{"id":5829,"date":"2023-10-23T12:09:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T12:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/picockpit.com\/raspberry-pi\/?p=5829"},"modified":"2023-10-23T12:09:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T12:09:58","slug":"paragon-project-blackberry-pi-cyberdeck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/picockpit.com\/raspberry-pi\/paragon-project-blackberry-pi-cyberdeck\/","title":{"rendered":"Paragon Project: Blackberry Pi Cyberdeck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This project is unquestionably a contender for Paragon Project of the year! It’s a cyberdeck made with a Raspberry Pi Zero that mirrors the shape and size of an old Blackberry phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was created and shared by Zhou Xu over at zxmake.dev<\/a>. It’s fittingly called “Blackberry Pi”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhou clarifies that the inspiration for the layout came from other Raspberry Pi cyberdecks like Beepy<\/a> and clockworkPi<\/a>. I find the Blackberry Pi especially appealing though, because Zhou shares both the components list and how to put it together in a really clear way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit: Zhou Xu<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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I think the use cases are really limitless here. Zhou says that the main idea behind the project was “electronics testing and prototyping”. However, with a sleek handheld Linux cyberdeck, what can’t you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let’s take a deeper look at how to put together the Blackberry Pi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The primary component is, of course, a Raspberry Pi Zero W<\/a>. But you could easily upgrade the project to a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with the Raspberry Pi Zero W, you’ll need a 320×240 LCD<\/a>, a Solder Party BB Q20 Keyboard, and a 2500mAh Lipo battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Zhou suggests adding a NoIR camera<\/a> and, if you’re going to use a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, then it’s a good idea to incorporate a 5V fan as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit: Zhou Xu<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Furthermore, there are some additional components that you could add – a USB hub for an external USB port, an RTC board, and an Adafruit ADS1015 board, which is an analog-to-digital converter, so you can see the battery voltage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhou has been kind enough to share the .stl files on Printables.com<\/a>, so you can 3D print the case yourself. The case also makes the GPIO pins accessible, making HATs and add-ons a possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit: Zhou Xu<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I love the sheer ingenuity here. I also love that the Solder Party BB Q20 Keyboard is dual English and Arabic – it just gives it a cooler feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since Zhou is using this mainly for electronics testing a prototyping, it’s really set up nicely to boot up into Raspberry Pi OS Lite. So when it boots up, you’re just dealing with a command line interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit: Zhou Xu<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From there, you can read, write, and execute files. You can play around with text editors and do all sorts of networking tests and hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing to note, however, is that the Solder Party BB Q20 Keyboard doesn’t have a Esc key or a Ctrl key, so, as Zhou puts it, it’s difficult “for ad-hoc editing code in nano.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than that though, the Blackberry Pi stands as one of the coolest project in terms of form factor and <\/em>functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So there you have it, a Blackberry Pi. In so many ways, it’s the cyberdeck of my dreams. I’m going to try to find the time to get started on mine this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ll be sure to keep you updated on how that goes! Like I said, I’d love to build one with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and see how smooth it runs. Zhou even mentions upgrading this project with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W in the project description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be sure to go check out Zhou Xu’s website<\/a> for more details and more cool projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And be sure to check out more Paragon Projects here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, we recently featured a similar project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n