It’s not every day that an open source portable Linux PDA is released, so when we first learned about the sleek little terminal, I couldn’t resist placing an order for ClockworkPi’s DevTerm, which includes a 1280 x 480 screen (double wide VGA) and A modular small thermal printer.
Of course, a global semiconductor shortage coupled with slowing shipping caused delays, but the project eventually came together.I’ve always loved small machines, especially ones that are well designed, which means I can tell you what it’s like to put it together and turn it on.There’s a lot to see, so let’s get started.
Assembly in DevTerm is a great weekend or afternoon project.The clever design of the interlocks and connectors means no soldering is required, and assembly consists mostly of joining hardware modules and plastic pieces together according to the manual.Anyone with experience in assembling plastic model kits will be nostalgic by cutting plastic parts from gates and snapping them together.
The illustrations in the manual are nice and the really clever mechanical design makes the assembly process very friendly.The use of self-centering parts, as well as pins that themselves become self-aligning bosses, is very clever.No tools are required, except for the two small screws that hold the processor module in place, there are literally no hardware fasteners at all.
Granted, some parts are delicate and not foolproof, but anyone with electronics assembly experience should have no problems.
The only components not included are two 18650 batteries for the power supply and a 58mm wide thermal paper roll for the printer.A small Phillips screwdriver is required for the two small screws that secure the compute module to the slot.
In addition to the screen and printer, there are four main components inside the DevTerm; each connects to the others without having to solder anything.The keyboard with the mini trackball is completely separate, connected by pogo pins.The motherboard houses the CPU.The EXT board has a fan and also provides I/O ports: USB, USB-C, Micro HDMI and Audio.The remaining board takes care of power management and hosts two 18650 batteries — the USB-C port is dedicated to charging, by the way.There’s even some room inside for customization or other add-ons.
This modularity paid off.For example, it helps DevTerm offer some different options for processor and memory size, including one based on the Raspberry Pi CM3+ Lite, which is the heart of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, in a form factor suitable for integration into other hardware.
DevTerm’s GitHub repository contains schematics, code, and reference information such as board outlines; no design files in the sense of a CAD format, but may appear in the future.The product page mentions that CAD files for customizing or 3D printing your own parts are available from a GitHub repository, but as of this writing, they are not yet available.
After booting, DevTerm launched directly into the desktop environment, and the first thing I wanted to do was configure the WiFi connection and enable the SSH server.The welcome screen tells me exactly how to do this – but the earlier version of the OS that came with my DevTerm had a small typo that meant following the instructions would lead to errors, which helps provide a true Linux DIY experience.A few other things didn’t seem right either, but the software update did a lot to fix it.
The default behavior of the mini trackball is especially frustrating, as it only moves the pointer a little bit each time you swipe your finger.Also, the trackball doesn’t seem to respond well to diagonal movement.Thankfully, user [guu] has rewritten the keyboard’s firmware, and I highly recommend the updated version, which greatly improves trackball responsiveness.The keyboard module can be programmed with the new firmware in the shell in DevTerm itself, but it is best to do so from an ssh session as the physical keyboard may become unresponsive during the process.
Updating my DevTerm A04 to the latest OS version fixed most of the issues I noticed out of the box – such as no sound from the speakers, which made me wonder if I installed them correctly – so I recommend making sure to do The system has been updated before diving into any specific issues.
The keyboard module includes a mini trackball and three independent mouse buttons. Clicking the trackball defaults to the left button.The layout looks beautiful, with the trackball centered at the top of the keyboard and the three mouse buttons below the space bar.
The ClockworkPi’s “65% Keyboard” has a classic key layout, and I found it easiest to type when I held DevTerm in both hands and typed with my thumbs, as if it were an oversized blackberry.Placing DevTerm on a desktop is also an option; this makes the angle of the keyboard more suitable for traditional finger typing, but I found the keys a bit small to do this comfortably.
There’s no touchscreen, so navigating the GUI means using a trackball or using keyboard shortcuts.Fiddling with a mini trackball that sits in the center of the device — the mouse buttons are on the bottom edge — I find it a little awkward at best.Functionally, DevTerm’s keyboard and trackball combo provides all the right tools you might need in a space-efficient and balanced layout; it’s not the most ergonomic in terms of usability.
