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Off-Grid Cyberdeck: Raspberry Pi Recovery Kit
- codetrotter 7y agoLooks very cool. Is it comfortable to use?
- q3k 7y agoI don't think comfort is within scope for this device, given its usecase.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- sl-1 7y agoReally cool! I especially liked the external EMP-shielding-box. I wonder if it's tested and how would one test those? Put it in a microwave and see if anything breaks?
- heavenlyblue 7y agoThis is not too healthy for the microwave
- sl-1 7y agoGood point, but it's probably the most accessible test device for high levels of RF flux. But based on quick wikipedia tour, just testing on the ~2.4ghz band of microwave oven would probably not be enough to verify the shielding.
- myself248 7y agoPut a glass of water in the microwave as dummy-load to prevent high VSWR from reflecting back into the magnetron. Standard procedure any time you're doing dumb shit with a kitchen microwave.
- wongarsu 7y agoA simple test would be to stick a few wireless devices in the box and check that they all loose signal once the box is closed. If you want to get fancy any place that does EM interference tests of consumer goods should have the room and equipment to test the box across a broad spectrum. My intuition would be that the lid doesn't seal that good as it is. For long-term storage that's easily fixed by putting the shielding on the outside and gluing it shut with copper tape. Maybe you could instead add some copper-lined magnetic flaps that close the gaps.
- back7co 7y agoThe box has flaps lined with copper (https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Uwc9SHzot/?igshid=5dgayhtfayad https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Uwc9SHzot/?igshid=5dgayhtfayad). The box was a bit of a joke since I have no background in EE and couldn't find good reference material.
- acidburnNSA 7y agoYou put a spectrum alalyzer inside and transmit to it. This guy shows that a box of aluminum foil drops EM by at least 40 dBm. Chicken wire is more like 20. https://youtu.be/9M6h1U9jgWs https://youtu.be/9M6h1U9jgWs
- C1sc0cat 7y agoI think various electronics companies have test rooms for this and govements have actual EPM test rigs
- nvk 7y agoLooks like my HAM Go Box with a GPD https://twitter.com/nvk/status/1113183963571421187?s=20 https://twitter.com/nvk/status/1113183963571421187?s=20
- ProZsolt 7y agoWhat do you have there? I'm a little bit out of touch with the HAM scene lately
- heckler 7y agoNo connectivity in TFA. I'd suggest IRLP or better [0] [0]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Radio_Linking_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Radio_Linking_Project
- k_sze 7y agoWhat does "TFA" stand for?
- beagle3 7y agoThe fine article. In the same way that rtfm means “read the fine manual”. At least, that’s the sfw version.
- ignoramous 7y agoThe NSFW version: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=TFA https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=TFA
- shkkmo 7y agoI always read the F as "featured"
- sneak 7y agoNot “Falcon”?
- JshWright 7y agoAPRS would probably be better, IMO (at the very least, throw a small TNC in the box wired up to the Pi so you've got options).
- myself248 7y agoAs I've been playing with Raspi's and Beaglebones and stuff lately, it's been driving me nuts that EVERYTHING I do needs to be apt-gotten off the internet, the base image doesn't even include basics like screen/tmux. If those repos are inaccessable for any reason, I have a bunch of hardware that's very hard to do anything useful with. I know there are such things as apt-caches and squid caches and stuff, but I could really use thing that goes through every apt-get I've ever done and the top 50,000 packages on github and stuffs 'em all onto an SD card and shows me how to use them from my commandline. OP mentions this as a future direction for the project, but I think it's one of the most important.
