Project: Orinoco
Project Orinoco was born of a search for a simple portable word-processor. A “distraction free” writing device with a nice keyboard and simple, fuss-free writing software. I’d had looked at the Freewrite Traveller which had decent reviews from writers, the full keyboard and distraction-free nature, coupled with a 4 week battery and an easy-on-the-eye eInk screen almost tempted me. Yet, there was something about the design that left me cold, the price seemed a little steep too. I wandered around the internet and saw Japanese-made Pomera, intriguing, but I wasn’t sold on the keyboard, having used and generally disliked these kinds of folding keyboards in the past. I then saw a wonderful one-off project by Penk Chen. It was exactly what I was after: quirky, unique, cool looking and something potable to write on. I pinged Mr Chen a message and he was gracious enough to reply, offering some supplier links and the sad news that this was just a one off for now. Thwarted! I looked at the components and thought I’d have a go and see what I could make with my limited skills.
Enter Project Orinoco! I essentially copied Penk Chen’s set up save for a few changes, which were down to my laziness and lack of technical skill. I used a pre-built keyboard instead of specially printed key caps for a start. The items I used were:
A Planck 40% mechanical keyboard. Cherry MX Brown switches.
A Waveshare 7.9”. touch screen
Crave 10000 mAh battery (Thank you Radu for your help!)
32 GB Sandisk Micro SD Card
Software: Raspberry Pi OS & LibreWriter, Claw email for backing up docs.
After a lot of trial and error, particularly with the screen and various rotation fiddling and having to mess about getting LibreOffice onto the Pi - all of which would be fairly straightforward for those with some tech skills. I’m an utter n00b so it was trial and error, YouTube vids and a fair amount of swearing, but I did enjoy the challenge and eventually it was all up and running.
The Case: The case was the big hurdle. I have no CAD skills and little 3D printing knowledge (although I did do this once). Besides outsourcing would mean too much time spent going back and fourth getting it right. Stumped, I thought I could get someone to make a wooden box which could look nice and steam-punky. Then I noticed the large box of Lego (no ‘S’ America!) and had an ah ha! moment. Long and dull story short, I fell down a huge Lego rabbit hole, spending far too much time over at specialist Lego sites and eBay gathering the pieces I needed. Slowly but surely the little packets arrived and I built my box, the hinges being my main concern due to the way I was putting this together.
Setting it Up: I placed the battery underneath the keyboard. This means the keyboard is a little higher than I would naturally prefer but I got used to it quickly. Mr Chen’s device is superior here as he uses a much thinner battery and a low-profile keyboard. My screen is in the lid, behind the screen lays the Raspberry Pi. I did this because the flexible HDMI cable I had wasn’t long enough to reach the lower part of the case.
I then used the most hideous solvent known to human kind to glue the whole thing together, save for a section near the screen in case I have to get the Raspberry Pi or mess with the screen.
Likes:
It works as I had hoped!
Typing on it is lovely, great keyboard which I can lift out and use on my horrid work Mac Pro with the ugh keeb.
It is actually good for distraction-free work flow,. Yes, the Pi can technically go online, host games and much else besides, but I’ve tweaked it to be bare bones. It’s fast and easy to get a page up and writing. That’s why I called it Orinoco, good flow like the famed river…
Lego was super fun to mess with and the case could be any color or design you want.
Battery seems to last a long time, need to time how long but so far, it hasn’t got in my way.
It really is a conversation piece. I’ve field tested it in a bar and coffee shop. It gathered a (small) crowd at the bar, some a little baffled others really enjoying it. At the coffee shop I had three poets gathered and asking questions, asking if I would make then one…I felt like a proud dad.
Dislikes
It’s chonk. I jokingly refer to it as a “just portable” device. It goes in the backpack but it’s far from the svelte iPad experience.
It’s heavy - well heavyish - not much more than a laptop, if anything but it has a heft for sure.
It’s made of Lego. It’s cool, sort of, but it doesn’t quite look like the slick consumer device I had desired initially.
It stinks. I’m hoping this will die down but the solvent may make this the only device to get you high - hey it’s a feature not a bug! Seriously though, it does smell a bit, it’s slowly getting better.
Price. I’m not going to tell you how much this cost to make as it really is quite shameful. Lego man, you can spend a LOT on Lego. Still, it’s been a hobby and a learning experience so I don’t begrudge it.
What I’d Like for the Next Version
Sleeker, I need to look into the 3D printing stuff, reckon I’d lose a good deal of height and thickness.
I may swap out my keyboard switches and caps to a slim version, this will save some height. Maybe experiment with a much slimmer (but probably weaker) battery too.
Put the Pi under the keyboard for easier access.
Conclusion
I had a blast making this. Learned a ton of things about each step and item. I’m quite proud of it given my total lack of knowledge going in. I also enjoyed the online conversations I had with people. From Lego collectors, to battery experts, 3D printing geeks to people like Mr Chen. Everyone has been helpful and kind, restoring just a little more faith in humanity.