Project: Ultra-portable PC (handheld like OQO or Tiqit)

Update: I measured the current draw of the board, and it's around 4 Amps. :( Means the power supply will probably last a little more than an hour. I'm planning on picking up another battery, and run it in parallel with the first, to get me at least two hours. I need to either get 3 more 7805s and run them in parallel, as each can only give 1 Amp, or figure out a better solution (post in electronics forum).
 
:/ My 1GB test drive bit the dust. I've been using the 20GB as a storage drive, which means it's full of stuff I may need to off-load. The data on the 20GB is actually from an older HD from my previous system that refuses to work in my new rig, so if it got erased, it's no big deal, however I'd lose access to the data for awhile. I need to either finish getting Gentoo installed to my 160GB and copy the data over to it, or just dump it, and copy the data from the orginal using my brother's system to a spare partiion on the 160GB at a later date.

Also, I need to figure out how to install to the 20GB, either while it's in the USB drive adapter, or on the system itself. I'm thinking of maybe net-booting the embedded board and installing that way. I don't have an adapter for notebook to regular IDE right now, and I'd rather not order one for a one time use.
 
Let me know if I can be of any help. BTW I've got a (untested) 6GB Desktop drive laying around.
 
i recomend just going with a notebook hard drive, maybe a smallish one (10-20gigs) and a low rpm drive to reduce the power consumption. for power what about notebook bateries? not sure if you could use those or not but they seem pretty powerful.
 
Morphes said:
i recomend just going with a notebook hard drive, maybe a smallish one (10-20gigs) and a low rpm drive to reduce the power consumption. for power what about notebook bateries? not sure if you could use those or not but they seem pretty powerful.
Click to expand...

I've got a 20GB 4200RPM drive for the project, but the drive is full of stuff, so I can't reformat it quite yet. I need to burn the contents off to DVD I guess. The 1GB drive was just for testing. Notebook batteries may work, but are harder to get ahold of, at least cheaply.
 
Neat, I got my ETX (has different mounting holes than EBX) today, and it has both 40-pin IDE and 44-pin IDE. So that solves the trouble of getting an adapter, I can just install Linux onto the drive using the ETX board.
 
Current status:
Waiting on a MAX787 DC-DC converter to come in, supposed to be better than a regulator for my uses.

The ETX board is dead, however, it was guarenteed working, and the seller is shipping me another. If I can't install a distro via USB to my 20GB, I'll use the ETX board to install.

I have a new install running on a bigger drive in my main box, which means I can copy over the 20GB without troubles now.
 
Got the MAX787s today, going to be a little harder to wire up than I thought. I was thinking they were wired up the same a 7805, and needed no supporting circuitry, but they have 5 pins and need some other components.

I'll need to sort through the parts that I have to see what else I need, but I don't have a 50uH choke nor a zener diode, which are required for the circuit.
 
I need to order everything, as Radio Shack doesn't have a suitable choke or zener diode for the MAX787. I'm really not liking the fact the choke costs about $5 by itself. $10 in parts + $5 fee for being under $25 minimum order, and then shipping on top of the Digi-key order. :mad: I'm gonna hold off for awhile on ordering, though.

I'm going to sell a PDA on eBay, which should get me enough money to get more stuff for the uPC (like the trackpoint).

Here's a list of additional stuff I'm thinking of adding:
iTrip FM modulator (changes frequencies when certain audio files are played)
Sammy PS2 gamepad with integrated keyboard
5" USB touchscreen kit (This is still iffy, but if the PDA goes for enough, I'll be able to swing it)
60GB drive instead of the 20GB
 
tom61 said:
I need to order everything, as Radio Shack doesn't have a suitable choke or zener diode for the MAX787. I'm really not liking the fact the choke costs about $5 by itself. $10 in parts + $5 fee for being under $25 minimum order, and then shipping on top of the Digi-key order. :mad: I'm gonna hold off for awhile on ordering, though.

I'm going to sell a PDA on eBay, which should get me enough money to get more stuff for the uPC (like the trackpoint).

Here's a list of additional stuff I'm thinking of adding:
iTrip FM modulator (changes frequencies when certain audio files are played)
Sammy PS2 gamepad with integrated keyboard
5" USB touchscreen kit (This is still iffy, but if the PDA goes for enough, I'll be able to swing it)
60GB drive instead of the 20GB
Click to expand...


I think the keyboard/joystick combo is a great idea. If you could figure out a way to control the cursor with the analog sticks, it would be even better.
 
SpangeMonkee said:
I think the keyboard/joystick combo is a great idea. If you could figure out a way to control the cursor with the analog sticks, it would be even better.
Click to expand...

Already figured that out. Joy2Key under Windows can do that, and QjoyPad and few other apps can do it under Linux.

