Author Topic: Build Your Own Linux Powered Pda (Read 214203 times)

Snappy · « **Reply #270 on:** July 11, 2006, 08:48:44 pm »

The Palm T3 has a metal case ... Titanium .... no, magnesium composite or something. Very light and solid. And yes, it dented when I dropped it once! ... but its better compared with another PDA that chipped at the edge when I dropped it!

BarryW · « **Reply #271 on:** July 11, 2006, 09:45:10 pm »

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What weight problem? I like my portable electronics to be somewhat heavy. Besides, aluminium isn't that heavy.
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we'll make the case airtight and fill with Helium to make it lighter for the wimps, shall we?
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Use liquid He, then you don't have to worry about the cooling problem either. I just don't want to be anywhere near it when it decides to rupture the case.

Da_Blitz · « **Reply #272 on:** July 12, 2006, 01:35:17 am »

so we have agreed on liquid colling, no probs

looking at my Z's case i can see the aluminium on the top has taken some hard knocks.

i am tending towards the use of carbon fiber as its easier to work with. aluminium requires tools that for what we are doing would be expensive (i am talking aircraft grade aluminium here)

i have pretty much ruled out metal due to the amount of effort and cost involved. depending on the metal me mould have to get it coated as well as cast which i see as being expensive

after looking at a post in the c3000/1000 hardware section (the carbon fibre case post) i basically came to the conclusion that its easy enough for someone like me to de in my backyard. plus it requires no painting (you get a nice carbon fiber look) however i am aware of the damadge that can occur

if you read the link on the mentioned fourm post you can see that carbon fiber is strong on head on impacts, on side on it is no where near as strong. i feel that for in pocket use this will be fine as the resin is resistant to scratching (better than metal) and most drops to the floor end with a colision that is head on anyway

with a bit of clever construction and minipulation of the material we should be able to inrese its strength to side on colissions however what it does have is probbelly better than the plastic cases we are already using

xamindar · « **Reply #273 on:** July 12, 2006, 02:14:43 am »

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looking at my Z's case i can see the aluminium on the top has taken some hard knocks.

How did you get a Zaurus with aluminium in the case? Is that some special edition?

Da_Blitz · « **Reply #274 on:** July 12, 2006, 04:22:05 am »

The top (screen) of the cxxxx series is powder coated alluminium.

i droped mine from 2m onto hard concrete and all it did was compress the corner a bit and chip the corners powder coating off

BarryW · « **Reply #275 on:** July 12, 2006, 04:30:55 am »

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The top (screen) of the cxxxx series is powder coated alluminium.

i droped mine from 2m onto hard concrete and all it did was compress the corner a bit and chip the corners powder coating off
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I've done the same thing. I just popped off the top and tapped it out. Though I do blacksmithing as a hobby, so I have some metal working tools. I was also an aircraft mechanic in the air force so I have sheet metal experience as well.

Hey speaking of "metal work" check out this little movie on my site..

[a href=\"http://homepage.mac.com/barrywoods/Computers/FileSharing42.html]http://homepage.mac.com/barrywoods/Compute...eSharing42.html[/url]

It would be the drive wipe one. Just right click and download.

speculatrix · « **Reply #276 on:** July 12, 2006, 04:45:06 am »

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The top (screen) of the cxxxx series is powder coated alluminium.

i droped mine from 2m onto hard concrete and all it did was compress the corner a bit and chip the corners powder coating off
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I recently bought a broken 6000 which had been dropped off a roof, (with the intention of salvaging components to repair my main one), and it broke the screen but the Z itself still works (usb networking), the case has dings, a cracked corner but it largely intact!

