Hardware implementation of Free42/Plus42 other than DM42?

[rex4good]

I saw this keyboard the other day, which got me thinking...



And after playing with the keyboard layout manager for 5min, this is what I came up with that might work for Plus42 as an input device (borrowed some idea from the Voyage series for CHS / EEX / ENTER).



I guess the question now is whether there is a way to run Plus42 on a standalone / portable device together with this keyboard, and they may be then put into some 3-D printed case?

[BruceH]

Enter key is rather too close to the off key for my liking. :-)

And using it portrait rather than landscape will probably lead to RSI-type problems as you'd have to lift your entire arm up to reach the top row.

On the plus side, there's a Linux version of Plus42 so you might manage to port it to a small RPi or similar device which could be fitted with a display. Start by porting Free42 and then tell Thomas what changes you had to make so he can consider whether to do a Plus42 version.

[rex4good]

Would swapping ENTER with STO & RCL make it slightly more appealing to you?
:-)

Talking about porting it to RPi... any specific model / screen you'd recommend? I have some experience with Linux programming on both x86 and ARM, but actually never tried RPi before.

[John Keith]

(09-05-2023 11:02 AM)rex4good Wrote:  Talking about porting it to RPi... any specific model / screen you'd recommend? I have some experience with Linux programming on both x86 and ARM, but actually never tried RPi before.

A Zero W would be more than adequate and you would have WiFi and BlueTooth. I think I have seen versions of the Memory LCD display used in the DM4x platform that are made for use with the Pi. Look at pimoroni.com and adafruit.com for a large (but overlapping) selection of displays.

One limitation of the Raspberry Pi's is the lack of power management. You basically have to "roll your own" there.

[FreeBlues]

How about M5Stack Cardputer? I saw 2 posts talking about it:

https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-21052.html
https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-20967.html

Here are its hardware specifications, taken from its [official documentation](https://docs.m5stack.com/en/core/Cardputer).

Quote:M5StampS3 Microcontroller.
56 key keyboard.
1.14 Inch TFT Screen.
Cavity speaker and SPM1423 digital MEMS microphone.
Infrared emission tube is used for infrared control interaction.
HY2.0-4P port for connecting and expanding I2C sensors.
Micro SD card slot for expanding storage space.
The built-in 120mAh and 1400mAh lithium battery in the base provide long battery life.
Base with magnet, compatible with Lego hole expansion.

Its price is $30, but there is a downside: its keyboard is relatively small.