What exactly constitutes a cyberdeck is up for debate, but for us, one thing is clear: A cyberdeck needs to look like it’s ready to go to battle. When the machines finally rise up and try to wipe us all out, someone toting around a machine like Cyberdeck Red is probably going to be a sight for sore eyes; clearly, such a person would be equipped to help us fight back the robotic scourge.
If this cyberdeck looks familiar, it’s for a good reason — it’s [Gabriel]’s second stab at this build. We thought the original was pretty keen, enough so that it won second prize in the 2022 contest. But like many cyberdeck builders, good enough isn’t good enough, and so rather than rest on his laurels, he set about improving a few things. The most visible of the changes are the spiffy new case, which is far less utilitarian than version one, and the new custom-made split keyboard. Things are a little different under the hood too; gone is the Raspberry Pi 4, which was replaced by Latte Panda 3 Delta running Windows. And like the original, version two is absolutely stuffed with sensors and diagnostic gear — a Hack RF SDR for radio work, plus an Analog Discovery 2 which provides everything from an oscilloscope and signal generator to a spectrum analyzer and an impedance tester.
But possibly the most useful feature of Cyberdeck Red is the onboard HDMI projector. The palm-sized, short-throw projector would be perfect for an impromptu combat briefing in an improvised command post, or just watching Netflix. If the machines will allow it, of course.
The 2023 Cyberdeck Contest wraps up August 15, so it looks like [Gabriel] just squeaked this one in on time. We wish him and all the other entrants the best of luck!
This thing seems to fold up really really neatly, looks quite practical and i like the audio concept of turning the desk into part of the speaker system, though every new desk is probably going to be annoying with the need to rebalance the sound mix. That said I had a wired battery speaker once that did the same thing (I think more by accident than design, but it did it well) and while it did of course change the sound it rarely ruined it.
Though as far as I can tell there is no latch to secure the keyboard for transit! (who needs a mouse, useful as they are at times you really don’t need one with a keyboard alone, and need one even less with a touchscreen)
A microphone could pick up a start-up calibration sound to optimize the sound quality for any given environment.
Its not going to work that well if the mic is on the device, really needs some isolation from the sound generation. But I like that idea, it is the sort of thing a machine with good sound output would probably find useful in other ways too.
” The palm-sized, short-throw projector would be perfect for an impromptu combat briefing in an improvised command post”
Oh! So you’re telling us that the contest is secretly funded by the Department of Defense, without telling us that the contest is secretly funded by the Department of Defense!
B^)
DoD funding would certainly help with that BOM cost. Yikes.
So much for security …with Windows on the box :) . “Hold the battle for a few hours. Our machine needs to reboot for updates, oh, wait, it is just checking for viruses…. No wait….”
Nice looking box though!
I have to run windows natively for a couple of pieces of work software, They just dont function properly when emulated. Windows surface laptop 2, 2019 has an ultralow power hibernation that allows instant wake after DAYS of idle. Ive been thinking snagging a motherboard for one off ebay to “deck out”.
I dont have issues with windows updating, or running virus scans when I need to computer. But I dont run windows firewall, windows virus scan, or windows update, opting for 3rd party or manual alternatives.
Building such a nice machine and then crippling it with windows. What a waste!