- iam-TJ 7y agoOn Debian-based distros there are several tools. squid-deb-proxy can do most of this - it fetches and locally caches lists and packages. Clients install squid-deb-proxy-client which uses multicast-DNS to discover the local proxy. Packages are fetched and cached by the proxy first time they're requested and thereafter served locally (subject to lifetime/space etc. squid configuration). There are ways to pre-populate the cache but you're always going to have situations where package updates have to pull from remote archives. apt-mirror is designed for a similar purpose. It allows creating a sub-set or entire mirror of one or more upstream archives. Clients can then be pointed at the local mirror which could be on the same host or LAN. Generally, 'packages' on github will be source-code only so you'd need a quite complex build server, or at least per-package specific links in your local cache rules for pre-built binaries.
- myself248 7y agoUpdate: In case anyone finds this later, I just ran across this page of someone else doing EXACTLY what I wanted to do, for exactly the same reason: https://blog.thelifeofkenneth.com/2018/01/off-grid-raspbian-repositories.html https://blog.thelifeofkenneth.com/2018/01/off-grid-raspbian-...
- ekianjo 7y ago> it's been driving me nuts that EVERYTHING I do needs to be apt-gotten off the internet, One solution is to do it once only: grab the base image, install all the packages you need, and then make an image of it so you don't start from scratch again next time.
- _pmf_ 7y agoThe back panel is beautiful.
- russfink 7y agoI love the integrated switch! Is it meant to stand up a small cluster in a hurry? Thinking more, what is the use case?
- tracker1 7y agoI was thinking a lower power USB3 hub might be more useful, could do USB ethernet dongles if really needed, or other options... may not be as high a throughput, but that probably isn't the goal.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- calewis 7y agoThis is why hacker news, despite all its problems, is such a joy. There are people doing some amazing stuff that I can learn so much from (while trying not to think to hard about how lazy I am). Its not only a cool project, but is really well photographed and documented. Thanks for posting.
- soapboxrocket 7y agoProjects like this remind me of why we need to use public money for space exploration. The extreme constraints on space exploration drive new innovations and ideas that can flow down into our everyday lives.
- aliljet 7y agoI wish everyone believed this. It feels so inspiring to every generation of engineers.
- sintaxi 7y agoWe used public money to go to the moon and our government recorded over all of the video footage. Can you name a single piece of video footage that is more valuable than that which was recorded on the Apollo missions? I can't. Governments are either incompetent or corrupt - usually both.
- SmellyGeekBoy 7y agoThe video footage may be inspiring and I agree that it's a huge shame that it was erased but it really is of very little scientific value compared to the other research and data gathered on these missions.
- sintaxi 7y agoIf the footage from the Apollo missions is worthless that would support my claim beyond the point I made in the first place.
- 7y ago
- fit2rule 7y agoThis is beautiful and I am now motivated to make my own as well. And I've figured out what I'm going to do with it. Since 1999 I've been 'printing to PDF' all the great stuff I've read on the Internet. As a result, I have an 36gigabyte archive of PDF files. I'm going to make one of these ultimate boxes, and put my archive out in the wilderness, up a mountain, behind my hut in a deep, dry hole in the rock. That way I'll always have something great to read when I get up the scrag. ;)
- mmastrac 7y agoThat would be pretty sweet to share as a doomsday bathroom reading collection. Any chance you might throw it up on archive.org?
- fit2rule 7y agoOh I dunno, it'd take a fair bit of time to vet for personal data .. I think I'll just make it more of a family/friends heirloom installation, and for those 'in the know' about how to get up to the hut. There's a ton of great stuff in the archive, but I don't think its something of public interest as much as just my personal tastes in interesting shit ..
- Rebelgecko 7y agoReminds me of a personalized version of the Long Now Foundation's "Manual for Civilization"
- ajmarsh 7y agoLove that tiny keyboard, but where is the space bar?
- mdpye 7y agoBottom row. On mine I have space left of centre and enter right of centre. Its a full keyboard, you use the next two outwards on the bottom row to shift layers for access to all the punctuation. They actually very ergonomic. See olkb.com for more on the original.
