Everything but the kitchen sink cyberdeck

Description

Multifunction Post-Apocalyptic Cyberdeck for On and Off Grid.

The goal: build a RF/EPM shielded and hardened rig with field deployable wireless weather sensors, GPS, RTL-SDR receiver for ADS-B and other comms, HackRF One with in and out antenna ports, data logging, Internal sensors to monitor internal conditions, orientation and movement. On Board Speakers, Audio patch ports with dedicated amp, imbedded Camera, exposed detachable GPIO and fixed mini breadboard for prototyping on the fly, Space for Flipper Zero (near the proto board), network connector, power ports, various switches and controls as needed, Battery power and UPS backup, solar panel, 2 monitors, RGB panel lighting (to be able to do red night lighting) and employ redundant storage backup of important archival info in case there is no interwebs. I know I have a few design/mechanical challenges but looks good on paper so far. Software integration is where the magic is at so we'll see

Details

This project didn't start with a super specific goal in mind and the fact I've come to a final vision is really a culmination of a number of factors. Those factors include the size of the case I decided to buy, maybe because I am cheap I chose one on the smaller side, lol. I knew I intended to use a Pi and I wanted minimum 7" screen for visibility. I really wanted to go a little bigger but each decision has cascading repercussions so I stayed with 7 but mostly because that's what I already had. Seeing the Hackaday projects like Cyberdeck1,, "cyberdeck mobile command center" with its swing out mounts and the project by Daniel Roseman are very similar to what I am mashing together...that and Youtube builds from people like Jay Doescher, Evan Meaney, KalebTheMaker.

The basic functionality emulates a laptop with speakers, web cam, monitor, keyboard, mouse which to most is a familiar configuration. Add to that a HackRF One that can be used to both transmit (ultra low power) and receive frequencies from 10Mhz to 4 Ghz, an RTL-SDR to also receive radio transmissions but also to get ADS-B aircraft info and weather forecasts, also GPS for location, redundant UPS power, integrated solar panel, option to have multiple audio devices, ability to connect bluetooth devices, exposed GPIO and storage space for a Flipper Zero and lots of other stuffs.

On paper, the target spec/feature set looks like the following:

RF Shielded (Farady) enclosure with the lid and body shielding electrically bonded to each other
- issue with wifi and other signals not being able to escape should not be an issue with the deck is in its Open configuration as the faraday enclosure would not be sealed
- Antenna ports will be on the front panel to avoid penetrating the case
Pi 4 with 8G for highest performance
7" Capacitive multi-touch screen for keyboard free operation
Second monitor, size TBD (stretch goal)
Dual redundancy keyboard devices
- one slim line BT Qwerty keyboard
- one RF dongle mini keyboard with trackpad
Wired mouse to minimize battery need/charge concerns for maximize lifespan
Left and right speakers mounted on front panel and available through patch cable
Stand alone audio amp available through front panel patch cable connection
External audio source can be patched to Amp/Speakers on the front panel
Redundant power sources, charge control and ability to run on a variety of power inputs
- integrated solar panel
- allow hot swappable USB battery packs
- internal core power bank
- battery monitoring with graceful power down
a USB 2.0 hub and a USB 3 hub with ports extended to the front panel to allow for multiple devices, both internal and external
HAT - Sense HAT, allows for the collection of telemetry data from inside the cyberdeck like air temp, humidity, air pressure, orientation, movement, etc.
HAT - Speaker HAT, allows for direct connection of audio output to speakers with amplification, this would potentially be a switchable redundant audio system or a secondary
Female - GPIO connector allowing for a male breakout to be plugged into the socket when needed, the breakout board is stored in the foam under the keyboard when not in use, listed below
Male - GPIO Terminal Block Breakout Board Module for Raspberry Pi with Status LED
Core Storage - Large size (256G >) SD
Secondary SSD Mass Storage connected via USB 3
- eventually move to boot from SSD if stable
Stored spare SD cards, 1 with OS, 1 blank
Stored USB drive with archived files, stored in case foam under keyboard
Stored Archived survival and cultural info
- Kiwix
- Wikipedia
- Survival Info
- Dictionary
- Medical Info
- Map Info
- Language archive/Interpreter
Stored Archived OS builds and software in a way that the system can be restored to a functional state in the event of a catastrophic loss of data
Stand Alone BT devices that will provide atmospheric monitoring and telemetry to the cyberdeck
- air temp
- air pressure
- air humidity
- light levels
- sound detection (lightning detection)
- magnetic field changes
- motion detection
Locally...

