Raspberry Pip
I have been having fun adapting the Raspberry Pi to the Lapdock in the smallest possible package. The aim has been to make it comparable to the original Atrix mobile phone that the Lapdock was designed for.
Here are some pictures of the result, which I have called a Raspberry Pip, because of its size:
A general view of the Pip on the cradle
A side view
It really is that slim, just 118mm x 73mm x 10mm
There is good clearance from the screen
The cover is removed
This is it in detail
- a Model A Pi is the better choice because it consumes a third of the current of the B
- all the sockets and pins are desoldered and some are replaced by low profile sockets and right-angle pins
- the SD card holder is removed and a micro SD card holder is glued to the top surface; this wires directly to the pads on the undeside
- the case is the smallest available for a SATA external disc drive.
- the slide switch is on/off and also acts as the holder for the left side of the cover
- the small board at bottom left is a realtime clock module from CJE Micros connected to the IIC bus
- the push switch at the top left for a reset
The connecting plug unit can be removed
- with the plug removed the Pip can be neatly carried in a pocket without snagging
- the plug is made up by stripping the plastic covers from adaptors and gluing the bare pcbs together, before sealing with heatshrink
A Model B worked on before the A
- the B gets noticeably warm, but not hot, although the A does not warm at all
- the ethernet socket is replaced by an 8-pin header; the ribbon cable goes to an adapted ethernet socket
- the second USB port makes thing a bit tight
- the plug here cannot be removed
My Pip runs RISC OS
This project is not yet complete. I will be making the active GPIO pins available as an 8-bit port plus IIC port and UART port.
