Mini PC

[VicParticipant @vic]

 

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

So Mini that it’s invisible ?

MichaelG.

[VicParticipant @vic]

Sorry Michael, yet another forum software failure. I posted a YouTube link and hit submit but nothings showing. Not the first time I might add, this happened the other week.

Mods, please delete this thread.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

i can see it ! Noel

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

I could see it as well.  Roy

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

Picture has made it across the pond.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

How strange … I have just come back to this Topic, seen the follow-up comments and refreshed the page a few times … which eventually revealed Vic’s video

[previously there was just white space]

MichaelG.

.

Edit:__ just realised … the image is there, but covered by a white overlay !

Curiouser and Curiouser

[VicParticipant @vic]

Well, I posted it and I can’t see it! 😆

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Not on my screen either

 

[peak4Participant @peak4]

It works fine for me, both directly in post on the forum, and also as a Youtube link

Try this embedded link direct to youtube

 

Bill

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

a quick check this morning seems to demonstrate that the video is visible with the iPad in portrait mode, but it unpredictably sometimes gets overlaid by white in landscape mode.

A potentially interesting “undocumented feature” … for someone else to investigate.

MichaelG.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Most likely as the video looks to have been taken while holding a phone in portrait mode eg upright

 

[IanTParticipant @iant]

I like the mini-keyboard of this device and it’s also a standalone unit.

But here’s another “Mini” computer for you to consider- the Waveshare ‘Geek’.

It plugs into a USB port on your laptop.

You can run it as a PicoMite (of course!) and it might be a very useful way to control external devices from your laptop (other than using a direct USB/Serial connection). It might also be a fun thing to take away on holiday (on long flights?) to play with. I was tempted to add one to my ‘Mite collection but I had already built a PicoMite with a 2.5″ LCD touch screen. It’s not quite a tiny as the Geek (about 75x50x50mm) but I need the larger touch screen.  I 3D printed the case and used a DB9 connector for the I/O.

However, I’m sure the Geek has it’s uses and at £8 it won’t exactly break the bank!   🙂

 

IanT

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Whilst looking for more information about that Waveshare ‘stick’ … I happened across this little gem:

https://www.instructables.com/Making-a-Tiny-Mac-From-a-Raspberry-Pi-Zero/

MichaelG.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

I had very similar thoughts Michael 🙂

My little box was also inspired by the early Mac.  I’ve named it the ‘G28’ because it has very similar facilites to the USB ‘Geek’ but is based on the Waveshare 2.8″ LCD touch screen. The connector brings out serial (RX/TX), PWM and I2C connections. The Pico(Mite) just simply plugs into the back of the LCD panel, which also has an SD card socket onboard – I think I have about 8Gb installed!  As I’ve said – just incredible stuff to an old hardware guy like me.  🙂

You can find the LCD display here – I’ve got a number of Waveshare products and they are all very good quality and value.  https://www.waveshare.com/pico-restouch-lcd-2.8.htm

The ‘Geek’ can be found here:  https://www.waveshare.com/rp2040-geek.htm

 

Regards,

.

IanT

 

[VicParticipant @vic]

I really like the fact the one I posted has a keyboard and screen. Any obvious workshop uses for something like this?

[IanTParticipant @iant]

A very good question Vic.

I have an old mobile that I take down the shed and it provides clock, timer, camera, calculator and notepad facilities – in fact the only thing I don’t use it for is a phone. So much is available cheaply these days in both ‘tools’ and ‘electronics’ that it’s often simply not worth while re-creating the wheel – and doing it yourself. In the same vein, if a solution has already been developed, then why re-develop it? GRBL, Dave’s Rotary Table driver and the many Apps and other ‘free’ stuff available online are good examples.

So (as with tooling) I think it comes down to needing something that just isn’t available or is too expensive to justify the cost. I like playing with these things anyway (it’s a hobby) but I do have a few things on my list. Some examples;

• Most recently – an ‘offline’ controller for my new CNC router – doesn’t have to be too complicated
• My (cheap) DROs have small and hard to read display – a larger, full colour screen ‘repeater’ would be handy
• I have a mechanical problem I’d like to solve and a simple stepper motor will hopefully be quicker & easier to make and test than a mechanical approach.
• More generally, I have (wired) ‘devices’ in my home, garage (and maybe soon) greenhouse. In future I may use WiFi connections instead, as I come to understand the ‘tech’ better. These things are entirely of my own design and need no commercial contracts or support.
• It’s also nice to develop things and share them with your community. My simple remote controllers (for my G3 locomotives) are inexpensive and very adaptable. Better commercial products are available but cost over twice the price. Once you have the s/w developed, it’s only the cost of the underlying hardware and no retailer to pay.

Others will have different ‘Wants’ and ‘Needs’ – this is just my particular list. I think it’s about needing something ‘Custom’ for whatever reason. I don’t (currently) need a computer with a very small keyboard and screen as I have other solutions I prefer but others may well have that specific requirement.

Regards,

 

Ian

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Not obviously useful to me.   Just to be clear, this little computer isn’t a Mini-PC, so it won’t run Windows and Linux.   It’s built around the ESP32 chip, so potentially useful for the many maker projects based on that family.

Real Mini-PCs are small PCs that do run Windows or Linux.  They’re sold for industrial use, and though very expensive new, lack many of the features found on home computers, like decent graphics cards.  Instead, you get an extremely well-made basic machine, on the slow side, but tough as old boots for workshop and production environments, and likely fitted with unusual goodies like dozens of serial ports.    Quite likely to be completely sealed inside a 10mm thick finned Aluminium case used as a heatsink, and full of Milspec components, possibly with a built-in UPS.    They typically run industrial control or logging software.

Mini-PCs come up cheap second-hand on ebay fairly often, and are interesting as examples of cost-no-object computer construction:  it’s not difficult to imagine one lasting several decades before needing attention.   As a home computer though, their performance is far from impressive, and the graphics inferior.   The superb build quality doesn’t compensate for sluggishness, and having a mass of industrial input-outputs on the back is rarely useful.   Worth knowing they exist because they must be ideal for something Model Engineers do!

Dave

 

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