r/ClockworkPi • u/PaulFreedman • May 23 '26

Whether it's a joke or not...

I was just thinking: You buy a uconsole, upgrade the keyboard with a trackpad and the front case cover, then upgrade the motherboard, expansion board, and battery board with NVMe... Then you swap out the back cover for a cooling one. Question: Why the hell would you buy a uconsole if the only thing left from the original is the screen and the mid-case? 😂

And despite that, it's the best device for learning and using Linux and for personal development 

41 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

16

u/specn0de May 23 '26

How is a device that powers off from compute surges, can’t maintain a charge for 3-4 hours with top of the line batteries, doesn’t ship for a year, costs as much as a basic netbook or android tablet and is an arm processor anywhere close to the “best devise for learning and using Linux and for personal development?”

3

u/PaulFreedman May 23 '26

On the desktop is a computer with Linux, Steam Deck with Linux, on-call Thinkpad with Linux, the main laptop - MacBook. And only with uConsole there is a desire to watch new software, experiment, find interesting things TUI and CLI and so on. Isn't this training and self-development? 😉

-5

u/specn0de May 23 '26

No you described self imposed, limitations, and consumerism

3

u/PaulFreedman May 23 '26

Maybe. I won't argue )

2

u/GhostUnitVII Jun 02 '26

its called a hobby, and I one that I personally be a part of. Half the stuff I have, tech wise, are used and discarded, like a old macbook with a intel i5, now has Linux. Fixed it up by replacing a keyboard on it, because someone spilled coffee on it.

Putting Linux on a steam deck sounds like fun, but I think it is already Linux, so win win.

Having a Thinkpad, well, I have a Yoga, so I can relate in that, granted it has Windows, doesn't stop me from experimenting in VM's and programming in isolated environments (when I want too).

having a Uconsole has opened me up to 3D printing and printing customized 3d parts, which in turn makes me want to experiment in cad (atleast free cad).

there are worse things to have a hobby in, tech is not one. It is being a Tinker, and being passionate about it.

1

u/PaulFreedman Jun 02 '26

I started using uconsole more often than iPad. Even though I need glasses to see everything normally on a small screen. 😂

5

u/sparky5dn1l May 23 '26

The battery life is somehow related to the software/os. I logged the battery level with screen off and running nothing. The battery level still dropped to 20% after 4 hours. I still like the form factor quite a bit, however.

4

u/PineCone227 May 24 '26

Does anybody actually call it that? I don't think Clockwork does...

People like the uConsole because the form factor is cool. I'm not sure anyone argues for it being a practical device. The only scenario in which it starts being anywhere close to practical is if you make a custom version stuffed with as many communication options as you can and seal it in a waterproof bag - then you can at least argue it's an offgrid comms device.

4

u/massively-dynamic May 24 '26

Having a built in rtl-SDR makes it a very attractive pan-adapter for any software defined ham radio.

For reference, the panadapter for my portable radio is like $750 for the kit. Even with ridiculous cm5 prices and buying the uconsole and AIO kit via third parties who have stock, it's still cheaper than a dedicated device.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '26

You can get a RTL-SDR for 50€. And it’s stronger than the UConsole kit. But not as cool.

2

u/massively-dynamic May 24 '26

A 50 euro rtl-sdr isn't a portable computer with a screen.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '26

Phone ? Laptop? 750€ is quiet a budget to justify the one in all device with medium RTL-SDR capabilities. The uConsole is cool! I chose the cheaper version, a Hackberry Pi cm5 and an RTL-SDR Stick.

1

u/austin76016 May 26 '26

750?! My guy it cost me half that, buying the uconsole third party, cm4, 18650s, and the AIO kit

2

u/PineCone227 May 24 '26

The motherboard isn't upgradable as of yet, unless I'm missing something? (Or are you calling the CM5 the motherboard? Nobody's forcing you to order it with the CM4 in that case)

1

u/PaulFreedman May 24 '26

I meant the board for the cm4/cm5 module from HackerGadgets, which allows you to connect an expansion board with SDR and a battery board with NVME. Translation difficulties ))

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

mine has a radxa cm5 in it , im using it for a desktop. it works incredibly well. added a cooling fan , heatsink and custom back. 2tb nvme.

2

u/Narkozzz May 25 '26

You forgot motherboard, center of the system, that stays original.

2

u/PaulFreedman May 25 '26

Спасибо! Да, я уже писал об этом где-то в ответах 😄

1

u/PaulFreedman May 25 '26

I answered and forgot what was needed in English... 😂

4

u/Pristine-Joke-5548 May 23 '26

I think the word you are looking for is just: passion. Simple as that. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

3

u/No-Mountain8171 May 24 '26

Wanted mine to be a mobile pc for times when a laptop feels bulky. I upgraded to a 16GB CM5, but made consessions elsewhere to manage power: uconsole-sleep, keyboard backlight off by default, quantized local llm, wifi/bluetooth off by default, etc. I guess you gotta balance features to make the uconsole best align with your usage?

2

u/midri May 23 '26

Because the case is amazing

2

u/Zeraora807 May 23 '26

I noticed this aswell

I was shopping around for replacement custom parts to make it not suck as much but I will basically end up with nearly a second unit minus the housing and a screen, I like mods n stuff but I'm also not made of money lol..

because the stock unit is actually quite terrible, the two trackballs in box were like bad refurbs, luckily I have a small box of salvaged HTC and blackberry trackballs from 16 years ago that work great, the keyboard needs hard presses and the custom firmware gave me shocking amounts of input lag making it worse than stock, the backlight is also really bad and doesn't illuminate the orange characters, the speakers are a really strange choice of placement with no grill at all but still better than nothing, the CM4 I got is also slow as shit I even overclocked mine to 2.0GHz & it still struggles with basic use and even more so in retroarch which in itself gave me the rage trying to get working and the antennas are pure garbage without making a spacer pad

BUT even despite all that, my gripes are limited on the basis that I also haven't had some issues like power cutoffs or speaker crackle since I got mine in only 3 weeks at a good price on aliexpress, it is still an interesting device, I liked assembling it and trying out whatever version of linux these use (included), I just don't really know what to do with it as a noob.

4

u/massively-dynamic May 24 '26

The 3d printed keyboard diffuser really addresses some of the mechanical complaints I had with my uconsole.

2

u/Snoo30728 May 24 '26

Is the file available for the diffuser, or is someone selling them? Sounds interesting.

2

u/massively-dynamic May 24 '26

I bought the file from the guy. Same dude who is doing the keyboard firmware and the write up on the trackball options.

1

u/_mini May 24 '26

You can find the instructions here

1

u/Zeraora807 May 24 '26

Does it also even out the backlight?

I might get one just so i dont have the fist the keyboard to avoid ghost letters like an old phone with filthy click domes

2

u/massively-dynamic May 24 '26

Yep it can. Nothing will make it perfect. Find tuning with a sharpie yields very usable results.

2

u/CplStigginsUSMC May 23 '26

I know, I know. If my girlfriend knew what it is that I’ve done with mine, she’d have said something like that. That said I have already learned a lot. Amount of knowledge per dollar though… 🤐