Cyberdad
Finished my cyberdeck project that I started in December 2025. Stumbled upon cyberdecks after buying a Hackberry Pi, with no intention of designing and building my own. Went down the rabbit hole and ended up learning CAD, soldering and general electronics.
Specs:
- CM0-IQ (essentially a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with a DSI port)
- Adafruit PowerBoost
- 5000 mAh battery
- Waveshare low-profile screen
- M5Stack CardKB with rubber keypad
- CNC'd aluminium case
Why "Cyberdad"?
I started watching soldering and CAD videos while settling and holding my baby (now a toddler) to sleep. So every night I was just watching random shorts on electronics and CAD. I had zero prior knowledge, and it quickly went from "what is voltage and current" to "how do I set up 2S LiPos to get to 5V 5A". Same story with CAD — I couldn't even rotate a model at first, and ended up doing parameter sheets in FreeCAD, filleting and array transforms. By no means an expert (my soldering is terrible) but pretty happy with how it's come together just from watching Youtube.
Purpose:
This is the only tip I have for anyone looking to build their own cyberdeck: really understand what you want out of the project. Initially I wanted a replacement for my laptop. I have a Framework laptop that I love, and thought the next natural step would be to build my own device, free from any company.
What was meant to be a CM5 device became a Banana Pi Zero M2 project, then a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W project, and finally landed at what I have today. I kind of realised along the way that nothing I designed would ever be as useful, sleek or portable as something like the Framework, designed by actual engineers and designers (of which I am neither).
It can be hooked up to a screen via HDMI, and I put in a spare Logitech dongle so my keyboard and mouse are always connected. It works as a PC, but web browsing is basically impossible, so now it's a note-taking, emulator and email-checking device.
Parts:
Found the CM0-IQ by chance, but it was perfect for my original goal of a laptop replacement. It has both DSI and an HDMI port, so I can connect it to a monitor and use it on the go.
I designed some adapters to convert the CM0-IQ back to the layout of a regular Zero module, so that if/when Raspberry Pi releases a 3 W, I can swap it straight in. Because the CM0 has the SoC on the bottom, it can be passively cooled via a thermal pad through the aluminium case.
Because I set out to build a laptop replacement, I only used "branded" parts — most items are Adafruit (even the cables) because I needed it to be reliable. I run my own business, so I need it to turn on and off reliably every day, but not using Aliexpress parts definitely added to the overall cost.
The system light is light-piped to the top of the case so I can see if it's on. The key adds a bit of cyberpunk-ness, and shuts off the PowerBoost when not in use. The battery indicator shows remaining charge, but I don't know how to turn it off without a battery cut-off, so it just runs 24/7 (lol).
Cost:
Honestly, too much for what is essentially a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. "Hobby electronics is not cheap" is 100% true. I didn't own a soldering iron and wrecked $$$ worth of parts while learning, too — starting from scratch was expensive. Because the scope kept changing, I've also ended up with a box of new and unused parts, including 2x Riikey keyboards, 2x Waveshare displays, a Banana Pi, and Raspberry Pi CM5 parts. Total cost I'd say is around 2K AUD, including all the prototypes.
Would I do it again?
I'd do something like this with my son if he was interested — design and build a little music/gaming device. I might try again and make a CM5 tablet/slate, but not any time soon.
"You mentioned that you originally wanted to replace your laptop — wouldn't it have been cheaper and quicker to just use an iPad with a keyboard? Not to mention resale value, which this will have zero of. And parts and accessories are available at every shopping centre and airport. Wouldn't that have made more sense?"
Yes
Happy to answer any questions.