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cyberdecks@thelantern.org • 8,340 members • DIY portable computing
BUILD WORKLOG arcadeghost u/arcadeghost • 3 days ago • 5 replies

Pelican 1150 Rugged Field Cyberdeck with 40% Ortholinear Keyboard & E-Ink Auxiliary Bar

Finally finished the build I have been working on for the past two months. This is a fully self-contained field cyberdeck housed in a Pelican 1150 case, designed for portable operations in harsh environments.

Cyberdeck build worklog photo
Core Specifications
  • Compute: Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) with active cooling via a custom copper heatsink and 30mm fan
  • Display: 7" IPS primary display (1024x600) + 4.2" e-ink auxiliary bar for persistent status/info display
  • Input: 40% ortholinear keyboard (custom PCB, Cherry MX Browns) with integrated trackball
  • Power: Dual 21700 lithium cells (5000mAh each) with TP4056 charging board and MT3608 boost converter for stable 5V output
  • Connectivity: Internal RTL-SDR dongle, WiFi antenna (RP-SMA), Bluetooth, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB-C, Ethernet passthrough
  • Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD (USB 3.0 adapter) + 256GB microSD
  • Case: Pelican 1150, pressure relief valve, custom laser-cut aluminum plates for mounting
Build Notes

The hardest part was fitting the dual 21700 cells alongside the Pi without creating a short risk. I designed custom battery sleds in Fusion 360 and 3D-printed them in PETG. The e-ink bar runs a lightweight script that cycles through system stats, weather, and PGP key fingerprint — all without waking the main display.

Full parts list and STL files are available on my GitHub. Ask questions below — happy to share more details on any part of the build.

Replies (5)
terminal_sage
u/terminal_sage• 3 days ago

That e-ink auxiliary bar is genius. Low-power persistent display for system status without draining the battery. What is the refresh rate on the e-ink panel? Does it handle partial refreshes well or does it do a full black flash every time?

neon_drift
u/neon_drift• 2 days ago

The internal SDR is a nice touch for field ops. Have you tested reception with the Pelican case closed? I would be concerned about signal attenuation from the case material, especially on weaker signals. Might be worth adding an external antenna passthrough.

arcadeghost
u/arcadeghost• 2 days ago

u/terminal_sage The e-ink uses a SSD1680 controller — partial refresh is about 300ms with no full flash for text-only updates. It only does a full refresh every 10 cycles to prevent ghosting. Power draw is essentially zero between updates.

harborlight
u/harborlight• 2 days ago

Beautiful build. The aluminum mounting plates look very clean. What thickness did you go with and did you use a CNC service or hand-finish them? I have been thinking about doing aluminum plates for my next build but not sure if it is worth the cost over acrylic.

cipher_junkie
u/cipher_junkie• 1 day ago

This is the kind of content I come to c/cyberdecks for. Functional, rugged, and well-documented. Subscribed to your GitHub for the STL files. Quick question — what made you go with Cherry MX Browns over something like Kailh Box Whites for the keyboard?

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