Files

Lucid Practice.pdf

Thought diagram to help me visualize the main functions/hardware devices/connections needed both under the hood and exposed on the front panel

Adobe Portable Document Format - 71.70 kB - 08/06/2023 at 01:15

Preview

Download

Components

1 × HUL 11in x 8in x 5in Waterproof Military Style Hard Case with Customizable Pluck Foam Interior

1 × GeekPi 7" Capacitive Touch Screen

1 × Sense HAT - Raspberry Pi

1 × Solar Panel - 5V 1A

1 × Speaker HAT - Adafruit

Project Logs

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Getting tricky...
Curtis Soldano • 09/16/2023 at 17:10 • 0 comments

As I have been thinking through how to execute on the shield fabric application, I've put a bit more thought into it and decided to get a little tricky with this part. I am going to leverage some of my specialized design and CNC tools to customize the fitting with precision.

My goal is once I have a line pattern, I can use my laser cutter to cut the cloth. The shielding cloth is polyester based and the early research I've done suggests this is OK to laser cut. I happen to have a 700x900mm laser cutter so I can easily fit this entire piece into my cutter.

I have already hand cut a proof of concept pattern but realized I could do a much more precise cut with my fabrication and design skills. I was already planning to use my laser cutter to cut the front panel I just hadn't thought far enough ahead to realize I could laser cut this as well.

And as a further thought, this material is more effective in layers, I 'm now thinking of cutting multiple layers and bonding them together into a thicker shielding then applying that thicker shielding to the interior of the case.

I'll provide more updates on the shielding as I get further along.
EMF Shielding cloth application prep
Curtis Soldano • 09/16/2023 at 05:38 • 0 comments

I'm currently working on a template pattern for the EMF shielding cloth to line the inside of the deck. This is in addition to the copper shielding that has already been applied. This consists of a contiguous piece of fabric that ensures electrical conductivity between the lid and case pieces of the shield without having to bond them with conductive tape or some other method of physically connecting the two pieces together. This layer will be applied on top of the kapton layer with a low VOC spray adhesive.
I put the 45* lines in there so I can get overlap instead of butting the edges of the cuts together, I am hoping this increases the overall shielding potential by minimizing leaks.
Shielding Plan
Curtis Soldano • 08/13/2023 at 19:26 • 0 comments
So, I think I have settled in on an approach for shielding. I plan to apply 3 layers.
1. Copper Foil Tape as a base
2. Kapton Insulating Tape in between layers as an insulator
3. Silver Infused EMI Fabric as the top layer
The lid and the deck will be separate so my goal is to bond them electrically. I am going to do some controlled testing of soldering directly to the EMI cloth. Otherwise I might use some kind of alligator clip connecting the two.
The copper tape is self adhering and the adhesive is conductive so I'll run some tests but I plan to do a 50% overlap when applying the strips to get good coverage but also a good electrical bonding.
The Kapton tape is also self adhering so I'll apply that directly onto the copper foil tape to provide an insulated barrier on top of the copper foil.
The EMI fabric is a bit more of a challenge but my thought is to spray with adhesive and then lay it into place and fit the fabric to the inner contours. I plan to do some testing but I am hoping I can solder a bond between separate pieces.
I might also add a grounding terminal to the deck to ground the shielding to whatever ground is available.
Shielding Fabric
Curtis Soldano • 08/13/2023 at 12:55 • 0 comments

Just received this, going to begin the process of shielding the deck soon.
Updated panel design
Curtis Soldano • 08/12/2023 at 23:44 • 0 comments

I started to add some models to the interior of the deck to determine orientation, spacing, available room, etc...
So far I've added two blocks to represent the USB hubs which are based on the advertised dimensions. I've added a block for the battery pack I have based on my measurements. I've added a placeholder block for the HackRFone card based on my measurements and a fully realized 3D model for the actual Pi. The USB ports are approximated with a model I found that had the same footprint, so I replaced the arcade button assemblies with those. I've reduced the number of rf/antenna ports to just what is needed for the sdr dongle and the hack rf one and placed those near the top assuming antennas will want to be higher and the connections usually lead upwards.
I was thinking of just leaving the cubby hole for the battery pack open and just slide the battery in and out. I also need to add power ports to the front panel still.
I've also accounted for the pi camera board size and sketched that in. I still have hope in include the 2nd monitor so I am brainstorming how I can make that happen.
So far I'm feeling good about the space but I haven't modeled any wiring so it could get ugly fast.:)
3/4 view
Rear view slightly askew
Dialing some ideas in
Curtis Soldano • 08/08/2023 at 08:17 • 0 comments

