uConsole: The off-the-shelf cyberdeck

The Clockwork uConsole is a Raspi CM4 powered portable computer for nerds. Will you leave your phone and laptop at home and take this instead? No!
But it's still a lot of fun.
Clockwork website: www.clockworkp...
Charge current fix: forum.clockwor...
uPico board: www.tindie.com...
uHub board: www.tindie.com...
External antenna swivel mount: www.printables...
External antenna + cable: www.amazon.com...
Music: toumal.bandcam...

[@night-vision.]

Just pre-ordered one. The build quality of these really shows, and I can appreciate that.

[@chozilla]

Biggest downturn was the USB-C only being a charging port.

[@jarylsim1973]

If you have a 18650 charger you can pop them out and charge them.

[@JustAddFlux]

Good point which I actually forgot to touch upon in the video. Yes that's a bummer.

[@coolguy-xd1bg]

"only being a charging port" is not the same as "being the only charging port" ​@@jarylsim1973

[@betwixedxen7648]

Been on the wait list for a bit over a month. I mis thumb typing with a black berry and want to do some word grinding on it. Also want to try my hand at sound tracker software on a hand held. Either way, exciting little device.

[@thejoyghost17]

Just got mine today!

[@ACEFDD]

Another thing, the batteries are in parallel and when they get down to 3.3V the power service shuts down the system regardless of the state of charge or capacity. 3.3V is not nearly empty. You can tweak that but it isn't straight forward. However, below 3.3V the speakers start to make noise when the system is under load even if sound is muted. That said, the battery stuff is the only thing I can complain about. I love the uConsole for basic Pi type things including ham radio.

[@thefumigator]

Unluckily, Li-ion batteries below 3.3v could be dangerous. Being 4.2v its "open circuit" voltage (idle voltage) Li-ion will stay above 3.6 most of the time, just to beging a free fall when getting empty. Protected 18650 batteries will shutdown to prevent any incident if I'm not mistaken. Nevertheless, where there is Li-ion, a BMS should be there in the circuit, as a hardware interlock to avoid batts to go below 3.3v.. so, even if there could be a setting for this, whatever setting you tweak the circuit will trigger a shutdown anyway. I can recommend some large capacity 18650 cells, just try to avoid counterfeits

[@genominer2473]

Awesome video, lots of great information? I can't wait to receive mine, it's been about 4 months since I ordered it

[@JustAddFlux]

I ordered mine back in October 23. I got the version without the CM4 included because I figured those might ship faster.

[@rayerdinc2441]

Ordered my RPi-CM4 Lite mid Sep 23! Couple of emails later, now looking at March/April. Apparently China are on national holiday in Fen, even though ordered in Sep! Was going to get the Devterm but put off now. Just want my uConsole!

[@printlnPrints]

@@rayerdinc2441I ordered the same one around the same time and honestly forgot about it til I got recommended this vid

[@norm701]

@@rayerdinc2441 i ordered it in Nov 2022 ... not arrived yet.

[@xbiggxx]

I ordered mine in late september with cm4 and 4g card and i just got it yesterday.

[@ch4r3l]

I have longing for a cyberdeck-like device for years. A device with a full-blown OS that fits in a pocket or small fanny pack/(man)purse. i had an openPandora for a while, but its limitations (mostly screen resolution, lack of packages, and keyboard) made it unusable as a daily driver. I recently got a GPD Win Max 2 and it's the device I've been looking for! It has no hardware drawbacks (got the 2023 version with 64GB of RAM) and the battery lasts long enough. Most importantly: you can get one right now!

[@mopspear]

This is very cool but I think I would get it and then never use it.

[@russc788]

I agree. It’s an awesome solution without a problem.

[@MyNameIsPetch]

I wish they (or someone else) would make a slightly bigger devterm with a mechanical keyboard

[@selfsaboteursounds5273]

So, a laptop?

