So I have what some have told me is a ridiculous plan, however they can suck it because it sounds fun. But I was planning my senior project for next year and I came up with this.
The goal is to have a mobile Raspberry Pi setup with a keyboard, wifi adapter, touchscreen input, and LCD display built onto one mobile, battery powered platform.
This is what I will need:
The touchscreen LCD is going to kinda be like the ones that the Razer blade has.
My dad also has a welding machine in the garage that I could learn to use. However where your guys help comes in is with this. I need to know three things
- How to wire a laptop or other LCD screen to the Pi
- How to wire a Lithium ion laptop battery to the Pi
- A plan to construct a skeletal-type folding laptop case with this sheet aluminum, and maybe with a CAD draft to go with it. I tried making one with Sketchbox last night but I am not very familiar with the software.
So what do you guys think? I think I am going to have fun with this project and it would be a cool thing to show off to my guests.
Hack all the things
This isnt crazy..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUZjzQuTNX4
Well the thing is that his is more of a handheld gaming device. My project is meant to be more of a laptop, with an LCD and a touchscreen.
I see where you're coming from now. That video is still a great place to start, though. With just some substitution. Just add a touchscreen cape, and maybe a fold-out or bluetooth keyboard.
Yeah I have it bookmarked thanks for the link. I just ordered a bunch of new parts for my main rig, but once I get some more cash I am going to start this project, and I will log my progress with pics/video on this thread or on a blog.
I'll look forward to seeing it.
if you use a beaglebone black then you can just stack the damn thing without any soldering
the community support for it is desolate though
As in, there is none. At all. Nadda.
You know, instead of a laptop battery you could probably use a portable battery bank(I think that's the name, correct me if I'm wrong). Some have 2 USB slots (2.1a and 1.1a) so you could plug a wireless mouse and keyboard into the rasberry pie and plug the portable LCD/led screen into the other battery bank USB slot.
Or get 2 cheaper battery banks instead of the one and just plug the pi into one battery bank and the LCD to another. To me, this seems much easier than wiring up some laptop battery to the screen and pi.
(I had the exact same idea as you O.P for the raspberry pi so I sorta thought out my plan. It never happened because I didn't have the funds)
Seems like a good idea. I would hard-wire it in, though. And not just loosely connect it via USB.
First: this is probably going to be more expensive & allot less powerful then a really cheap 10 inch net-book, so be clear that you're doing it for the fun of DIY.
- get a 2cell 7.4v 4000+mah litiumpolymer battery for rc-cars, those have good price performance, are robust and you can get an easy to use charger that won't blow up your battery.
- get a lipo saver to prevent discharging the battery to far
- get a step-down voltage regulator because the pi can't handle more than 5.25volts
Welding is an art form, forget about learning it in the time frame of your project. It takes years of practice to get to the place you need to be, to make a descent tiny metal enclosure for your project.
Instead may i point you towards online 3d printing services, or paper-craft enhanced with Fiberglas. You can master those techniques in about a week.
Well I can get my dad to weld it. And it isn't really going to enclosed. Think of more like a skeletal open frame.
I really need to sketch this up to show you guys what I'm going for.
Like a 2DS with a keyboard where the second screen is?
you can use a 26-pin male to female cable (may be harvested from old db connectors, and adding a 50c male idc connector) that you solder on the screen, so the connection is flexible, and put the pi under the keyboard or leave the pi behind the screen (as showed in the link you posted.)
the easiest way is to use the provided mounts for the screen, add a keyboard like this 
, and plug it on the usb of the pi, also add an usb power bank and an sd card, and you are set
just replace removable cables with soldered ones and add a stand with hinges if you want.
I really need to sketch this up to show you guys what I'm going for.
-> that would help