I’m sad to announce that I’m shutting down the DIY MiniITX laptop project. At least, for now. The reason is simple: the chance of recouping the investment needed are slim, and I need to focus on tasks that are more likely to generate an in income and keep the lights on.Lessons LearnedIt’s always good to […]
The new USB-C power bank has arrived. So, how did it do as a battery for the DIY laptop?In brief: The power bank delivers plenty of power for the motherboard, GPU, and other peripherals It can’t deliver enough to power the LCD controller & panel from a separate outlet. Actually, it could, but would require […]
The new, slightly larger LCD panel has arrived, as has a PCIe riser plus mounting frame. Someone else warned me that multiple PCIe risers that he tried didn’t work, a good reminder that everything should be tested…The video above shows the test run using the new components. As you can see, it’s all working well. […]
The laptop project has stalled. I’m waiting for some components to arrive, and I can’t order the replacement USB power bank I need, because it’s out-of-stock. It’s been out-of-stock for over a month now. While I’m waiting, let’s have a look at keyboards.USB keyboards just like your laptop keyboard are hard to find. Touch-pads aren’t […]
The USB-C battery pack has arrived; let the testing begin! At first glance it looks like the battery pack is working great. I had the machine fully running on battery power. However, there are some issues… The battery is supposed to switch on automatically when a load is attached via one of the two USB-C […]
The original DIY laptop design used a small UPS with a home-made lithium ion battery pack. This works, but has a potential safety issue. There’s no way to guarantee that the batteries you buy are authentic and of high quality without doing your own testing. Poorly made counterfeits could spontaneously ignite or explode, and that […]
I want to upgrade my DIY laptop’s LCD screen, because I’ve found a bigger keyboard (more about that one later). Plus, I want a true 24-bit colour LCD panel. The current 14″ panel is 18-bit, and I can see banding where there should be smooth gradients. In brief, here’s a list of the specifications that […]
It’s important that the DIY laptop I’m designing has enough cooling, or it’ll fry itself. So, I’m building a temperature logger that will be able to monitor the temperature in multiple locations. It’s a side project of a side project…The video above shows me getting the first temperature sensor up and running with an Arduino […]
Yes, it’s back. The DIY Mini-ITX Laptop project has been restarted. I’m aiming to finish it this year. Watch the video above for more…Get Updates Before Everyone ElseThose who signed up to the laptop project’s mailing list got to see this video early, before you read about it here. Want to receive the latest before […]
I recently had trouble with my laptop. The machine became almost unusable while Windows 10 was downloading updates. So, I decided to add more RAM and a faster SSD hard-drive. I’m pleased to say that the machine is operating faster.This was also a golden opportunity to take a peek at how the laptop was designed. […]
