Welcome to Cyberdecks
Portable computers built from scratch, in rugged cases, toolboxes, old laptop shells and fully printed enclosures. Built around a Raspberry Pi, another SBC, a mini PC or even a microcontroller, with mechanical keyboards, odd screens, LoRa radios and whatever else makes it yours. Show yours or plan your first.
What belongs here
• Finished cyberdecks and build logs
• Planning threads: picking a board, screen, keyboard, case and power
• Design discussion: ergonomics, hinges, cooling and cable management
• Software setups that suit a deck: lightweight desktops, terminal workflows and offline tools
What goes elsewhere
• General Pi questions: Raspberry Pi & SBCs
• Gaming-first handhelds: DIY handhelds & portables
• Printing the case: 3D printing
• Cutting panels: Laser cutting & CNC
• Custom circuit boards: Electronics & PCB design
• Other gadgets and builds: Custom tech & builds
Showcase posts
1. Photos, open and closed, inside and out
2. A parts list: board, display, keyboard, power, storage and case
3. How it is powered and how long it runs
4. Software and operating system
5. What you would change next time
6. Credit for the case designs, guides and decks that inspired you
Respect design licences. Share only files you have the right to share and never reupload paid or non-commercial models.
Power and batteries are part of the rules
Most decks run on lithium cells, and most deck disasters start there.
• Use cells with a proper protection circuit or battery management system, and a charger made for the chemistry.
• Buy cells from reputable sources. Counterfeit cells often overstate their capacity and skimp on protection.
• Never puncture, crush or bend a cell. Retire any that swell, and charge on a non-flammable surface where you can keep an eye on it.
• Guard against short circuits with fuses, insulation and strain relief on wires, especially in metal cases.
• Size your power supply for the whole system. Screens, SBCs and USB devices add up fast, and a weak supply causes crashes.
• A good USB power bank is a perfectly sensible place to start.
• Ventilate. A sealed box with an SBC inside gets hot.
Board rules
• No malware, no tools aimed at networks or devices that are not yours, and nothing piracy-friendly.
• Radios: stay within the rules for your country, and only transmit where you are licensed or permitted to.
• No selling decks, kits or paid services.
House rules apply: be kind, English only (other languages are translated automatically), no spam, no keyboard mashing and no self-promotion spam. Use Report if you see a problem. This thread is locked, so start your own thread to show your deck or plan one.
Dexter
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