[@MyNameIsPetch]

@@selfsaboteursounds5273 no,

[@RylandBingham]

Shipping times are very long if you are not a you-tuber. I ordered the dev-term last year and it was almost 3 months wait. I have a colleague at work who ordered the u console in Nov. last year and has not received his ordered yet. Support will eventually answer e-mailed questions but my experience did not inspire confidence.

[@spv420]

you think november last year is long? try november last *last* year! got mine in mid january

[@superuser8636]

This is amazing honestly. I can take this cyberdeck out with me!!

[@casino130]

The missing piece is of course a Raspberry 5 Compute Module, when a CM 5 is (if ever?) available I'm in. It would be nice to have GPIO connectivity too but oh well.

[@AROAH]

I’m considering preordering one without the CM and getting the CM5 separately once they’re available.

[@JustAddFlux]

@@AROAH The problem is there's currently no word on an adapter board for the CM5, or whether the CM4 adapter board would work on the CM5...

[@Junkinator]

Crap, wish I would have watched this video before I ordered all of my stuff for it. Did not realize about the EMmC storage. Luckily I’m an idiot who previously purchased the CM4 IO board thinking it was a CM4 lol so at least I’ll be able to do that manually off of the uconsol.

[@Thadopeera]

I still love my old IBM ThinkPad 🤣

[@Sylvan_dB]

The NEC (and U.S. Radio Shack branded version) were great for their time. Extremely popular around the world, especially with the built-in modem just needing either handset cups or adapter cable for a dialup connection. HP came close in the 1990s with the HP 95LX (so close), HP 100LX (much better) and HP 200LX (mostly the same as the 100LX). Not sure yet, but I've considered the Clockwork. Too bad the CM4 is so hard to get, and now it really should be Pi 5 based.

[@unloveableandre]

I got my own CM4 (8/32) and then flashed it with the Clockwork OS. No need for a SD card. Running straight from the eMMC, faster, better You just need a CM4 board, that is $35, a pin jumper, micro USB cable, and power.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I ordered last September. Still waiting. 😅

[@JoeHamelin]

Me too.

[@MotownBatman]

New Sub; Detroit, Michigan, US Well Done, Really Cool Video Sir!

[@RolieKloeOlie]

Great video! I’m waiting patiently for my uconsole and keeping my eyes on the price of the kwumsy k3

[@JustAddFlux]

Oh I haven't heard about that one yet!

[@digitaljunk]

But the K3 is not a portable device and has no cpu. Way to expensive for the limitations.

[@JustAddFlux]

@@digitaljunk Yes but, it has a display AND a mechanical keyboard!! (And yeah, I get you. If it had, say, a framework mainboard and a battery in there...)

[@GoatZilla]

reminds me of pocket CHIP

[@MossCoveredBonez]

i kinda want one with a wooden faceplate

[@darknetworld]

I bet the charge battery have safely in case of leaking or overcharge when it get old. There will be pros and cons to them. I can guess to prevent charge at 100 like those smartphones.

[@kingforkings]

it does. the adapter board also offers protection against shorts due to wrong-way inserted batteries. So far, wait is around 90+ days for preorders. all purchases are bulk orders.

[@laughingvampire7555]

with a screen so small, a stacked window manager is a bad Idea. a TWM would be better option.

[@王007]

My uconsole installation angryoxide runs indicating that the interface does not support monitoring mode. How do you do this

[@WeAreLegionRec]

@ 6:02 you're using a command-line chatbot llm. Which are you using and how can I run a similar one once my uconsole arrives...Ordered mine Nov. 20th 2023, still waiting

[@JustAddFlux]

That was llama_cpp. If you want a web UI for it and/or want to have it ingest documents, check out privategpt, both on github. Note the footage was sped up - some patience is required if you wanna do this on a CM4.

