Kaushlesh C. designed Hamdeck to survive adventures in the outdoors, so he built it into a hard waterproof Pelican-style case. When closed, it is almost impervious to the elements — though some drilled holes probably make it a bit more susceptible to water intrusion than the case originally was. When opened up, Hamdeck provides a large screen, a mechanical keyboard, a wireless mouse, and even a gamepad. A telescoping antenna allows for decent transmission range, though it still has limited transmission power and is more suited to receiving radio signals.

Ham radio may seem like an old timey hobby, but it still has a thriving community. The hobby has, however, evolved to take advantage of new technology. For many modern amateur radio operators, it is no longer necessary to erect a massive antenna mast in a backyard. In fact, you can get away with a portable setup if you don't intend to transmit over massive distances. With that in mind, Kaushlesh C. built Hamdeck, which is a rugged cyberdeck optimized for amateur radio.

Kaushlesh C. designed Hamdeck to survive adventures in the outdoors, so he built it into a hard waterproof Pelican-style case. When closed, it is almost impervious to the elements — though some drilled holes probably make it a bit more susceptible to water intrusion than the case originally was. When opened up, Hamdeck provides a large screen, a mechanical keyboard, a wireless mouse, and even a gamepad. A telescoping antenna allows for decent transmission range, though it still has limited transmission power and is more suited to receiving radio signals.

Like many modern setups, this relies on SDR (software-defined radio). The heart of the Hamdeck is a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (8GB) single-board computer. A Nooelec RTL-SDR module connects to the Raspberry Pi via USB. An SD card extension lets Kaushlesh C. easily swap SD cards with different OS installations to suit the task at hand. The mini keyboard and wireless mouse receiver both connect through USB, so Hamdeck has a USB hub to support all of the devices. A small LCD on the palm rest can provide additional information, on top of whatever the main screen displays.