has great support for third-party add-ons like the
GPIO breakout HAT I used,” Jay says.
Future-proofing
For a neat interior and to ensure all of the
components could be easily held in place, internal
parts were printed on a Prusa i3 MK3S 3D printer.
For the host of connectors, a panel was produced
with locking switches that could turn individual
components on and off. These allowed control
over Raspberry Pi 4, display, and Netgear five-port
Ethernet network, saving power in a potential
emergency. A switch also allows toggling between
an internal and external battery.
“The internal battery has been the most
difficult part, and I am still working on that,” Jay
says. “There are no real considerations on the
Raspberry Pi board itself for battery management,
and Raspberry Pi 4 was pretty power-hungry when
I built this kit.”
Thankfully, coding proved easier. “It’s a regular
Raspberry Pi laptop in many ways, but I am working
on scripts to mirror my GitHub projects, Wikipedia,
and Raspbian APT libraries while following their
guidelines on proper mirroring,” he reveals.
The result is a cyberdeck that can work as a
portable standalone network core if needed. “It’s
a great system to keep air-gapped from the rest of
the network when not in use,” Jay concludes. The
battle for survival starts here.> No holes were
drilled into the
Pelican case> The entire device is
kept watertight> The main frame
took 24 hours to
3D-print> It can be powered
internally and
externally> It’s stored in an
electromagnetic
pulse shielding boxQuick FA C T S
It’s a regular Raspberry
Pi laptop in many ways
Here you can see
how the connector
panel is wired from
the back and the
positioning of the
internal batteryThis smart connector panel
can link to an external power
supply, give access to the GPIO
pins, and connect the keyboard.
Switches can isolate powerFive Ethernet ports run down the
right side of the main unit. Vents
above the connector panel and
display keep air circulatingRaspberry Pi Recovery Kit magpi.cc 21PROJECT SHOWCASE