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Hack Chat Transcript, Part 3

A event log for Cyberdeck Brainstorming Hack Chat

Tough times breed tough computers

dan-maloneyDan Maloney 08/10/2022 at 20:090 Comments

Inne12:25 PM
@Hugh Mungis A cyberdeck device that drills he connectors back in :D.

Dan (a8ksh4)12:25 PM
@io Tenino You can use a buck boost converter in front of a charger and as long as it supplies enough current, it'll give some flexibility.

thesebelik12:26 PM
I am thinking I might need to have some kind of battery backup system for mine. since it's going in my car i can power it off the 12v from the car battery 99% of the time, but i'm pretty sure my car cuts all power to everything but the starter when i turn the car on. For my work I end up turning my car on and off frequently, so i'm wondering how to keep a reliable power supply for those moments? i would like to avoid shutting down every time i turn my car back on.

bootdsc12:26 PM
Whats everyones favorite form factor for computing devices? For me its the netbook.

ajlitt12:26 PM
@io Tenino USB-C triggers are pretty sweet

Dan (a8ksh4)12:26 PM
Yeah!

Inne12:27 PM
@Hugh Mungis conecerning silicone: Well for instance adding soft robotic components like grippers to mount your divice to something. Or using air pressure as an input method.

Inne12:27 PM

https://www.instructables.com/Soft-Robotic-Gripper/

INSTRUCTABLES JESSICA_GANLEY

Soft Robotic Gripper

Soft Robotic Gripper : The field of soft robotics (robots made from intrinsically soft materials such as silicons and rubbers) has been growing rapidly in recent years. Soft robots can be advantageous in comparison to their hard counterparts because they are flexible, ada...

Read this on Instructables

H3lixFossil12:27 PM

H3lixFossil12:28 PM
there's u/dungeon_master_dan 's HMD

cyzoonic12:28 PM
@Inne Was looking into making silicon buttons for a movie prop i'm working on, but its quite complicated.

H3lixFossil12:28 PM
but he has a power bank and the pi AND infrared lamps on it

H3lixFossil12:28 PM
i think he had it set up so there would be a HUD as he walked around

thesebelik12:29 PM
what does he use it for?

H3lixFossil12:29 PM
but there was a significant enough delay that he said he wouldn't go running with it

H3lixFossil12:29 PM
I don't think he had a use case in mind when he made it (like many of us)

nick_meynen12:29 PM
Except from peli cases are there any other (cheaper) brands that are suitable? Which ones are you guys using?

H3lixFossil12:29 PM
he just wanted to make some cool cyberpunk shit that gave him a HUD irl

thesebelik12:30 PM
that's a very valid reason!

DeltaWhy12:30 PM
harbor freight sells some similar cases

H3lixFossil12:30 PM
@nick_meynen literal pizza boxes

jk. depends on what you want to do with it

thesebelik12:30 PM
harbor freight <3

Inne12:30 PM
@cyzoonic are the keycaps silicone or is the goal for the whole switch mechanism to be silicone based. Either sounds cool what where your challenges??

io Tenino12:31 PM
I have a friend that got a used pelican case from the DA's office in my town. Worked pretty well for his deck

H3lixFossil12:31 PM
peli cases are awesome for ruggedization, but i think it's rare that an individual will actually abuse a deck enough to necessitate that level of protection

H3lixFossil12:31 PM
great for prepper kits though

io Tenino12:31 PM
Getting them new is pretty expensive I believe, but reusing something is in the cyberdeck spirit, ya know

H3lixFossil12:31 PM
truth

cyzoonic12:31 PM
@Inne I am not quite sure as I don't know how it was done on the prop. As of right now I have surface mount buttons so the silicone would just push that down

H3lixFossil12:31 PM
i got a few on facebook marketplace for super cheap

cyzoonic12:32 PM
@Inne My challange is I have no idea where to start. I have never done silicon casting. I also have to find the right silicon (in Europe) and somehow add lettering as well.

