digitalRights4All

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/64949868

Per my last post, (which can be found here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975), I continued to mess around with a mobile broadband modem, and got it working! With a caveat... it only works when plugged into wall power. The battery I have does not supply enough power to fully enable the modem through USB power, due the raspberry pi being very power hungry. Unfortunately, this seemingly simple problem is actually a larger problem that seems to only be solved by an overly complicated solution: designing a custom battery controller PCB that responds to the pi5's (or ideally, a different processor entirely) needs more appropriately.

Take a look at the state of the device here:

Last time I posted here, many interested folks responded with great ideas and feedback. Fortunately, one of the comments lead me to the project that would ultimately end this project in its current state. Link to that comment here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975/22779544

Its flaws are visible. While the device has personality, it lacks ease of use. These days I use it as a "cyberdeck"/field debugging computer, and I use it with a small controller-sized Riitek keyboard, because the screen's touch capability is on the fritz, likely because of the poor design choice to leave the screen's ribbon cable partially exposed.

This leads me to the conclusion: this project is falling into "hobby" or more accurately, unsupported status. I like the device for my personal use, and I may update the design in the future for my own purposes, and release it for free for public use, though I don't imagine there will be a huge amount of interest in building this device considering the skyrocketing cost of Pi devices nowadays. There is a more reasonable path forward, and I alluded to it earlier: custom PCBs. That's where the SPIRIT project comes in: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

You can see in one of the pictures above, the SPIRIT project is designing a phone that can be completely replicated at home. Well, once they get there it will be. I've exchanged brief communications with the individual running the project, Jan, and while he hasn't stated that these projects are linked in any way, I'd like to think that the SPIRIT project carries forward the values and goals of the project I started. If you were at all interested in my project, give the SPIRIT project github a like or favorite.

Take a look at the v3lectronics youtube channel where Jan livestreams work on the SPIRIT project: https://www.youtube.com/@V_Electronics

The spirit github link again: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

Please contribute if you have any level of knowledge to contribute! These projects thrive on the careful contributions of other humans across the world!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/64949868

Per my last post, (which can be found here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975), I continued to mess around with a mobile broadband modem, and got it working! With a caveat... it only works when plugged into wall power. The battery I have does not supply enough power to fully enable the modem through USB power, due the raspberry pi being very power hungry. Unfortunately, this seemingly simple problem is actually a larger problem that seems to only be solved by an overly complicated solution: designing a custom battery controller PCB that responds to the pi5's (or ideally, a different processor entirely) needs more appropriately.

Take a look at the state of the device here:

Last time I posted here, many interested folks responded with great ideas and feedback. Fortunately, one of the comments lead me to the project that would ultimately end this project in its current state. Link to that comment here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975/22779544

Its flaws are visible. While the device has personality, it lacks ease of use. These days I use it as a "cyberdeck"/field debugging computer, and I use it with a small controller-sized Riitek keyboard, because the screen's touch capability is on the fritz, likely because of the poor design choice to leave the screen's ribbon cable partially exposed.

This leads me to the conclusion: this project is falling into "hobby" or more accurately, unsupported status. I like the device for my personal use, and I may update the design in the future for my own purposes, and release it for free for public use, though I don't imagine there will be a huge amount of interest in building this device considering the skyrocketing cost of Pi devices nowadays. There is a more reasonable path forward, and I alluded to it earlier: custom PCBs. That's where the SPIRIT project comes in: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

You can see in one of the pictures above, the SPIRIT project is designing a phone that can be completely replicated at home. Well, once they get there it will be. I've exchanged brief communications with the individual running the project, Jan, and while he hasn't stated that these projects are linked in any way, I'd like to think that the SPIRIT project carries forward the values and goals of the project I started. If you were at all interested in my project, give the SPIRIT project github a like or favorite.

Take a look at the v3lectronics youtube channel where Jan livestreams work on the SPIRIT project: https://www.youtube.com/@V_Electronics

The spirit github link again: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

Please contribute if you have any level of knowledge to contribute! These projects thrive on the careful contributions of other humans across the world!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/64949868

Sorry its been so long since there was an update regarding this project.

Per my last post, (which can be found here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975), I continued to mess around with a mobile broadband modem, and got it working! With a caveat... it only works when plugged into wall power. The battery I have does not supply enough power to fully enable the modem through USB power, due the raspberry pi being very power hungry. Unfortunately, this seemingly simple problem is actually a larger problem that seems to only be solved by an overly complicated solution: designing a custom battery controller PCB that responds to the pi5's (or ideally, a different processor entirely) needs more appropriately.

Take a look at the state of the device here:

Last time I posted here, many interested folks responded with great ideas and feedback. Fortunately, one of the comments lead me to the project that would ultimately end this project in its current state. Link to that comment here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975/22779544

Its flaws are visible. While the device has personality, it lacks ease of use. These days I use it as a "cyberdeck"/field debugging computer, and I use it with a small controller-sized Riitek keyboard, because the screen's touch capability is on the fritz, likely because of the poor design choice to leave the screen's ribbon cable partially exposed.

