Mom can we have Cardputer Zero?

We have Cardputer Zero at home...

After M5Stack announced shipping starts in September, I realized the earliest I’d probably get one in my hands is October… realistically November. So… let’s go for Cardputer Zero DIY Part 2 lol.

I’ll keep you posted, but the current goal is to build one with:

• Raspberry Pi Zero W2
• Battery + all the necessary power components and proper on/off switch
• CardKB2 keyboard (where I’ll need to de-solder ALL buttons… god help me with this assignment)
• 1.9 inch screen

The plan is to make it as clean as possible, ideally not a single port visible… or MAYBE I push the Pi to the edge and expose the ports intentionally.

I’m also considering using a Pi UPS with an 18650 battery, but I need to calculate dimensions and see how everything fits once the keyboard arrives. Honestly, fitting the keyboard will probably be the biggest challenge of the entire build.

Missing parts are already ordered from Ali, so hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll have everything needed to start assembling.

Once the build begins, I’ll post updates, progress pics, files, and schematics again.

I built a tiny desktop app called Void Room.

It does almost nothing.

And that’s the point.

https://noirsonance.com/product/void-room/

Sometimes you don’t want AI.
Sometimes you don’t want productivity systems.
Sometimes you don’t want notifications, collaboration, optimization, or another app pretending to change your life.

Sometimes you just want to say something into the void.

I think I will call it a project here (when it comes to hardware)
I’ve been messing around with the Cardputer (v1 and ADV) for some time and I knew and I felt like it could be something more practical, and since I had lot of stuff going on my raspberry's I decided to turn ADV into control device for pi and put all together and to push it a bit and see where it goes.

I made a 3D printed adapter so everything sits inside the case without completely ruining the original look and to be reversable at any point. It’s not perfect (fit could be tighter, screws are a bit off), but it holds together well and actually looks like a single device now.

The Pi is running a small system I’ve been building:
https://github.com/rimedag/VaultPi-Control-Center

It’s basically a lightweight control center where I can run scripts, trigger things, manage small workflows, repo's, etc. Running it inside the browser is much nicer and better looking but with custom cardputer firmware I can access it via cardputer, It’s very terminal-first, nothing fancy visually (on cardputer), but it fits the screen and the whole concept pretty well.

I also added a few things that made it feel way more “real” than I expected.

For example, I put a w3m browser on the Pi and integrated it into the firmware, so you can actually browse the internet from this thing. It’s obviously minimal, but it works. There’s also a terminal exposed so you can directly access the Pi, not just go through menus.

The GO button on top is now used for lock/unlock, and I added an optional PIN if you want some basic safety. There’s also a small thing like keeping the screen on while charging, which sounds minor but makes a big difference in usability (When it sits on my desk and I can with glance of my eye see if my websites and services are running or if anything is down).

Communication between the Cardputer and the Pi is currently pretty simple, they talk over the same network. The control center listens on a port and the Cardputer connects to it with a password. It works reliably enough for now.

I did think about going lower level. Those two unused data wires (from grove) are basically just sitting there and could be wired directly to the Pi’s GPIO, which would allow full control even without network. That was the original idea.

But I stopped myself there.

I know how that goes, one more layer, then another, then suddenly it’s a never-ending project. So I left that as a “maybe later” and kept this version focused and working.

Power-wise, same story. I originally wanted to go all-in with a second battery and extra modules to properly power the Pi. I even got advice to do that. But again, I simplified it.

Right now I’m powering the Pi through Grove. For normal use it works fine. It’s not meant for heavy loads, but for what this is, it’s stable enough. I’ll test battery life properly and share results once I have something real.

Where it stands right now is somewhere between prototype and usable device. It works, I actually use it, but it’s not polished. Things that could be better:

• smaller screws
• tighter 3D print
• cleaner internal layout
• Additional battery and modules for having pi with its own powersupply (but then it needs switch bla bla bla too much hustle + not intuitive)

Firmware also isn’t “clean” yet. It works, but there are hiccups. I’ll make that repo public once I fix the obvious stuff. The Pi side is already up if anyone wants to try it.

I had plans to go much deeper with this, more integration, maybe push it towards a small OS-like system, but I intentionally stopped before it turns into something I never finish.

So this is it for now. Not perfect, but real and working.

Lets call it a v1

Curious what people think, if you are inpatient to get your hands on CP Zero this might be worth a try, even having raspberry separated from cardputer is good idea, since they have to be on the same network raspberry could sit somewhere in the house while you access it and manipulate it via cardputer

For those wanting to have raspberry on keychain I have modified 3d print in github repo beside the app

Oh I almost forgot, 3d model of this adapter can be found here
https://www.printables.com/model/1711895-cardputer-adv-adapter
(with ender 3v3 and basic PLA I found it best when printing on 75% speed, nozzle temp 212 bed temp 63)

Firmware for cardputer can be found here
https://github.com/rimedag/Vaultpi-Cardputer

But as of now it is buggy and probably not gonna work properly (there is source code and firmware builded for you to put on SD card and install)
I am giving link just if you want to bookmark it or save for later

Lets have fun

I already have my setup running on a Pi Zero 2 W and a custom firmware on Cardputer ADV that controls it.

So I decided to merge everything into a single device.

I designed and 3D printed an extension piece that sits between the Cardputer and its original back cover, I want to keep the stock shell on the outside for a cleaner finish instead of a fully printed case.

Current plan

• Fit Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W + battery + power module inside the extension
• Keep Cardputer fully functional (screen/keyboard/UI)
• Use Cardputer as a terminal/controller for the Pi

Power architecture

• 1x LiPo battery (limited to ~80x30x6mm -> probably ~1800–3000mAh)
• 1x power module (IP5306 or similar)

Wiring:

Battery → power module → 5V rail
                        ├── Pi (direct 5V)
                        └── Cardputer (5V0 pin)

• Cardputer internal battery stays
• External 5V acts like “always plugged in”

Communication

UART via Grove:

Cardputer TX → Pi RX (GPIO15 / pin 10)
Cardputer RX → Pi TX (GPIO14 / pin 8)
GND shared

Hardware mods

Raspberry Pi

• Remove bulky connectors (USB + HDMI) to save space

• Power Pi via test pads:

  5V → PP1 GND → PP6

(no USB needed at all)

Cardputer

• Inject 5V internally:

  5V → 5V0 (or 5V1) pin GND → GND

• Grove used only for UART

Goal

• One device
• One charging port
• No external cables
• Instant-on terminal for my Pi control center

Next steps

• Find largest LiPo that fits (80x30x6mm constraint)
• Pick stable 5V boost/charge module (IP5306?)
• Finalize internal wiring layout
• Clean enclosure routing (battery + Pi stacking)

If anyone has:

• better power module suggestions (compact, stable under Pi load)
• experience running Pi Zero from small LiPo setups
• cleaner way to inject power into Cardputer

I’d love feedback before I lock the design.

p.s. once cardputer zero comes out I will use this as a backup device

in case you wondered if it would fit YES IT WILL!

I had to take of connector from gps module and solder wires directly and I had to adjust the housing a bit to fit the cable and module