Da_Blitz · « **Reply #277 on:** July 12, 2006, 05:01:17 am »

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I recently bought a broken 6000 which had been dropped off a roof, (with the intention of salvaging components to repair my main one), and it broke the screen but the Z itself still works (usb networking), the case has dings, a cracked corner but it largely intact!

its pretty extreme to drop random zaurii off roofs just to salvage parts

if yau want a secure delet option i could add an electronic voltage trigger to ignite some magnesium

intresting zip moives there i must get one of those wispy things

lardman · « **Reply #278 on:** July 12, 2006, 06:21:27 am »

I'd be tempted by Al over CFRP if you simply want durability.

CFRP spalls or delaminates inside (depending on whether it is particulate or fibre) when you strike it - this means you only get a small scuff on the outside, but loads of damage which you can't see on the inside.

At least with Al you can see the extent of the damage.

I'm also wonder about the quality of the finish you'll be able to get using CFRP without a fair bit of practice, especially on the tight radius corners.

Oh yes, carbon fibre is also expensive (though I'm not sure of the cost of a block of Al and milling time to compare).

With that said, one can only try and see how it works.

Si

MiracleBlue · « **Reply #279 on:** July 12, 2006, 12:20:08 pm »

Ahoy there. Wow, this is quite a find. I've been looking high and low for information regarding designing and building PDAs. Seems like all you people have been too =) I've got designs, feature lists, hardware lists, ideas, plans, and a couple of broken pencils. This all looks very interesting.

Although, I am completely against the idea of an integrated Keyboard into the actual device. Having a keyboard as a peripheral is my idea. I'm all about practicality =P I will elaborate my ideas further when I can be bothered typing a bit more. It's 2:17 in the morning and I'm freezing cold. Wanna give me a short brief on what has already been discussed? I've seen some of the posts, but I'm not gonna read all of them =P

km2783 · « **Reply #280 on:** July 12, 2006, 12:27:16 pm »

wow. i haven't been here in a long time, and I come back to this...this wonderful thread.

You guys are a little further on than I was on a custom PDA before I bought my Zaurus. i was close to purchasing and assembling myself, though I didn't know about that wonderful freescale stuff you all are using.

After reading this, I sort of wish I hadn't compromised a bit and bought a C3100

Well, i still love my 3100, but this project you all are working on looks very promising. I wish I could add something to it, but you have everything I can do covered already. I am excited about the possibility of the sound you all have been discussing, too. Even being able to do one track at a time at 24/96 on a PDA that fits in my pocket would impress me greatly.

I was going to suggest using a PSP screen (used PSPs can be had relatively cheaply) if you weren't set on having touch, but it seems that ship has sailed (such a screen would fit in the existing clamshell dimensions, Sharp. Sigh. the wasted real estate there bothers me.)

Anyway, awesome work everyone. Next list of things I see that you still need to be hunted down, I'll see if I can find something.

speculatrix · « **Reply #281 on:** July 12, 2006, 12:51:19 pm »

I was looking at laptop spares and I came across this site which has a HUGE variety of LCD panels including some of the small Sharp ones, it's probably a useful resource for part numbers etc.
http://www.impactcomputers.com/lcd-panels.html

speculatrix · « **Reply #282 on:** July 12, 2006, 12:57:08 pm »

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Wanna give me a short brief on what has already been discussed? I've seen some of the posts, but I'm not gonna read all of them =P
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well, basically, we're discussing what we want it to DO, how we want it to LOOK, what sort of material the body should be made of, what the battery will be, how much it will COST, as well as want we don't want.

if you want details, look in DaBlitz's wiki, if you want to follow our chain of thought, you'll just have to read the 19 pages or so!

lardman · « **Reply #283 on:** July 12, 2006, 01:10:43 pm »

Hmm, wiki link (from bottom of Da_Blitz's posts) still doesn't work for me.

Just times out.

Si

Jon_J · « **Reply #284 on:** July 12, 2006, 01:18:02 pm »

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Hmm, wiki link (from bottom of Da_Blitz's posts) still doesn't work for me.

Just times out.

Si
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Same here.
I get the same timout when I try the OpenPDAnews link.

News:

Author Topic: Build Your Own Linux Powered Pda (Read 214203 times)