H3lixFossil12:33 PM
I think there's a lot to be said for finding old laptop shells on the internet and gutting them and replacing the innards with your own ideas

H3lixFossil12:33 PM
assuming that waterproofing isn't on your "requirements" list

Dan (a8ksh4)12:33 PM
Yeah... some of the retro stuff would be cool to tear up if it's already sufficiently broken...

Dan (a8ksh4)12:33 PM
scuba deck?

io Tenino12:34 PM
Honestly, I'm real interested in the eco/solarpunk side of cyberdecking more than the cyberpunk side. I think the idea of taking a bunch of different components and reusing them to make a functional, personal computer is really beautiful.

Nicolas Tremblay12:34 PM
@cyzoonic 3D print the top mold. Put a decal of the lettering. Pour in the silicone (Smooth-On is a great place to start). Smoosh in the board on top.

Tom Nardi12:35 PM
@Dan (a8ksh4) Plenty of weird old VTech kid computers that are ripe for repurposing

io Tenino12:35 PM
Taking old pelican cases, destroyed laptops, old screens, and knowing how to bash them together into something that works for you is really great.

Tom Nardi12:35 PM
Cheap, and nobody is going to miss them.

H3lixFossil12:35 PM
that's my biggest point of anxiety honestly. I have a beautiful AST NB-SX25 laptop/brick, but i feel like i'm throwing out a piece of history if i throw away the guts

H3lixFossil12:35 PM
it's thick enough to have a diskette drive

Queen Gabe joined  the room.12:35 PM

io Tenino12:35 PM
And having the experience and knowledge to fix your own custom electronics is amazing

cyzoonic12:35 PM
@Nicolas Tremblay thanks, I will look into it

nick_meynen12:35 PM
How you guys mount the assembled electronics inside a peli (or other) case whithout screwing inside the case?

H3lixFossil12:36 PM
gorilla glue

H3lixFossil12:36 PM
non foaming

io Tenino12:36 PM
epoxy works

cyzoonic12:36 PM
@nick_meynen See my deck, Pelican also sells an official mounting bracket for the inside. I made my own using a 3d printer

Dan (a8ksh4)12:36 PM
@Hugh Mungis I have a similar 486 and I agree. It's better intact as a linux play thing. :)

io Tenino12:36 PM
you can mount fasteners with epoxy and then screw into those fasteners

Gabe Lastname12:37 PM
I would like definitely to find a broken PowerPC-era metal MacBook to build inside of, I think that would be a great build.

thesebelik12:37 PM
That's definitely a lot of the reason why i'm building a deck, i want to teach myself how to make cool stuff from cheap/scrap parts

Dan (a8ksh4)12:37 PM
oopr, wrong tag on that last one.

H3lixFossil12:38 PM
I think one thing that almost all deckers have in common is a hoard of extra components that will get used "eventually"

io Tenino12:38 PM
Oh yes lmaooo

nick_meynen12:38 PM
@cyzoonic Looks nice, great idea. I was thinking to design some kind of spring clamps for easy removal of the electronics

Gabe Lastname12:38 PM
Haha, yep

io Tenino12:38 PM
the number of laptop motherboards I have sitting in a box is frankly reaching hoarder levels

nick_meynen12:38 PM
@io Tenino also a gread idea

DeltaWhy12:39 PM
is it possible to salvage a tablet screen to use in a deck? do they have a standard interface like LVDS/eDP?

io Tenino12:39 PM
just having things on hand that you can look at and can provide inspiration is really important

cyzoonic12:39 PM
@nick_meynen that would be cool, You could also use thumb screws

H3lixFossil12:39 PM
the personality trait that drives someone to scrap something together from scavenged parts runs deep in the community

Gabe Lastname12:39 PM
Can you boot those @io Tenino

thesebelik12:39 PM
@nick_meynen i'm using magnets to secure my front place for easy maintenance

io Tenino12:39 PM
yup

Gabe Lastname12:40 PM
nice, I’m having trouble with the only one I have, otherwise it would be running a home server by now.

DeltaWhy12:40 PM
I got an android tablet with a broken port super cheap from a thrift store, was going to repair and use as a homeassistant controller or something, but maybe it's worth more to salvage the screen

bootdsc12:41 PM

H3lixFossil12:41 PM
🤤

Gabe Lastname12:41 PM
if you can find the screen’s SKU you can search online for a custom controller, but generally no they do not use a standard interface.

