The Cyberdeck I Wish I Could Recommend | The uConsole by Clockwork Pi

[@beez1598]

The headphone jack is for the 4g module to carry a voice call. There’s no interconnect between the audio processing on the main board and 4g module.

[@TippyBits]

As always the truth is in the comments! Thanks for that info! Going back through the page for the cellular module I see that now. Still I wonder if there was a way they could have simply leveraged the existing audio jack for that.

[@beez1598]

@@TippyBits probably, seeing as how the expansion port is just a glorified usb port with extras, but I’m speculating. In reality Clockwork is such a small team I’m guessing they just didn’t have the dev talent to work through a lot of quirks, it’s easier/cheaper to leave that to the community. Also the whole device was initially for the cm3 I know that’s the core reason there isn’t a lot of things you see on a lot of other cm4 Devices (nvme/usb3). Hopefully they will do a mainboard revision at some point to break out some of the features to work with cm4/cm5 there’s definitely still room inside the case for upgrades!

[@HotelHero]

​​​@@TippyBitsEasier to code them seperate. Especially since there's a 4g model and a normal one. Their OS is custom baked.

[@Tinyflower1]

as someone who also bought it back then, to be fair, the website did clearly say "Pre-Order"

[@jub8891]

took a year for mine to arrive but now its assembled i feel like its one of the coolest things ive seen in recent times

[@cyberteque]

the second "audio jack" is for the cell modem

[@noahgary6038]

wtf does that even mean?

[@janosaudron42us]

@@noahgary6038I read it as: there is a second audio jack.. it’s for making voice calls over the 4g modem expansion.

[@dima_fly3rman]

The extension module audio jack ist the one from the LTE Modem. Plug an headset into and you have a phone.

[@paulgallant8115]

These guys need to be honest about the wait time. It's never 90 days like it says on the site.

[@TippyBits]

Yeah it’s really frustrating they’ve not been upfront about it. It would be one thing if they were scaling up manufacturing to try and meet demand but they’ve explicitly shared they won’t be doing that.

[@bluearcherx]

ordered mine in Nov 4, received it Dec 30

[@TheBoulKash]

I don’t think they expected the large influx. That plus the actually production, component acquisition and general logistics, I kind of cut them some slack

[@jayzo]

I got mine in 2 months by not including the CM4 and buying it separately. I learned this lesson fortunately _before_ ordering.

[@MarkLee-w2w]

Mine took 10 months. Easy assembly, took the charge with the 18650 batteries, and I'm principally using it as a Mathematica platform (math teacher) and calculator. I'll probably put some Pokemon/Fire Emblem ROMs on it eventually if this replaces my Anbernic for that purpose.

[@jmd1743]

I would like a cellular phone like that.

[@squidwerd1981]

The blackberry passport was the closest looking phone

[@diejuse]

Unihertz Titan.

[@4chanresearchdivision107]

That would be my reason for buying this. An opensource computer with 5g data is probably the closest your gonna get to an opensource phone. There are opensource phones out there, but they are expensive and I haven't found any that people are recommending.

[@saharatul]

​@@4chanresearchdivision107The firmware on those modules is most likely propelrietary

[@sloppyfloppy79]

I ran a titan for 4 years, rooted, loved it. Toughest damn phone I ever owned. Only issue is the mediatek chipset doesn't allow for monitor mode for the wifi module. Everything else is awesome.

[@HotelHero]

Gonna snag this for Ham BBS, PiHole ssh console and run it on the custom Kali Os. Very neat cyberdeck.

[@kerrymccallum6957]

Any updates on using it for Ham BBS and what was your build, ie what peripherals etc did you use?

[@fcf8269]

It is an interesting take on a product and it is interesting to see that you bought it not even knowing what it is for. It is a small computer, not different from a laptop, that is true, but I think that where it find its usefulness is portability. Your laptop requires probably 40W or so to recharge? And at best even in low power mode you are talking about 2-5 hours of continuous usage; while this type of devices can go on for twice as much or more, depending on what you run on them. Not necessarily a "silly device to do silly thing", unless all you do is to use it as terminal, which is silly; as running large language models on it, considering that it is a dinky mobile arm CPU; so it is a waste of power and time to even install anything like LLama on it, except for the laughs. But a more useful context would be penetration test for example, or security testing or even off the grid usage where you do not have the luxury of a more powerful machine. And yes... People still use headphones, because probably you have 3 power banks with you to slow down and recharge in an airport or what not, but if you go out in the wild or for a trip; unless you carry an inverter and a solar panel, or a crank, you have no power, so a headphone with a jack saves you the hassle to use bluetooth and waste energy, which can be used to run your device :) Another user case is as small video game system for retro gaming; although it is a waste of money considering that there are cheaper alternatives that are much simpler to set up... But if you want a small linux that is smaller than a RPI 400 and is self contained, and want to make it portable, this seems to be checking all the boxes in the end.