[@KiraSlith]

It doesn't seem like anyone has reviewed the RISC-V version yet. A nearly end-to-end true open source handheld would be amazing (especially since it costs less than most RISC-V SBCs), but if the RISC-V chip's performance isn't any good, there's not much point in ordering one.😢

[@firenado4295]

I wish I could get a keyboard like that as a part. I want to make something about the size of the main keyboard (without the width of the buttons above the escape/number key row) but sadly I cant find a keyboard that small that isn't wireless. My idea is to make a really small laptop like a pda that would fit in my pocket and still work like a portable pc like the gpd line of products.

[@astrolemonade349]

Unfortunately, they are not open hardware as they are advertising! There are no PCBs, you cannot edit anything there, feels bad. Not having those is a blocker for me.

[@JustAddFlux]

The PCB files are indeed missing on github. I am not sure what's going on there.

[@astrolemonade349]

@@JustAddFlux I don't know either but feels dishonest from them, the community has been requesting the PCB files for ages now and lots of mods have been held of because of lack of PCB files. Schematics are good but what's the point of them if you need to make a work of guessing when designing stuff for it.

[@RinoaL]

What music is used in this video? Great video.

[@JustAddFlux]

Thanks! That's my own crap, I'll put a link in the description.

[@RinoaL]

@@JustAddFlux very nice

[@RockTo11]

Which USB Wifi dongle are you using?

[@miscme7116]

Just got mine three days ago. I ordered it 1 year and 3 months ago. If I need another one, maybe 2026 I get it if I order today?

[@ChadsHobies]

I wish I could get it in orange...

[@joelee24]

Thanks for the video, I am very interested getting this thing to replace my tablet, may I ask few questions here. I am thinking of getting the emmc module as well, due to the faster speed and the unreliable microSD, I had some bad cards from cell phone use already. But the emmc module needs an adapter to write to, and limited to 32GB, so that I will need to stick with the standard model, and I will get the 8GB one to reduce the need for swapping hopefully to reduce writing to the card. You mentioned there's an option board with extra type C that can fit into the 4G extension board, can I have both working or just the type C ? and have you overclock the thing ? have you used the 4G ? and how does this board compare to the regular Pi 4, I've that board so I know how it performs, thanks ! btw I believe the bad wifi reception of it was due to the stick on antenna close to the metal chassis that grounded the signal, so that put a spacer or thick double size tape to raise the antenna can help without to much of work.

[@joe--cool]

Do you have the 4G cellular module? Does it work as a phone with it?

[@JustAddFlux]

I don't have that module, unfortunately. I'm kinda pining for a lora module...

[@chistinelane]

3:15 Oh, that's probably a weird way of handling the fact that they're using user supplied 18650's and marketing to a community where 18650's aren't a common thing. Basically, they don't want any bad things happening if say, someone decides to just buy some crappy cells from walmart (or even bootlegs) only to charge them at 2 amps each and have troubles.

[@JustAddFlux]

Good point. I think the max is 1.2 amps per cell, but that might still be troublesome with crappy or damaged ones.

[@SB-qm5wg]

That's not a bad price.

[@Sarge198]

Do you know of any good screen protectors for the uConsole?

[@digitaljunk]

Could you please link the swivel antenna mod stl. Thanks a lot.

[@digitaljunk]

found it: "printables uConsole micro antena 0.2 mount.STL"

[@JustAddFlux]

Done! I also linked the antenna + cable

[@mr.sunshine1444]

have you tried connecting the wifi antennae onto the connector on the mainboard, and not the CM4? thats what i did on mine and i haven't had any issues. Just read the manual again, and they do say to connect it to the CM4 but that's not what i did.

[@JustAddFlux]

Hmm. I read some comments to that effect but to be honest, I'm not sure what to make of that. My guess is that the RF energy just finds a different path if you don't connect something to the CM4 antenna port. Ever since connecting a proper external antenna I have excellent Wifi reception.

[@mr.sunshine1444]

@@JustAddFlux drivers is my guess. since the uconsole kernel is custom for its own custom boards.

[@rayerdinc2441]

Thank you for the video, can't wait for mine and is that htop running, couldn't quite see, please?

[@JustAddFlux]

It's btop!