I've modeled out a rough 3D case interior in Fusion 360. I didn't want to go too far into the 3D design at this time since I am still settling on some equipment and hardware details but I did get started on two things.
1. I did a first draft sketch of the front panel using my placeholder interior.
2. I began the process of arranging both panel and interior components that I knew I needed or wanted to include.
Taking stock, Inside I need to accommodate need a minimum of 2 usb hubs (one for 2.0, one for 3.0) , the pi, the SDR's, power pack, port and patch connections, cable guides. On the panel I have an ambitious layout with lots of patch ports.
My desire to have 2 screens is fading as I am bringing certain details together and the realization of the limited space that is available. I have started to gel on a bracket system idea for the solar panel that I would have to design and 3D print. The panel would ride inside the case and add a bracket as a mod to the case exterior. I think I can integrate it in a way that's super low profile and doesn't compromise the case, i.e. no penetrations. Since that is a novel design element, I'll keep logs on the various stages of development.
Also potentially on the chopping block is a way to slide my additional battery pack into the deck. The product I am considering is the Geekworm Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/3B X735 V3.0 DC 6V-30V Width Voltage Input Power Management with Safe Shutdown
A mockup made up of other mock ups. The round blue items are arcade buttons that have the same dimensions as the ports I am considering so I had the model and just threw that ion there to give me a general sense of size, Also, the speakers are from Adafruit but are slightly smaller than the ones I have, so I just threw those in there too. The small circles at the bottom are RG6 connectors for an amp, 3 different attenuators, antenna ins and outs and HackRF One clk in and out.
Day 3 - a few new discoveries and some decisions
Curtis Soldano • 08/08/2023 at 01:22 • 0 comments

I did some research on EMP's and learned about the E1, E2 and E3 phases of an EMP.

Started modeling the interior of the deck then got distracted with other shiny cool things. I saw something in the background whilst browsing Ham radio stuff and it stuck in the back of my brain so I did a few searches and found this retractable short wave antenna. Goes to like 23 feet long and fits in your pocket. That is going to be an accessory if I can't fit it into the core case somehow.

https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-ANT-60-Short-Wave-Antenna/dp/B000023VW2/ref=psdc_667846011_t1_B00066Z9XG

On the subject of space, although I like the idea of the imbedded hard wired network switch that you see on a lot of the earlier cyberdecks, I am not sure that is needed with improvements to BT, Wifi and other data over RF options. You still have the option to attach one later as I will expose the one RJ-45 port on the front panel but that leads my to my next idea.

I envision an EMP shielded bug out bag to go along with the core deck but would not be needed to make the deck work, just enhancement items and backups. It would protect and carry accessories like a network switch, extra mouse, antenna's, battery packs, hacking components, meters, radios, GPS modules, replacement parts, etc...I am doing my best to fit in all the core functionality into the deck and include this for add on items that could be useful but not necessary.

That being said, the Network Switch hardware is not something I plan to integrate into my deck. My initial idea is to create a slot where the network switch would have been that allows a USB battery pack to be attached and placed into the slot then swapped out as needed. I envision this being in addition the a smaller, UPS backup battery inside the deck.

So at this point my design choices are being predicated on the deck being operated while open, it is not intended to operate when closed and sealed. Because of this I am focusing on providing ports on the front panel as opposed to the exterior of the case.
Seek and ye shall find
Curtis Soldano • 08/06/2023 at 21:16 • 0 comments

Discovered a few new things today.

Conductive Faraday Copper Nickel Fabric

Coaxial Threaded Fixed Mount Adapter Panel Mount RG6 Connector
2 Ports Dual USB 3.0 Male to USB 3.0 Female AUX Flush Mount
Living the dream?
Curtis Soldano • 08/06/2023 at 01:35 • 0 comments

Day 1 - I've always had wanted to attempt a cyberdeck build and I guess in the back of my mind I was slowly piecing this together because when I started to look, I realized that I already have many of the parts I'll need to build the hardware out. The alternative title to this project could be "A cyberdeck for off grid survival, with off the shelf parts." lol

View all 9 project logs

Build Instructions

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Get a case

Ultimately your case is going to be one of the biggest constraints. If you don't already have one, figure out which one you are going to use then get the specs or buy it and measure it in person Once you know the size constraints of your case, you can figure out how much you can stuff in it.