The main trouble with the Sammy joypad/keyboard is that mounting it as one piece wouldn't work very well. I'm hoping that I could easily take it apart into seperate boards easily.

If I do get the touchscreen, I may just go with no physical keyboard, an just enter text with an on-screen one.
 
I don't know if you've tested yet, but I had no luck with Joy2Key with my Xbox sticks under Win2K (ymmv). In the end I used JoyCur (I think it's called). So you can use this as an alternative.

I wanted to play old skool '90s shooter Raiden 2, and it didn't like new DirectInput methods, so had to play on "keys" with the stick controlling the cursor keys.
 
With yet another PDA sold, I now have enough to buy most everything. I'll soon aquire the RAM, trackpoint, WiFi adapter, and the stuff needed to make the 787 work. I didn't quite make enough off the PDA to afford the touchscreen, so that's something to add when I get some more money.

I'll also be grabding a 40-pin to 44-pin IDE adapter to transfer the OS to the drive (I couldn't get K Ubuntu or Debian to install to the drive), as the embedded board that I got from ebay still hasn't been replaced.

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but I have grabbed a second battery, to help extend the life of the uPC.
 
I've gotten the trackpoints ordered (got two, in case modding goes wrong, and to meet minimum order) and the IDE adapter as well. :/ I'm also working on a HTPC as well and picked up a P4 SFF mini-ATX(a little bigger than mini-ITX) board. Need to order the stuff from digi-key now, but there's no way to directly bookmark the parts, so I have to search for each one, again.
 
Once again, a late addition causes troubles with one of my projects. :rolleyes:

The second battery isn't as easy to incorporate as I had hoped. I had gotten the height of the battery confused with the height of the HD enclosure. One battery causes little trouble, as it can fit sideways in between the motherboard and controls/screen. Each battery the height of one inside of the case. Depending on the thickness of the case itself, I may have to one or both batteries outside the case. I didn't notice this until I did a test fit with both batteries in the case today.

I took apart the PSOne screen, that was a pain and a half. :mad: I used the wrong guide to figure out how to open the screen, and did some cosmetic damage to the screen casing (I like being able to resale things, so that's a pain) becuase I didn't know about the screws under the speaker grills (which cracked when removed). Anyways, hopefully it still works. I looked up the LCD screen part number on google, and found out it's made by Samsung, and only has a native res of 320x240. :( I was hoping that it was a higher native resolution, and could use my board's intergrated controller to use it at a non-interlaced decent res.

I also grabbed a serial touchscreen unit intended for a 9" display off ebay for $17 (after a nice 10% off eBay PayPal coupon). I'm not sure that it'll fit my case size, but it doesn't matter much as it is an IR based touch module. That means that it can be phyically trimmed down, if it comes to that.
 
The last of the parts will be arriving this week and the first part of next week. Barring yet more troubles, I should be wrapping up this project soon.

What's coming in the mail/UPS:
9" touch module
Trackpoints
1U blower heatsink (this makes it easier to make a tunnel for exaust)
40 pin to 44 pin IDE adapter
Parts to finish off the power supply

That just leaves the WiFi. Anyone know of a natively supported in Linux 802.11g USB adapter, for $20 or so?
 
Current status:
Almost to stage 1. I misplaced the Pulse Wave Modulator (MAX787) chips, so I can't put the power supply together. When ordering parts, I ended up ordering a 10 Watt 2.7K resistor, the sucker is huge. the resistor is nearly three inches long (not including leads) and over 1/4" in diameter. :/ Radio Shack, at least my local one, doesn't have 2.7K resistors by themselves, or part of a sane quantity. I'd have to buy a 50 pack of resistors to get one. I'll have to see if I can salvage one from somewhere, or just use the large one.

The touch unit was much bigger than I had thought, as well as harder to hack. So, that won't get used.

I have to do some fiddly things with wiring, install and configure Linux to the 20GB drive, and make the circuit for power, and then I'll be done. I don't think I'll go past stage 1 for awhile, as I'm kinda dissappointed with the results.

The heatsink was as small as I had hoped, however, all the stuff it mounts to brings it up to be nearly as tall as the previous heatsink. :(

Here's a picture of the UPC so far:
http://tom61.arcadecontrols.com/pics/upc.jpg

VHS tape in pic to show size. My recently arrived Socket 478 SFF board in the background.
 
tom61 said:
Here's a list of additional stuff I'm thinking of adding:
iTrip FM modulator (changes frequencies when certain audio files are played)
Sammy PS2 gamepad with integrated keyboard
5" USB touchscreen kit (This is still iffy, but if the PDA goes for enough, I'll be able to swing it)
60GB drive instead of the 20GB
Click to expand...