[@rayerdinc2441]

@@JustAddFlux Thank you. Didn't know about btop, just learning Raspberry & Linux. Subscribed. 👍👍👍

[@standard_output]

hey, super nice video to be the first?. I got that when the cm4 has integrated emmc, the sd cards do not work. But why do you recommend the emmc? because its faster than SD cards?

[@JustAddFlux]

I *don't* recommend the EMMC. Theoretically it has a longer lifespan than a micro SD card.

[@meneerjansen00]

What is that system monitor in the background at 6:10 minutes?

[@remino]

btop

[@HorrorTactico]

what mobile ham radio is the one shown in the end?

[@ToumalRakesh]

Xiegu X6100

[@terrawest9500]

What is this htop like terminal program in the background in 6:10 Also I really liked that video.

[@cattharsis]

btop

[@yurcchello]

you scared me. llamacpp on my old laptop gives 3 tokens/s but in your example it runs faster. later i noticed video was accelerated )

[@Edo_o_]

Nice vide man

[@zoeyzhang9866]

Nice one! Wondering if any custom prototype services might help? Including PCBs, 3D printing, CNC machining etc. Would love to sponsor and reach any potential collab together. (PCBWay zoey)

[@weimingfeng2284]

you should contact Clockwork directly,they are in shenzhen😂.

[@greatdaddy4710]

I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE "YOU" THE ONE WHO WAS GOING TO SHOW HOW TO CONNECT A DISPLAY WITH THE RASP PI AND THE KEYBOARD... ALL ELECTRONICALLY. 🤦‍♂🤦🤦‍♂

[@catalin1859]

We whant ethernet on CM5 !!!!

[@johnbillings5260]

It's as scarce as the Pi. 😞

[@maiastniki]

i want one becausee i DONT want a phone

[@lmaoroflcopter]

Disappointing and confused why you seem to like it so much, even looking at the very first negative you raise regarding the Devterm, it's keys are too small but the uConsole keys are even smaller. This is less cyberdeck and more an enlarged pocket chip device.

[@beekeepersjourney8192]

Why not just get a steam deck?

[@CommanderBeefDev]

pi 5 derp derp

[@Funkteon]

As a European, did you just pronounce 'Aluminium' as 'Aluminum'?

[@JustAddFlux]

Maybe I just said it very very quickly. Yeah, let's go with that. ;)

[@Lurch-Bot]

Interesting but I'd rather make my own. I'm pretty much anti Raspberry Pi and would rather have a different SBC powering my cyberdeck. Also, the keyboard might work for you but I'm used to things made for average people not fitting me at all. I would rather spend the time to have something tailor made for me than waste money on some compromise device that will definitely be overpriced. Also, if you need someone else to make a cyberdeck for you, you probably have no legitimate use for one anyway. The uConsole violates all the fundamental rules of a cyberdeck, one of which is that it can't just be something anyone can go buy off the shelf.

[@VioletRM]

what makes you anti-pi? just curious

[@JustAddFlux]

Cyberdeck manufacturers such as Fuji Electic, Musabori Industries and Ono-Sendai would beg to differ, and would point out that while many of their customers may elect to perform modifications to their cyberdecks, these are unauthorized changes not performed by certified technicians, and thus void their warranty ;) But seriously, I completely agree that building your own cyberdeck is awesome and beats buying something off the shelf any day. But the problem is, there wasn't even something on that shelf until recently. And in my book, the more unusual form factor computing devices we get, the better. Having every laptop and every phone look the same can be very boring...

[@roberto4898]

This is stupid as hell. It cost more or less what you pay for the components. How the f does the owner earn money by selling this ?

[@colbyboucher6391]

Not trying to. It's a thing that a bunch of people thought would be cool to have, so they got together and made it.

[@dorkydicken]

I just wished the screen was touchscreen, not being that made me withdraw my preorder.

[@TitoLukason]

Soundtrack ruined all, I didn't watch till the end cause the flippin music... What's wrong with u ppls?

[@raccoons_stole_my_account]

Algorithm.