- mdpye 7y ago:O Just looked more closely at the photo. That is a pretty unorthodox layout for a 40% keyboard! (having a number row on the default layer)
- Iv 7y agoMany crucial keys are missing. That does not look functional.
- tyingq 7y agoCertainly missing other often used keys, like colon, semicolon, comma, quotes, /, ?, <, >. Guessing he must have some way of dealing with all that. Higher res picture of the keyboard: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5caa4adb92441be122fcead4/1570029451147-TEWBYE5CM1BCGJPG60PN/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kFmfxoboNKufWj-55Bgmc-J7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0iXS6XmVv7bUJ418E8Yoc1hjuviiiZmrL38w1ymUdqq4JaGeFUxjM-HeS7Oc-SSFcg/JAY01429.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5caa4adb92441b...
- Hemospectrum 7y agoThis style of keyboard is called "40%" and, just as you would press shift+1 to input an exclamation mark, they're invariably set up with additional modifier keys (or chorded sequences) to input the values of all the missing keys. It's hard to say exactly how this one is configured, because it looks like a custom layout. The kit can be found here: https://5z6p.com/products/plaid-through-hole/ https://5z6p.com/products/plaid-through-hole/
- bjt2n3904 7y agoI once worked on a project trying to isolate WiFi signals. We ended up purchasing a metal box with a conductive gasket, and were able to detect wireless signals through the box until we screwed the lid down to spec. Just a point of reference, I've never done EMP work... But I'm not sure how much the copper foil will buy you. Regardless, beautiful build!
- willis936 7y agoAn ungrounded Faraday cage is a re-radiator. If it's grounded you need very little material. The most important factor is the largest gap in the cage, which dictates the longest wavelength that is passed. Look at microwave oven meshes to see a size of gap that blocks slightly above 2.45 GHz.
- Roark66 7y ago>But I'm not sure how much the copper foil will buy you. It'll do very little. There is a paper authored by US army talking about various EMP protection measures. The minimum reliable protection there is a 12mm thick (half inch) mild steel container with a lead seal. This is why if there is ever a nuclear war the vacuum tube equipment will be the only stuff that survives.
- ianpenney 7y agoThis might pair well with an Othernet kit, supposing you're in a coverage area. https://othernet.is https://othernet.is
- m3rc 7y agoWhat is this? No offense but this site looks like a concept mock-up. There's no actual information besides general ideas and stock photos, and there's no further links or reading, just an email address.
- ianpenney 7y agoI can assure you, it's real! I got mine in the mail on Monday! Caveat: I have not attained reception yet, because of obstacles. The North America kit comes with: - Low Noise Block Downconverter (LNB) antenna, capable of Ku-Band reception of the SES-2 satellite. Must be pointed very accurately: elevation, azimuth AND rotating for polarization - Crappy little tripod, good enough to get started - An acrylic laser-cut LNB collar to hold the antenna on the tripod, which I immediately snapped. - A 1GHz arm based board with embedded software defined radio. - An 802.11n dongle. Here's a youtube overview of the desktop environment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TuNVC0Vw2Y&t=281s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TuNVC0Vw2Y&t=281s Basically, the board receives compressed tar files in the data stream and caches them on a secondary microSD card. You access that content with various linux desktop apps served over a webdesktop.
- qubex 7y agoI’ve got one of installed back home in the outskirts of Milan (near lake Como). It’s the sort of thing you don’t expect to ever need but that might be useful in the one in a billion chance. It also receives APRS signals, which can be really handy in situations of truly catastrophic disaster.
- taborj 7y agoMy only issue with othernet is, from what I've been able to tell, you only get to see what they determine you can see. In other words, they're shaping the perceptions for you, rather than giving you the raw data to decide for yourself. You can view some folks online feeds[0] to get a feel for what data they let you see. [0] https://forums.othernet.is/t/online-othernet-feed/6186 https://forums.othernet.is/t/online-othernet-feed/6186
- stevehawk 7y agothis is just cool as hell. congrats OP.