People don’t always use DevTerm as a portable machine.When configuring or otherwise setting things up, logging in using an ssh session is a better approach than using the built-in keyboard.
Another option is to set up remote desktop access so that you can use DevTerm in all its widescreen 1280 x 480 dual VGA glory from the comfort of your desktop.
To do this as quickly as possible, I installed the vino package on DevTerm and used the TightVNC viewer on my desktop to establish a remote session.
Vino is a VNC server for the GNOME desktop environment, and the TightVNC viewer is available for a variety of systems.sudo apt install vino will install a VNC server (listening on default TCP port 5900), and while I don’t actually recommend this to everyone, using gsettings set org.gnome.Vino require-encryption false will enforce exactly zero connections on of any authentication or security, only allowing access to the DevTerm desktop using the machine’s IP address.
Not the best security-conscious decision, but it did allow me to avoid the trackball and keyboard instantly, which has its own value in a pinch.
The thermal printer was an unexpected feature, and the reel was held in a separate, removable assembly.In fact, the printer functionality is completely modular.The printing hardware within DevTerm is located directly behind the expansion port function into which the paper stocker is inserted when printing.This component can be completely removed and the space reused if desired.
Functionally, this little printer works just fine, and as long as my battery is fully charged, I can run test prints with no issues.Printing with low battery power can cause abnormal power loss, so avoid this.This might also be worth keeping in mind for any modifications.
Print quality and resolution are very similar to any receipt printer, so adjust to your expectations, if any.Are small printers a gimmick?Maybe, but it’s certainly a good choice and can be used as a reference design if anyone wants to retrofit DevTerm with some other custom hardware.
Clockworkpi has apparently worked hard to make DevTerm hackable.The connectors between the modules are easily accessible, there is extra space on the board and some extra space inside the case.In particular, there is a ton of extra space behind the thermal printer module.If anyone wishes to break out the soldering iron, there is definitely room for some wiring and custom hardware.The modular nature of the main components also appears to be designed to facilitate easy modification, which helps make it an attractive starting point for Cyber Deck construction.
While there are currently no 3D models of the physical bits on the project’s GitHub, one enterprising soul has created a 3D printable DevTerm stand that supports the device and places it at a useful and space-saving angle .This makes things a lot easier when the 3D model of the part goes into the GitHub repository.
What do you think of the design choices for this Linux handheld?Have any ideas for popular hardware mods?As mentioned, the print module (and its accompanying expansion slot) can be easily repurposed; personally, I’m a bit partial to Tom Nardi’s idea of a boxed USB device.Any other ideas?Let us know in the comments!
The device desperately needed a mod where the circular thing would be the encoder scrolling the text, not just putting things together.
So did I when I pre-ordered the device.But unfortunately not: they’re just recognizable Cogs that are screwless in place, so you save 5 seconds when you want to open up your device and hack inside -
If only the Model 100 has a denser screen, use it as a terminal for a linux computer.A company has a bigger bottom to replace an existing one, use it to add a current computer
DevTerm replaced my hacked Tandy WP-2 (Citizen CBM-10WP).Because of the size, the keyboard on the WP-2 is better than the DevTerm keyboard.But the stock ROM for the WP-2 sucks and needs to be hacked just for usability (CamelForth is super easy to load thanks to the service manual with useful examples).Using DevTerm, I’m running a fairly complete Linux with early 2000 performance levels.I’m very happy with Window Maker and some xterm configurations tuned for full screen and 3270 fonts.But i3, dwm, ratpoison, etc. are also good choices on DevTerm’s screen and trackball.
I use mine almost exclusively for ham radios, especially like to use it for aprs, I’d like to see the carrier board drop, embed the baofeng motherboard in it and control it via serial, or maybe cheap internal gps reception device, huge potential 
Such a professional design, but the display is on the same plane as the keyboard.How many times are we going to teach you this lesson, old man?