[@TippyBits]

"you bought it not even knowing what it is for" - oof you got me there 😅 I am definitely starting to see some of the uses now though with all the comments which is exciting. As for the battery I will warn you it's not great. With the CPU pinned to 100% It gets a max of 2 hours. I think with reasonable settings (Bluetooth off, lower screen brightness, etc) it can probably get closer to ~5 hours. Where I am starting to see it as very useful is for the handled linux machine. When I was working at a company with a datacenter I always had a laptop. Now that I am using this more I can see how it would be ideal for something like that. The outdoors linux box is still a bit of a stretch for me but maybe if someone is doing some sort of field work that requires instrumentation I could see it? Either way I will be doing a follow up with some of the more interesting usecases outlined by people like yourself so thank you!

[@fcf8269]

@@TippyBits BTW I was not criticizing you; just saying that many times people see something and buy it out of curiosity, but do not catch the "intent" behind why that item exist. I think that this device looks too much like a gameboy mixed with a blackberry, that most people get confused about what it actually is supposed to do :) Were you getting 2h with the original OS build? Because if you use a different distro you are basically running the screen at a higher refresh rate probably, and at higher resolution and have a ton of daemons and services running that are not useful probably for the device. If you get 2h with the default OS, then that is concerning, as the expectation should be 6-8h unless you use wifi all the time (forgot the actual declared run time, need to double check). I think that if you are working at a job like field tech or something like that, this could be a good viable alternative to a laptop, especially if you travel a lot, as it can easily fit in a small bag, and the only flaw I see there is no IR and serial ports, which are a big issue if you have to deal with any device that is what you usually find in "not so recent" industrial complex. I used to work in a place where I was carrying around a HP Jornada device with Windows CE, and that thing with a serial port was more than enough to do its job as terminal, until I started to use a small portable linux laptop. Also I think for sensor work this device could be also useful; using BT you can get readings from different IOT devices pretty easily, and also as inventory tool for large factories you could easily carry this around with a small barcode reader or POS probably (although a phone can do that too...). In the end it is limited, yes, but I think it is more of those items that have a niche area of usage, more than being a "one trick pony" for mainstream. And if it does not work for someone that is also totally fine... I had to give up on the devterm as it was too small to be used for typing "with 2 hands", while this one seems to be more useful for "thumb-typing"; so it is a different approach and different expectations.

[@TippyBits]

@@fcf8269 Yeah that was with the default distro but at 100% load. I will be testing it with some lower more day to day use hopefully this week to see what it can do. Totally get the field tech use case. I wonder if anyone has made 3d back plates for this yet. I'd like to see one with a few network/serial ports.

[@jtfernandez5594]

I plan on running milkytracker on mine. Headphone jack is required for this, any bluetooth latency is an issue in this use case.

[@TippyBits]

I had to google this and it seems super cool! That’s a new one for me

[@janosaudron42us]

Milkytracker is the shit, love me some old school music production

[@Xpurple]

I placed my order for one of these five months ago. I should have it at some point. My current pocket computer is a Pocket Chip which is rather dated and slow.

[@TippyBits]

Yeah this will probably out-perform that by a great deal. It’s probably less of a pocket computer though. It’s fairly large 😅 what are you using your current one for?

[@Xpurple]

@@TippyBits : I'm a traveling tech and use mine to test network ports to make sure I can get an IP address. Ping hosts without having to carry a laptop (plugged into various network jacks). To console into routers via the command line using a usb to serial adapter. That sort of thing.

[@noahgary6038]

I did too. Literally just got mine today! lol

[@Dylan-nh3lq]

I have pocket chip but I can't for the life of me figure out how to update that sources list it's pisses me off i archive Jesse than stretch and i can't do nothing on the terminal because all out dated sources i hate the pocket chip and waiting on this device

[@Xpurple]

@@Dylan-nh3lq : There are some updated sources for the pocket chip at this point. Though, at this point it’s little more than a toy. 512 megs of ram, a single core 700mhz cpu paired with the horrible keyboard and screen. Not that it’s totally useless, but it’s of rather limited real use.

