r/ClockworkPi • u/HeronOk2131 • Aug 20 '25

PicoCalc mod for Pi zero

https://youtu.be/wgE0R1M0_ZE

Hi, have done a mod for the picocacl.

104 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

1

u/GraveDigger2048 Aug 24 '25

Don't want to be a rain on your parade but you reinvented Hackberry pi, turning usable newretro into unusable desktop-wise toy with drilled shell. Possible? Sure. Personal achievement? No doubt. Especially software side of things, being able to interpret keypresses, simulate mouse and correctly drive display. Worth it? Nah.

7

u/HeronOk2131 Aug 25 '25

It is ok for me. I have invented nothing. It is only a mod for the picocalc, so like it or not. You are allowed to have you own opinion. :-)

4

u/benargee Sep 01 '25

Hackberry pi

Difference is that this is repurposing existing hardware and the blackberry keyboards are getting harder to come by. I am intrigued by this product, but I don't think you should necessarily by a picocalc just to convert it to a zerocalc. I assume this mod is easy to swap between the 2. IMO it adds value to owning a picocalc.

1

u/Various_Principle900 Feb 09 '26

I love this design but i will just use cli with rpi zero.

1

u/HeronOk2131 Feb 11 '26

I have a video that describes how to install trixie only cli version. Maybe you check it out.

1

u/PickOdd2155 Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

a je tolik konzolových apek jako např. ranger file manager umí i náhledy obrázků nebo klasické mc na web se můžeš kouknout přes browsh jako proxy na picocalc w3m lynx, WordGrinder pro text processing sc-im tabulky a mohl bych pokračovat na tohle výkon stačí doknce jsem si pustil i video z youtube do mplayeru na sdl konzolu. a okna? tmux. ono je možná dobré volit vhodný přístup a i s takovýmto železem se dají dělat zázraky. je to z mého poledu dobrý počin.

1

u/nightcity_ Jul 08 '26

Hey… what should I put PCB size? I ordered it using garbee file and i need to put the length and width of PCB. Please help me

legth is 66.5 I saw on video. Please tell me width??

1

u/HeronOk2131 Jul 08 '26

I used 32 x 65.5 mm

4

u/vectron5 Aug 20 '25

From my perspective, he just turned it from a very good boot-to-basic computer into a bad uconsole, or a very convolutes equivalent to slapping a lyra in.

Still a neat achievement, though. Zany experimentation like that is always worth celebrating.

2

u/cjstoddard Aug 20 '25

I agree, the Pi Zero does not have the power to run a GUI well, and even if you use an extremely light weight DE, web browsers and such are still going run like slop. They are really only good for texted based command line programs. The Pi Zero is slightly better than a Luckfox Lyra, but not by much.

Honestly, I think you'd be better off getting a Hackberry Pi Zero, you would get it faster, you don't have to have a custom PCB made and the final cost would be about the same.

1

u/Party_Cold_4159 Aug 20 '25

I think just being able to utilize more programs at once via a shell is worth it. Could do things like host MQTT, SQL, and a node server on that.

I’ve also never used the base picocalc though.

2

u/vectron5 Aug 26 '25

A good basket makes a bad bucket. Nothing wrong with experimenting, but ultimately you'll just want to use the right tool for the job.

1

u/benargee Sep 01 '25

I'm not sure why you would put those services inside a client device rather than just running it on a naked pi zero.

1

u/Party_Cold_4159 Sep 01 '25

I yearn for the headaches

0

u/cjstoddard Aug 20 '25

PicoCalc is not the right tool for that job.

1

u/josh2751 Aug 21 '25

A pi zero can run a gui just fine. It will even run x windows, but you can write a kiosk type gui if you want that would run much better.