Once I had my case, I verified the factory dimensions with my own measurements (always double check) to determine the interior dimensions of the case. Because I already had some parts and cables, I was able to dry fit in some of the components to begin to visualize how'd they stack and where cable routing and access points might go so I can be aware of any space constraints. I didn't yet have all of the parts so at this stage so I took a step back and began to model the interior frame and front panel design in Fusion 360 by roughing in the parts I had at that point and then creating placeholder objects if I could find the dimensions online. This allows me to make some progress on two fronts while I collect all the gear; 1) it helps me virtually organize the interior components and front panel and 2) later in the process I can take the CAD files and use them for CAM like to 3D print, laser cut or CNC elements of the deck.

Shield the case

Having the case before I have all of the other parts allows me to begin work on shielding my deck. I am currently planning how to implement this shielding. I have a background in electronics so I am not completely clueless and I have some ideas but I am going to do some research on shielding and faraday cages before I jump in.

Currently I am thinking of 2 layers each layer alternating a layer of foil tape and a layer of kapton tape for each the case and the case lid. The lid and case would be electrically bonded at the base layer by way of a exposed copper braid or other connection between the two. I need to read up a little bit to validate my thoughts but if there are 2 layers of foil and the layers are not bonded to each other, there should be a small amount of capacitance created between the layers that could also dissipate any differential charge and further protect the interior. That's just me spitballing though, I'm not sure...it's just a thought.

I was also thinking of layering in some kind of mesh material akin to chicken wire (but finer) in between the layers but I still need to do more research.

Another random Idea I had was to do a cross pattern of narrow copper foil tape as a layer on top of the foil tape but I need to so more research.

I am thinking of ways to ensure the foil tape is electrically connected with the adjacent pieces of tape, on it's layer I think it matters but not sure...

UPDATE: Started and finished the copper foil tape and Kapton insulating tape application. Now working on the shield cloth layer. I am expecting a low VOC adhesive spray to be delivered in a few days which I'll use to bond the fabric to the kapton layer...stay tuned

partially covered case

And a mostly complete layer, I have some touch ups around the edge.

You can see that after I pulled the foam off of the lid, there is an excessive amount of residual adhesive. I 've been attempting to scrape this away before applying the shielding to the lid. Although this is much improved, I am going to try a couple of other methods before moving forward.

So I got the lid to an acceptable prepped state then proceeded to complete the copper foil layering. The pic below shows the nearly finished first copper layer.

My attempts to solder directly on the silver infused fabric have been unsuccessful. My new plan is to sew braided copper between the lid and case directly onto the shielded fabric pieces as an electrical bond. For cost and simplicity I am going to use basic solder wick as this cabling. It's flexible, low profile and I think will work well for this purpose. I have some conductive thread I'll use to sew the solder wick to the silver fabric.

A layer of Kapton tape will go between the copper foil tape layer and the silver fabric layer to prevent any dissimilar metal interactions. The next pic shows a partially covered interior.

And finally...done with the Kapton tape. Now to ponder how to bond the shielding fabric.

Cutting some test patterns of the shielding fabric and test fitting

test fit close up

Functional Feature Design

I started by visualizing what I wanted and then created a feature cloud of everything I wanted and how that mapped to the components I needed to account for and what needed to be exposed on the front panel. I created my desired feature cloud in Lucid chart. https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/

This was a kind of a visual inventory and forced me to think through these relationships. The grey bar on the right are all of the items that I envisioned being on the control panel. This was aspirational and a starting point. As I started to consider budget and space, things have been optimized and I've been removing things I couldn't support or didn't have room for. I'll update this as I get a little further into the 3D design which is also helping me to visualize the physical space constraints.

Discussions

M.eyerJessie283778 wrote 08/17/2023 at 04:15

In conclusion, your project is ambitious and exciting, but it will require careful planning, dedication, and a methodical approach. https://www.screenmirroring.onl/teamviewer-review-best-app-for-screen-sharing/ If executed well, it could result in a unique and functional cyberdeck that combines cutting-edge technology with practical utility. Good luck with your project, and don't hesitate to seek advice and resources along the way!

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Everything but the kitchen sink cyberdeck

Description

Details

Files

Lucid Practice.pdf

Components

Project Logs

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Getting tricky...

EMF Shielding cloth application prep

Shielding Plan

Shielding Fabric

Updated panel design

Dialing some ideas in

Day 3 - a few new discoveries and some decisions

Seek and ye shall find

Living the dream?

Build Instructions

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Discussions

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