[@GinsuSher]

what kind of tinkerer makes fun of more options with the 2 audiojacks ? They have a purpose by the way. Nobody uses them now ? It has bluetooth ? ugh.

[@TippyBits]

It’s an opinion I understand if you disagree with it. My point was it seems like lazy engineering. One of them can only be used for cellular, and the other can only be used for audio out from the system. Just my thoughts though im sure someone will find a way to take use of both.

[@notyourtipicaltechguy6438]

I ordered one, I want to make a portable oscilloscope with a Digilent analog discovery

[@jthecoder]

Yeah I think they're fun little devices to tinker around with - I got a DevTerm a while back and I do play around with it on occasion, but I definitely don't use it as much as I should, as most of the time it sits on my shelf... I think for something really portable it has to resemble a smartphone in terms of form factor (which the uConsole is close to but imo looks a bit too chunky to fit in your pocket, and the DevTerm is too big to be a portable smartphone or tablet and too small to usably be a laptop); and it also has to have some good software for it to be useable as a daily-driver (Raspberry Pi OS is definitely getting better, but probably not best suited for smaller mobile devices like the uConsole). I've been working on trying to design a device like the SQFMI Beepy but hopefully less inconvenient/'clunky' in terms of UX, so it's great with these videos to see how similar devices fare for 'inspiration' so to speak - subbed!

[@JohnCReid-iz1dl]

I ordered mine back in April and I am still waiting, which would normally be ok for a preorder, but there is no status updates, no way to look up my order, and no way to have any idea if it is even actually ever coming and when. Very frustrating to say the least.

[@d.b.cooper]

Mine just arrived two days ago. It took 9 1/2 months.

[@Symbiiote]

Ordered mine in October of 2023.... Still waiting...

[@brokengoose]

Same here, but I just got a shipping notification. Now I need to sort out the battery situation.

[@miscme7116]

For me, one year and three months after ordering, it was finally sent to me two days ago. Longest order time ever that I have experienced. I would love to order a few more, however not sure if they come before next year.

[@user-cs1tj5ex5z]

I honestly think the upper portion (where your stick the antenna) and the antenna issue need to be addressed. Why we would have to use antenna like that? There must be a solution to this. Having a hole just to have antenna cable sticking out looks very unprofessional TBH. I would like to get one of this but the top portion where the power button resides is a major turn off for me. Thanks.

[@wilsondv3]

I feel your pain. When I went to the site, it listed the one I ordered as being in stock. I too, thought maybe 10 days before it is sent out. But, no such luck. I contacted their customer service and was told up to 90 business days. So for something that is listed as being in stock, I was disappointed with that. Now you are saying 10 months? Did you get ubuntu running on it or is it the clockwork os?

[@TippyBits]

I will say they seem to be going through them very steadily now. There’s a pretty long form thread where some of the people are tracking the most recently shipped orders with the order numbers so you may be able to tell if you’re getting closer.

[@TippyBits]

Also, I didn’t get Ubuntu running yet. For now I’m happy enough with clockwork os which seems to really just be a thin wrapper around Debian.

[@nerdicusx]

I use headphones >.< What is the battery life like bro?

[@TippyBits]

Well now you and a friend can listen at the same time! :P I just started testing the battery yesterday but here are the results so far with lots of conditions: With cellular off, Bluetooth off, WiFi on, screen brightness full, and 2x 2600mAh batteries. I ran CPU stress test and got 2h 15m. I think with lighter usage and the screen dimmed halfway and some better quality batteries (3600 mAh) you could probably get ~4-5 hours.

[@nerdicusx]

@@TippyBits Thank you for the information friend! Also, I think you have two headphone jacks because you have the 4G version! I ordered the none 4G so I will only have one LOL

[@TippyBits]

@@nerdicusxoh yes, it is on the cellular breakout board. Still though I feel like they could’ve put a more useful port there since there’s already and audio jack on the other side.

[@teezusplays8873]

Hello, I ordered mine and I got it but my screen is not coming on can someone assist me please

[@GreedoShot]

So you say you can't recommend it because you didn't know you preordered, you don't know what its features are, you don't understand the importance of IPS. You just turned on a camera an vomited a meaningless word salad and uploaded it. Bravo, great review.

[@TippyBits]

I’m here for all the fans 🫶

[@kaeptnkrunch9212]

Nice video. Is there a way to get the Display and Keyboard Drivers to every other OS?

