USB battery pack

Because I didn't feel like designing a charging/bypass circuit and a battery box. I tend to use off the shelf solutions whenever possible because I'm lazy.

>Do you know how much power your keyboard draws?

I haven't run the numbers, but the draw from the LEDs in the keyboard should be negligible compared to the screen. Also, I'm not great at touch typing and one of my design requirements was the ability to operate in the dark.

Looks like the Rii Mini Wireless.

Here is the powerbank I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194WDVHI

I'm running it another build that uses a larger screen and I've getting about 1-2 hrs of constant gaming use. So I imagine with a smaller screen (5.5" vs. 7") and more casual computing vs gaming, I'd be @ 2+ hrs.