- KirinDave 7y agoI really like this project! But I speak from authority, having fully integrated a wireless and wired network and charging station into a carry bag for work uses: Thar Netgear switch will cut through your onboard battery like a bullet. You'll absolutely need a larger battery if you flip that switch on.
- noonespecial 7y agoYou can find crummy little 100mb switches on Aliexpress that actually power from micro USB. They're almost but not quite as bad as you think they'll be but for only $8... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33047436686.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33047436686.html
- KirinDave 7y agoI tried one of these and I just found it was constantly drawing out 100mA+ of current. They're really not made with portable efficiency inside. In the end, I just found that portable wifi solutions to be more power efficient.
- mschuster91 7y agoOP could use something like a LAN9354 Ethernet switch and build their own switch. Probably needs a third PHY chip to interface with the Raspberry Pi as the Pi doesn't expose raw MII to attach to the LAN9354.
- wtfrmyinitials 7y agoIn terms of power usage, the best solution would probably be a passive Ethernet hub.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- mschuster91 7y agoFor the keyboard, a random question... does anyone know a real laptop keyboard that's available for general purchase and includes a datasheet on how to interface it? I don't really want to go to the length OP did and build a keyboard from individual switches.
- ProZsolt 7y agohttps://hackaday.com/2018/12/04/teensy-liberates-the-thinkpad-keyboard/ https://hackaday.com/2018/12/04/teensy-liberates-the-thinkpa...
- gao8a 7y agoThats slick. Gives me alot of ideas but also makes me regret passing by those milspec connectors on a pile of surplus.
- hart_russell 7y agoCan I get an explainer on how this would help in a disaster recovery situation?
- ojagodzinski 7y agodon't be such a buzzkill! :D
- njharman 7y agoIn all the ways having a known good/not hacked working linux computer with all your diagnostic and recovery tools installed. Extra its not reliant on external power, periphials, and is very water resistant and environmentally sealed (the main / only benefit over just a laptop)
- ppf 7y agoA raspberry pi doesn't make a good candidate for that, as it boots into a proprietary, closed-source system before loading Linux. It's hard to beat a toughbook, or even a ruggedized tablet, for any such scenario, especially as they are still sealed when in use. The BOM cost for this project is also relatively expensive - I estimate it around $600.
- earlINmeyerkeg 7y agoWell obviously at the end of the world, SOMEONE has gotta bring HN back online!
- patja 7y agoI was thinking it could be pre-loaded with tons of relevant media and reference materials. Plus being a general purpose tool. I could see distance sailboat cruisers packing one away, similar to how they would pack some redundant spares of key electronics, or an industrial sewing machine like a Sailrite, for enhanced self-reliance in challenging environments. Pack a 3d printer in there too!
- ThrowawayR2 7y ago
- dws 7y agoOn the Pi at least, once you've got a card set up you can `dd` it onto another card. Saves a lot of time when rebuilding. I tape them to their respective cases so they're easy to find when needed.
- pstch 7y agoThis site cannot be viewed without third-party JavaScript enabled (it shows a blank page on both Firefox and Chrome), and this is happening more and more on HN links. I think it's pretty sad that so many websites are adding a client-side dependency on third-party code just to view the website. In this case, this doesn't seem intentional, as the code is full of <noscript> tags. I also cannot begin to understand how can a <body> tag's class definition can take 4400 bytes. In what kind of situation do we need to apply 146 CSS classes to the <body> tag ?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- NAR8789 7y agoIt's a squarespace site, and this particular behavior is pretty universal to squarespace sites, near as I can tell. Since it's due to the squarespace, I wouldn't really characterize this as "third-party" javascript per se, but I agree it's annoying the page needs javascript to even render. Boo on squarespace. If you don't want to enable all third-party scripts, try uMatrix (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/umatrix/ogfcmafjalglgifnmanfmnieipoejdcf https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/umatrix/ogfcmafjal...). It has very fine-grained control over what assets you allow from where (it's why I knew offhand this was squarespace). A warning though: it's got a bit of a learning curve, and depending on how restrictive you want things, you will probably end up spending a fair amount of time un-breaking the internet. Needing third-party scripts isn't necessarily evil in my mind though--aside from squarespace-like cases where a page loads scripts from the underlying platform (squarespace, or custom domains on top of medium), the other common case I see is loading scripts straight from cdnjs or similar. Is it really evil or insecure to load jquery from cdnjs?