Good looking mod so far, love the case! I have one of the PSOne lcd's, just waiting for a project to use it in, but I was curious where you will be getting the 5" USB touchscreen kit?

I also saw that you would be running linux, what distro? and have you tested that mini usb keyboard with it yet? If so, what driver did you use?
Can't wait for more pics / updates!
 
JoeKewl said:
Good looking mod so far, love the case! I have one of the PSOne lcd's, just waiting for a project to use it in, but I was curious where you will be getting the 5" USB touchscreen kit?

I also saw that you would be running linux, what distro? and have you tested that mini usb keyboard with it yet? If so, what driver did you use?
Can't wait for more pics / updates!
Click to expand...

I probably won't incorporate a touch screen in this project, the funds just didn't pan out. I think I was planning to buy from here: http://ezscreen.com/index.html?target=front.html&lang=en-us

As far as distros, I was thinking K Ubuntu. Gentoo just wouldn't be very suited to a C3 800MHz system. :p

The mini-keyboard is just a standard USB PC keyboard, interface wise. Only driver needed is the USB HID kernel driver (which any kernel, except maybe embedded ones, should have compilied by default).
 
Hey for some control ideas, how about the GoPad from Interact? It's made small for laptops:
gopad.jpg


Apparentely, the software allows you to use the thumbstick to control the mouse cursor.
 
Slowly progressing on this project.

Ubuntu is now downloaded and installed to the 20GB laptop drive using my main rig and a 40 to 44 pin IDE adapter that I got for $5 shipped. Hopefully Ubuntu is as flexible as Mandrake is/was and can move from system to system with only minor trouble, and not like Suse which crashes when too much hardware is changed.

I can't find the PDF file for my board, which means I can't wire up the USB ports properly. I've retrieved a USB 2.0 card from a friend, and I'll be using it to connect stuff like my spiffy new USB folding keyboard:

Size of folding keyboard open compared to uPC's case:
http://tom61.arcadecontrols.com/pics/fktocase.jpg

Size of folding keyboard closed compared to uPC's case:
http://tom61.arcadecontrols.com/pics/fkclosedoncase.jpg

Most likely I'll put the USB 2.0 card in a flexible PCI riser, as it's too tall to fit in the case vertically.
 
For battery life one thing you might want to look as is replacing the cathode in the ps1 lcd with leds. I've seen people do in on projects before and think people have don't it with the ps1 screen as well.
 
Where'd you get the motherboard? I just can't find one at a reasonable price (Advantech wanted to charge me $400).
 
Wait, Linux works if you change systems but don't do a repair install like windows?

BTW, awsome project.
 
tom61 said:
Nearly up and going, except the OS didn't like being moved to different system. I think that the IDE channel I have it plugged into may not be the same as the PC I installed on, and Grub passes the wrong options to the kernel.

Kernel panic :confused: :
http://tom61.arcadecontrols.com/pics/upc/panic.jpg
Click to expand...

Pretty close. Basically the kernel is loading drivers for an ide controller Type A but the motherboard you're using is a Type B. The micro-kernel in the boot sector can't locate the hard drive and the rest of the files and errors out.

Consider using a Live CD version like MephisOS where they include just about every damn IDE driver available in the boot image.
 
Where'd you get the motherboard? I just can't find one at a reasonable price (Advantech wanted to charge me $400).
Click to expand...

If you want an inexpensive one, check out the PC CHIPS M789CG motheboard at Newegg. It's not as small, but the price is good ($54.00).
 
swatbat said:
For battery life one thing you might want to look as is replacing the cathode in the ps1 lcd with leds. I've seen people do in on projects before and think people have don't it with the ps1 screen as well.
Click to expand...

I've been strongly considering that, not just for power, but for heat as well.

Noah said:
Where'd you get the motherboard? I just can't find one at a reasonable price (Advantech wanted to charge me $400).
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend the PCM-9574 anyway, as you have to hack your own wiring for keyboard and audio. You can snag a PCM-9575 or PCM-9577 for less than $100 on ebay most weeks, then order the $37 wiring kit from Advantech's online store (very hard to find on eBay)

EnderXC said:
Wait, Linux works if you change systems but don't do a repair install like windows?

BTW, awsome project.
Click to expand...

Depends on the distro it seems. I have a Mandrake 9.1 on a HD that has been in four completely different systems(one of which was dual-processor), and it moved from system with minimal trouble, only plug-n-play had to redetect everything at boot-up.

The_Mage18 said:
Pretty close. Basically the kernel is loading drivers for an ide controller Type A but the motherboard you're using is a Type B. The micro-kernel in the boot sector can't locate the hard drive and the rest of the files and errors out.

Consider using a Live CD version like MephisOS where they include just about every damn IDE driver available in the boot image.
Click to expand...