Even the TRS-80 Model 100 eventually learned to use the Model 200 with its tiltable screen.But the plane looks really good!
Popcorn Pocket PC would be more interesting if it wasn’t Steam software (GNSS, LoRa, FHD screen, etc.), but so far they’ve only provided 3D rendering.https://pocket.popcorncomputer.com/
I’ve been craving this for months, but this is the first time I’ve seen a picture of it in someone’s hands (thanks!) and I’m blown away by how small it is.This is useless for the distraction-free writing or travel hacking use case I imagined :/
Indeed, it looks both big and small and not suitable for any use I can think of – it’s not small enough for a pocket ssh machine with a real physical keyboard, you’re really only pressing the keys you want – It’s convenient to carry around for all your configuration and control needs, and it doesn’t seem big enough to really use, at least for those of us with larger hands.
While very interesting, and I’m sure it would have some good uses, I didn’t think of it.
I picked up one and I’m still trying to design a killer app for it.I have normal sized hands (not delicate but not monster) and the keyboard is very useful.It’s about the size of a thick iPad, so it’s easy to carry around, but you won’t tuck it into your pocket.My biggest gripe is that unless you have two windows side by side, it’s hard to get the most out of the screen ratio.I’ll keep playing with it and see what it’s meant to be used for.It does have good battery life, so at least you’re confident it’ll charge.
For me, once it’s the size of a bag it takes to carry it, if it’s the size of an Ipad or the size of a chunky laptop, as long as it’s not too big or heavy to fit in a normal bag – for example, to carry I’m very Favorite Toughbook CF-19 no problem, and these things are probably 2 inches thick (looks light though)…
Which makes me think that if you’re bigger than pocket size, you’d better make it big enough to be really comfortable to use (CF-19s don’t really get my thumbs up – but durability and quietness are the top priorities for them) – No need for ergonomic ideals (because no portable can be like that), just a good typing/mouse experience (but if it’s good for people with small hands, it’s not good for big hands and visvesa, so how big is not specific Measurements).
This thing is still fun and I’d love to (if I could afford it without a hitch, I’d buy one).
I can see this is more travel friendly and it’s light.My laptop is an old MacBook Pro and it does get a little heavy over time.In this regard, DevTerm is closer to an iPad than a laptop.However, if all you need is an SSH terminal, I’m not sure it’s better than an iPad with a terminal app like Termius.However, if you need an actual *nix device, it’s got you covered.The way to type on DevTerm is with two thumbs, just like a BlackBerry.It went well there.That’s also why a flat screen isn’t a problem and doesn’t need to be tilted up, you hold it in your hand rather than your lap.
Interesting way to do it – but to me, even though my big hands seem a little too big and not very ergonomic for the thumb type – the middle of the keyboard seems too far away and the rather hard corners stick into you The palm of the hand – without the hand I might of course be wrong there.
But I still think if it was a smaller device with a physical keyboard that you could type with your thumbs, it would shine a lot – in that pocket-sized range, like those early smartphones, these Smartphones have slide-out keyboards and end up with a similar form factor to this in use. Really it’s portability, but with a physical keyboard I’d most like to get it from a device like this – in those where you really need Anytime, anywhere ssh platform when changing something on a headless machine.The on-screen keyboard is really bad…or maybe the next size so you can type normally.
I agree that while some laptops can get heavy, they don’t have to be — pay for whatever features are most important to you in that regard.Personal weight has never really bothered me – I’m happily lugging a Pentium 4 era “desktop replacement” class laptop with a stack of textbooks probably over 20kg in my backpack – high performance computer and everything else The convenience needed was outweighed by its heavy minor inconvenience that day with me…
3D models have been available since at least last summer.For some reason they are on the store page (free) and not on github.
Love my lyrics and 200lx, so keep up the good work.The trackball may move to the right.How about, there are two software on each side to control which is faster and which is slower.1280 might be interesting if rotated from landscape to portrait.
I have this device and love to use it, but it’s dead in the water.Not a single kernel patch has been uploaded upstream, so like a million ARM devices before it, it’s tied to a single vendor-supplied kernel with little hope of an update.
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Post time: Mar-09-2022