The Mewriter
December 2023
A project to create a personal e-writer.
Category: writerdeck/cyberdeck, distraction free writing.
Design goals:
- Excellent mechanical keyboard: goal met with Epomaker TH80
- Excellent IPS touchscreen: goal met with VSDisplay NV126B5M-N41 1920×515
- Autonomous power: goal met with LiPo 10000 mAh battery
- Portable: goal met, but very much in progress
- Decent brain: goal met with Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
- Accessory ready: goal met with standard USB-hub, WiFi and Bluetooth
- Instant On OS: goal not yet met
Priority one in designing the Mewriter was being able to comfortably create and edit text. This means a real mechanical keyboard with exchangeable switches, a real clean screen, a display that can be tilted, decent writer software (such as FocusWriter, iA Writer (not on Linux unfortunately), WordGrinder or a souped up text editor) and a means to communicate files. The software requirement implies using an existing OS.
The whole package has to be powered by 5V in order to make the device autonomous and portable. Low power 5V good displays are rare. This VSDisplay qualifies with ease. The 1920 pixels width is great, the 515 height is doable. The fine ClockworkPi DevTerm and Kwumsy K2 have even less vertical pixels: 1920×480.
VSDisplay also sells a nice 1920×720 display but this needs 12V and therefore disqualifies.
I really wanted a wide display to fit the typewriter design format, so 5V 1920×1080 displays were no option.
As to flexible and powerful low power mini brains: the Raspberry Pi 2 W currently wins the deal.
The Mewriter is designed to have an easily exchangeable brain and be flexible: any small low power computer with USB and HDMI will do. Also the VSDisplay is very flexible since it supports both HDMI input and USB-C input (1 input for video, touch and power!). The Mewriter can with or without its keyboard instantly be used as a second touch screen monitor.
Details:
The devices is powered by a 3.7V LiPo 10000 mAh battery. A Lipo Rider Plus transforms the voltage to 4.9V and has a USB-C input to power the Mewriter without a battery if needed and to charge the LiPo battery.
The display plus Raspberry together draw a maximum of 6.1 Watt. The Epomaker keyboard has it’s own battery. It communicates with the Raspberry via a 2.4GHz dongle (instead of bluetooth as to have a keyboard present at boot time).
Wiring:
There is only one power line: from the Lipo Rider to one of the two micro-USB connectors of the Raspberry. To my delight the other USB connector of the Raspberry is really flexible: it connects to an USB hub which inputs the keyboard, mouse and anything else, and outputs the touch signal AND the 5V power for the VSDisplay.
Open challenges:
- To build a casing that meets the critical but loving Cyberdeck eye, tilts the display in whatever angle is preferred and, ideally, folds over the keyboard to make the Mewriter cleverly portable.
- Find an instant-on brain. The only instant-on machines I am aware of are Google’s android and chromebook. No DIY-varieties for these boys. There are some great DIY instant-on hardware emulators for DOS such as Fabrizio Di Vittorio’s FabGL (and DOS has great distraction free writing software) but none of them will output HDMI as far as I know.
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You can find more information on Writerdecks in r/writerDeck on Reddit and on writerDeck.org. Writerdecks are a fork of Cyberdecks with solid roots in keyboards and other typing devices.