This leads me to the conclusion: this project is falling into "hobby" or more accurately, unsupported status. I like the device for my personal use, and I may update the design in the future for my own purposes, and release it for free for public use, though I don't imagine there will be a huge amount of interest in building this device considering the skyrocketing cost of Pi devices nowadays. There is a more reasonable path forward, and I alluded to it earlier: custom PCBs. That's where the SPIRIT project comes in: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

You can see in one of the pictures above, the SPIRIT project is designing a phone that can be completely replicated at home. Well, once they get there it will be. I've exchanged brief communications with the individual running the project, Jan, and while he hasn't stated that these projects are linked in any way, I'd like to think that the SPIRIT project carries forward the values and goals of the project I started. If you were at all interested in my project, give the SPIRIT project github a like or favorite.

Take a look at the v3lectronics youtube channel where Jan livestreams work on the SPIRIT project: https://www.youtube.com/@V_Electronics

The spirit github link again: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

Please contribute if you have any level of knowledge to contribute! These projects thrive on the careful contributions of other humans across the world!

Sorry its been so long since there was an update regarding this project.

Per my last post, (which can be found here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975), I continued to mess around with a mobile broadband modem, and got it working! With a caveat... it only works when plugged into wall power. The battery I have does not supply enough power to fully enable the modem through USB power, due the raspberry pi being very power hungry. Unfortunately, this seemingly simple problem is actually a larger problem that seems to only be solved by an overly complicated solution: designing a custom battery controller PCB that responds to the pi5's (or ideally, a different processor entirely) needs more appropriately.

Take a look at the state of the device here:

Last time I posted here, many interested folks responded with great ideas and feedback. Fortunately, one of the comments lead me to the project that would ultimately end this project in its current state. Link to that comment here: https://lemmy.zip/post/53113975/22779544

Its flaws are visible. While the device has personality, it lacks ease of use. These days I use it as a "cyberdeck"/field debugging computer, and I use it with a small controller-sized Riitek keyboard, because the screen's touch capability is on the fritz, likely because of the poor design choice to leave the screen's ribbon cable partially exposed.

This leads me to the conclusion: this project is falling into "hobby" or more accurately, unsupported status. I like the device for my personal use, and I may update the design in the future for my own purposes, and release it for free for public use, though I don't imagine there will be a huge amount of interest in building this device considering the skyrocketing cost of Pi devices nowadays. There is a more reasonable path forward, and I alluded to it earlier: custom PCBs. That's where the SPIRIT project comes in: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

You can see in one of the pictures above, the SPIRIT project is designing a phone that can be completely replicated at home. Well, once they get there it will be. I've exchanged brief communications with the individual running the project, Jan, and while he hasn't stated that these projects are linked in any way, I'd like to think that the SPIRIT project carries forward the values and goals of the project I started. If you were at all interested in my project, give the SPIRIT project github a like or favorite.

Take a look at the v3lectronics youtube channel where Jan livestreams work on the SPIRIT project: https://www.youtube.com/@V_Electronics

The spirit github link again: https://github.com/SPIRIT-org/SPIRIT

Please contribute if you have any level of knowledge to contribute! These projects thrive on the careful contributions of other humans across the world!

Hello all!

Due to the recent statements by Google (as well as their track record the last few years) I've decided I do not want to use Android as a phone operating system anymore. But Apple is just as bad, if not worse. So I've decided to build my own custom device.

I am working on building a phone using a single board computer, right now I'm using the raspberry pi 5. This is still a proof of concept, but I want to share my ideas with others, so like minded individuals can start messing around with this idea in their own homes to further this goal.

You can view more images of the device here, as well as the step by step instructions here (these are still very rough and incomplete) https://github.com/muhammadmanwar/cheaphone OR https://codeberg.org/muhammadmanwar/cheaphone

Right now it just runs raspberry pi OS, with a different desktop look and feel. Everything that normally works in a pi 5 works on this device, additionally I am experimenting with a Mobile Broadband modem, to allow the device to text and call, as well as access internet, like a normal phone off wifi

The total cost is around 200 dollars, not including the 3d printer to make the custom case.

This project is barely off the ground, and I've got a lot to learn before I can stop relying strictly on the raspberry pi 5, my end goal is to custom design SBCs, and release those designs for free alongside the plans for the device, so that interested parties can select their own System on a Chip to use for the device. I need to get into designing boards, I'm interested in trying Stephen Hawes' Lumen PnP (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlkTcxh-9gA) for that phase.

But that's for the future, for now, I'm hoping to get more people interested in the prototype so that I'm not the only one noodling around on this idea. I'd love some feedback, and if anyone was willing to put one together for testing, I would appreciate it greatly!