- lisper 7y agoStrange, it works for me on an ancient version of Safari (9.1.3) that's kitted out with ghostery and JS blocker. Most modern sites don't work on it, but this one did.
- 7y ago
- mycall 7y ago> Numerous holes in the case would make ingress of water or moisture even more common Salt in air from moisture is also a major issue. I have lost many RPi from the sea air.
- GordonS 7y agoA bit OT, but my brother lives by the sea, literally at the top of a cliff. He's a biker, and has owned 5 motorbikes in 10 years - every single one has ended up badly corroded because of the salty sea air, resulting in hefty bills. After the first bike, he started putting a cover over them, but it didn't help much. Any ideas on what might help reduce corrosion? (he doesn't have a garage, and building one isn't an option).
- SiempreViernes 7y agoAfaik the traditional corrosion protection method is a decent layer of paint, or variations thereof.
- GordonS 7y agoIndeed. For some reason cars seem to be mostly OK there, it's just motorbikes that are badly affected. Obviously the parts that can be painted, the parts that aren't stainless steel, are paintee.
- Rebelgecko 7y agoWould some sort of sacrificial anode work?
- sbierwagen 7y agoGalvanic rust protection requires the entire structure be immersed in an electrically conductive fluid. Works great for boats and hot water heaters, less well for cars and motorcycles.
- rataata_jr 7y ago
- lsllc 7y agoThis is really neat, and timely -- I was just watching some of those "buying and opening a Titan II missile launch facility in Arkansas" videos on YT. Seems like a useful addition to one's underground lair.
- gioscarab 7y agoThat needs connectivity via PJON: https://github.com/gioblu/PJON https://github.com/gioblu/PJON :)
- keyle 7y agoIs this the new thing now, were everything is going to be cyber-thing, built for a post-apocalyptic world, with bullet proof shielding and water proof, emp proof?
- xwdv 7y agoI actually would really like that as the theme for 2020. The perception of an increasingly hostile world pushes designs to reflect rugged and reliable qualities. It would be a breath of fresh air compared to the crappy planned obsolescence of the 2010s. Can’t wait for Apple to create a phone with sharp square corners!
- nine_k 7y agoThat would be planned obsolescence of clothes.
- userbinator 7y agoThe shape vaguely reminds me of an oscilloscope. The raised lettering looks nice at first but I think might be rather prone to damage; inset/engraved would be preferable.
- pizzaparty2 7y agoI'd go with an x86 or 64 bit SBC because although someone compiled Linux to run on ARM a lot of programs still can't.
- nextlevelwizard 7y agoIsn't the whole point of C that you can compile it against whatever architecture you wish? What programs you know of that can not be compiled to run on ARM?
- pizzaparty2 7y agoAny program that's closed source. But also it's just kind of a pain to do.
- amatecha 7y agoI wonder about the keyboard though -- why ortholinear? I guess if you prefer it...? I find it very unwieldy. Or maybe all the staggered 40% kits out there wouldn't fit?
- 0xdeadb00f 7y agoProbably an aesthetic choice. Have you ever used ortholinear layouts? (I have not). I've heard they aren't as weird as you first expect, and you can get used to it fairly quickly.
- NedIsakoff 7y agoI call this a fake. Look at the photos and focus on the keyboard. What is it missing? The space bar. How the hell do you use a keyboard without a space bar?