[@TippyBits]

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen other people who have managed to do that. The two ways that I think you’d go about, it are either A. recompiling the distribution so it includes the drivers. Or B. Plug it into an external keyboard and monitor and download and install the drivers. I haven’t been able to find a good link to which drivers are needed though just yet.

[@chorazytorpeda16]

reading uConsole as "u-console" tells me all i need to know about your expertise

[@vectrex2195]

How's else you meant to pronounce it?

[@mbirth]

@@vectrex2195 "u" is usually used instead of the Greek "μ" - the "micro" prefix.

[@KIVANVS]

​@@vectrex2195mu-console or microconsole, just like uTorrent.

[@DUSTINANGELETTI-b3h]

how did you get it thoooo

[@ShaneRounce]

Subbed. Might grab one of these to use as a dual local wordpress development server with VS code for the work and git stuff. Doing it on the Pi already so I assume this would be possible?

[@TippyBits]

I feel like it should be! When you say dual local what do you mean? I can certainly try and spin up wordpress and test how it works though.

[@sleaf6]

Video processing (at least decent) in that form factor will probably not happen for a long while

[@OghamTheBold]

Do you remember how you put it together-no it was all a blur

[@mrwoodcat]

phone sized of this would be cool

[@weareallbeingwatched4602]

risc v is very recommendable for your IPFS pleasures

[@Layla_r0se]

Mungkin setahun dua lagi jadi makin bagus keluarannya.

[@foresttaylor7850]

what exactly do i do with this?

[@TippyBits]

So far most people have been using this for various field works type stuff. Someone was using it as a network terminal in the data center to check ports. Others are using it as a device to learn Linux. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@janwong5766]

Nice video. Keep it up! 😃

[@upnupnpnupu8091]

remember to flip your video next time

[@MikeMikeMikeM]

Why?

[@upnupnpnupu8091]

@@MikeMikeMikeM cuz some of the clips are mirrored

[@NanzhouTalk]

I just ordered ❤

[@benny5354]

You get it?

[@PolyMathWannaBe62]

I like your demeanour and you have a good face. I just subscribed. You remind me of my nephew who is 6 ft 4 but very sincere in everything he does.

[@TippyBits]

Thank you and I love that description of your nephew. Sincere in everything he does is a high compliment 😊

[@donaldfuller5058]

I been waiting for my computer for 3 months.

[@donaldfuller5058]

I got it last week and I ordered my computer in June 2024 nd my computer is a raspberry pi system not a risk

[@Thadopeera]

That wait time kills the deal for me

[@fiziedon]

Perfect for play EMULATOR game..is it possible to install ARK OS 2.0 ❤ love to see running ps 2 games 🤩

[@icollided]

I just want to SSH into my server from the coffee shop and frighten the macbook users.

[@himbourbanist]

bro 10 MONTHS :(

[@donbcorleone]

look like something out of the alien universe

[@kingforkings]

mirrored video in 2024?

[@TippyBits]

Hey it’s like my first video for anyone to ever care about the production quality. 😅 I’d just been making them for fun up till this point :P

[@TheShorterboy]

needs a better processor, the whole Raspberry thing sucks So a "Pocket Chip" without the external IO, needs better support for wireless stuff, would make an awesome off grid style mesh device

[@chlebon]

he's not seems to understand well enough the hw drivers and everything around how it's work. Knowing it's a custom HW and needs to have custom drivers especially in this case for a display, we cannot just use any distro image ... not a good review

[@alicelunastudios87924]

to use wired headphones

[@metroatlantahamradio334]

Mine is always broken 😂😂😂 . I had so much interest in this.

[@DirtyPlumbus]

ClockworkPi isn't worth dealing with. 🤷‍♂️

[@mikejoey5088]

get to the point already holy shit

[@Koopsstuff]

YES... having an IPS screen is a massive selling point for a COMPUTING device LMAO. Is this guy for real....

[@TippyBits]

My point is I feel like that’s not even a selling point anymore. IPS screens have gotten so cheap/available it seems like a no brainer to have that.

[@ovalwingnut]

Thank you for the review D.T. re:IPS I do prefer IPS because of its superior "viewing angle". That's about it. But that's a biggie for me. Cheers from So.Ca.USA 3rd House On the Left (pls call before stopping by)

[@TippyBits]

Yeah I think I’m coming to regret that comment. I more meant the cost of IPS has come down to the point where I feel like if anyone is selling TN panels they better have a really good reason.

[@teezusplays8873]

Hello, I ordered mine and I got it but my screen is not coming on can someone assist me please