Recently acquired the shell of an two old cf-25 toughbooks. Thought i would gut, install new screen,
keyboard and raspberry pi, with the goal of mobile
computing.
Any suggestions for additional hardware that would be interesting/useful to integrate? only suggestion I've had so far has been a headphone amp/DAC for audio out.
What other cool stuff could I cram in there. There's heaps of spare real estate, all I have factored to fit so far is the rpi and its connectivity addons, li-po battery, charging circuit, new keyboard, a 15' LCD from a newer laptop.. and that's about it.
Have access to a 3D printer if that's any inspiration
Wrong pic, it's this model with the large bezel
>>942315
I would maybe suggest a Novena instead of rpi, it's actually almost designed for what you are trying to do. Might need to look at the dimensions etc, but it would be far more flexible and useful than a pi.
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena
>>942326
>https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena
Raspberry pi $30 dollars
This shit, $550
>>942315
You could probably just fit a mini atx in there.
>>942429
RPI is better than that. Mini itx would draw way too much power if he ever wanted to run off the battery.
>>942433
will be run off li-po battery
>>942315
Here are some ideas:
-Work light, perhaps an led with reflector up by where the webcam would go to point down at your keyboard. I love this feature on my thinkpad and could easily be done with RPI.
-Storage compartment, one you could fit a wireless mouse in so that it won't jostle around and maybe some pencils.
>>943207
mouse storage is a good one, will look into that. Integrated charger would be cool
The work light though, seems a backlit keyboard would achieve the same? Or does it illuminate more than the keyboard
isn't a rpi underpowered for any sort of decent computing task?
>>943678
yea. still miles ahead of the original hardware though. it's more a project than "I need a functional modern computer"
the hard drive compartment still has its impact-pro gel in good condition. (left side compartment)
there's 35mm height clearance for reference.. tons of space
the 15" LCD I already had is out of the question, will take a 13" max..
I have an old cf 27
>>942315
What version of Pi are you using?
Here are some guides that can give you and idea on powering and wiring.
https://learn.adafruit.com/7-portable-raspberry-pi-multitouch-tablet
https://learn.adafruit.com/10-raspberry-pi-desktop
https://learn.adafruit.com/portable-kippah-pi
For extras, This is what I would do if I was building one
WiFi adapter with a removable antenna and have a storage place for the antenna in the laptop casing.
Have a port on the back or sides of the laptop for the GPIO. Same for a few USB and the network port (network port wont be as useful if you are going to add wifi to it).
A built in storage area to hold extra stuff such as cables, flash drives, adapters, etc.
A USB Hub built inside for bluetooth and flash drives while having the main USB ports for keyboard, mouse, and wifi.
Buy a Raspberry Pi power switch so you can turn the pi on and off without fucking your SD/Micro SD Card.
Put in a dual USB battery pack (most power/charge) for the pi laptop and charging extra stuff such as your phone or tablet.
Hell add a monitor that has hdmi and build in speakers so you can use it with a video game console, roku stick, or chrome cast and have a small HDMI splitter with a port in the back or the laptop for the second hdmi port.
>>944267
pi 2. though now have an odroid xu4 on its way, the pi might be recommissioned into a print server.. the odroid is a lot faster also.
rock solid ideas. particularly the gpio pina being accessible,
hadn't considered that.
have Bluetooth and wifi USB antennas already. storage compartment is a great idea too. will likely put an old ssd in the existing hard drive bay.
>>944267
I would just mount the wifi antenna along the side of the screen, no need to make it removable
>>942315
Wait, how do you connect the LVDS or whatever monitor connector to it? Are you going to use a driver or just replace the screen entirely?
>>944764
will need a kit made up for whatever LCD model I end up getting.
>>944764
to clarify, will replace the screen entirely