H3lixFossil12:41 PM
the carbon set of keycaps is one of the greats

Gabe Lastname12:41 PM
ah that’s hot

H3lixFossil12:41 PM
with all the hazard symbols

nick_meynen12:42 PM
@Will Sebelik also a great idea. Getting a lot of inspiration for my own build

Dan (a8ksh4)12:42 PM
@delta sometimes. e.g. someone published a pcp and kernel changes to use a nexus 7 2013 display with a pi compute module.

Dan (a8ksh4)12:42 PM
*pcb

H3lixFossil12:42 PM
@io Tenino 1000x this

it's heartbreaking to see a noob show up and ask "what's something cool I can make?"

on one hand, it's someone that wants to get their hands dirty with technical work and the act of creating something from parts.

on the other, they're just outsourcing their creativity

H3lixFossil12:43 PM
it's the artistic equivalent of hoping you get followers from a retweet

H3lixFossil12:43 PM
but i'm not gonna get on my soapbox about that

Dan (a8ksh4)12:43 PM
Well, give them advice on the parts that work together and it's up to them to find a neat way to put it in a box and call it a deck. lol.

H3lixFossil12:44 PM
i just want people to make something that will make them happy and not worry if other ppl think it's cool or not

nick_meynen12:44 PM
@cyzoonic I get the inspiration from our light switches here. They have 2 clamps on the side, turning the screws extends these caws so they are fixed inside their boxes. But i'm thinking now in a way to combine this clamps with the peli holders u using.

Glinek joined  the room.12:44 PM

thesebelik12:44 PM
i feel like one of the main reasons people build decks is for other people to think it's cool

io Tenino12:44 PM
I think there can be a lot of value in replicating other's work. Especially if you're trying to build your skills

bootdsc12:45 PM
i really like to see things being recycled instead of just buying all new and printing a case

pcadic joined  the room.12:45 PM

cyzoonic12:45 PM
@nick_meynen cool

H3lixFossil12:45 PM
@Dan (a8ksh4) I think that was part of the reason we made the "quick start guide" on the cafe website

Dan (a8ksh4)12:45 PM
Cool cool

bootdsc12:45 PM
given enough time and money i could build anything. whats the fun in that though i'm not trying to be a factory worker

Dan (a8ksh4)12:46 PM
1-off work makes an artist

Dan (a8ksh4)12:46 PM
:)

nick_meynen12:46 PM
@cyzoonic how did you the hdmi part, i want the schreen in the lid and the electronics in the bottom (below the keyboard). Did you use flex or a custom cable?

bootdsc12:46 PM
building a deck is really a lot more fun when you have a limited budget of $0 and have to be creative

cyzoonic12:48 PM
@nick_meynen This was a huge task, I found some HDMI cables that I could cut most the rubber off and fit through the hole that connects the lid to the base, I ran 2 of those.

io Tenino12:48 PM
Oh yeah, for sure. Somebody asked me if I would make them a Joopyter at some point. I was just curious, so I added it up, if I were to buy everything new, it would be around 200-300$

H3lixFossil12:48 PM
remember in the first matrix when he opens the book Simulation and Simulacra?

H3lixFossil12:48 PM
we had someone make a "book stash" deck before. that looked really cool

io Tenino12:48 PM
But most of these parts are stuff I found or had onhand, so it was a lot less when I built that.

io Tenino12:49 PM
@H3lixFossil that was such a cool deck!

cyzoonic12:49 PM
@nick_meynen this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001090468470.html

Glinek12:49 PM
I think that big problem is that it is really hard to make deck that is like usable on normal day. I found it really hard to use my deck in every day life

Tom Nardi12:50 PM
@Glinek That's interesting, what did you struggle with specifically?

H3lixFossil12:50 PM
the most usable decks are made by corps and are known by the term "laptops"

H3lixFossil12:50 PM
they're the boring dewey decimal system filmstrip videos of decks

bootdsc12

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