That may just be it. I may see if I can put a GenKernel (as robust in inclusion as Live CDs) made kernel on there.
 
I finally got a chance to try out the GenKernel kernel, and unfortunately it hangs after freeing up some memory.

I guess I'll have to put some sort of liveCD-like distro on the HD. I found out that Mandrivia may need stuff from it's install CD after transfering to a new system, so I guess that's out.
 
The OS situation is making me rather mad, especially now that I don't have as much time to spend on this project because of school. I think I'm going to order one of those external IDE to USB adapters that comes with the power supply that plugs directly into the drive. Then use that to install the OS from CDrom, then use the power supply to run the motherboard when I'm near AC, possibly with a car power converter to take the 12V and turn into the voltage needed to charge the batteries.
 
I've been considering using a small LCD for a project somewhat similiar to yours, but usability issues always crop up when I look into it. That PS1 LCD displays at around 500 res, right? I'd hate to do anything meaningful with that.. Thought of perhaps wiring together two or three five inch LCDs for a widescreen setup, but that is beyond my skill.

Main interesting feature is the power setup, as I've never seen anyone make use of a li-ion battery (bulky UPS lead-acid, and even regular D batteries, but li-ions seems to present some special challenges) much less a two powerpack setup. How difficult has the wiring for it been thus far?

Interesting project..

PS If your looking for NES emulation on a handheld, may I suggest the GPX2? (http://www.gp32x.com) Been playing with a unit and the Nes and Genesis emulation is quite nice..
 
Marska said:
I've been considering using a small LCD for a project somewhat similiar to yours, but usability issues always crop up when I look into it. That PS1 LCD displays at around 500 res, right? I'd hate to do anything meaningful with that.. Thought of perhaps wiring together two or three five inch LCDs for a widescreen setup, but that is beyond my skill.

Main interesting feature is the power setup, as I've never seen anyone make use of a li-ion battery (bulky UPS lead-acid, and even regular D batteries, but li-ions seems to present some special challenges) much less a two powerpack setup. How difficult has the wiring for it been thus far?

Interesting project..

PS If your looking for NES emulation on a handheld, may I suggest the GPX2? (http://www.gp32x.com) Been playing with a unit and the Nes and Genesis emulation is quite nice..
Click to expand...

The physical res of the screen is 320x240, but I'll be running it interlaced at 640x480. With more utilitarian uses on my mind, I'm seriously considering dumping the PSOne screen at the first chance I get. Since the board has an intergrated LCD controller, I might hook it up to an old active-matrix TFT screen I pulled out of a 486 laptop. That would be a pain to do, with all the odd connectors involved, and that I'd need a inverter to power the CCFL or wire up white LEDs in its place.

Most of the troubles with li-ion is safety related. If charged wrong, they may leak, catch fire, or even explode. I get around that simply because all the safety electronics(overload protection, over-voltage protection, etc.) are inside the gray box along with the battery cells. I also get a charge indicator, telling me how much power I have left.

What I've had to do so far is take the battery to Radio Shack to find matching connectors, make a post in the electronics sub-forum asking what type of regulator I'd need to step 9V down to 5V at 4Amps (turns out the best bet wasn't a regulator, but a PWM), read the schematic on the product website, and order the needed parts from digi-key. Still haven't built the circuit, because of me ordering the wrong size of resistor (right value, but the thing is 3 inches long!) and that the PWM's pins don't quite line up with any protoboards I have laying around.

Portable NES emulation is done by my Dell Axim X5 using Pocket NESter just fine. GPX2 looked neat, but it's new Linux based succesor looks even cooler.
 
Gah! I just can't seem to catch a break with this project! I finally got the needed time + IDE to USB adpater +installation CDs together at the same time. Turns out the board can't boot from USB. :mad:

So, now it looks like my installation options are even more limited. I now have two 40 to 44 pin IDE adapters, but neither has pin one labeled, and I fear plugging in the adapter wrong into the motherboard could fry it.
 
If the pins are not labeled... can you see where they conect to? if they can only be connected one way (you know, with the plastic stub or something) you could maybe figure it out by looking at how it connects to the mobo or to the HD.
 
tear the one far wire away from the others all down the IDE cable, and use that as a guide, but dont tear the wire off...
 
I'm talking about the adapter itself. No pin one label on it, and no notch on the 44-pin connector to indicate polarity. All I know is that the adapter's label faces the same way as the label on the HD, when connecting a laptop drive to 40 pin desktop IDE.

I suppose that the pin one wire on the 40-pin cable, when plugged into the adapter, would be on the same side as pin 1 of the adapter. The 40-pin socket is keyed, so that can't be plugged in backwards.

However, I'm not really trusting the cheapy IDE adapter (one I bought for $5 shipped, the other came with a $20 IDE to USB kit).
 
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