The Pickle Pi Is a TRS-80 Model 100-Like Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Tablet with Mechanical Keyboard
Named for its compact 30-key ortholinear mechanical keyboard, this portable PC offers typing comfort in a small package.
Pseudonymous maker "jefmer" has designed a portable Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-powered PC with a compact ortholinear mechanical keyboard, located directly beneath a 7" color display: the Pickle Pi.
"The name of this project comes — fairly obviously — from the combination of the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and the Gherkin 30% mechanical keyboard," jefmer explains of the gadget's unusual moniker. "Having used 40% keyboards in my last two projects (Portable Pi and Pocket Pad) I wanted to try an even smaller keyboard" a 30% keyboard has exactly 30 keys whereas a 40% keyboard actually has 48 keys."
Using a TRS-80 Model 100-style flat layout, rather than a modern clamshell form factor, the Pickle Pi is designed to be both compact and finger-friendly. The keyboard — in contrast with the maker's earlier PDA-inspired Pocket Pad — uses full-size keycaps on standard mechanical switches, albeit in a compact ortholinear layout that requires the use of layers to access anything other than alphabetical characters.
Above the keyboard is a Waveshare 7" touchscreen display, offering a 1,024×600 resolution and a controller board designed specifically for use with the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W — the most powerful of the Raspberry Pi Zero range, and the only model to offer more than a single processor core. An Arduino-compatible keyboard controller links the Raspberry Pi to the keyboard, and a 10Ah battery pack provides power for on-the-go operation — all sandwiched between two pieces of perspex.
"I really like the Pickle Pi's tablet format and the Gherkin is a great way of providing full size keys such that the keyboard is still compatible with the overall tablet dimensions," jefmer writes. "Less satisfactory is the limitation on the programs that the tablet can run [on its 512MB of RAM]. Consequently, the next step in this project is to look at the feasibility of replacing the Pi Zero with a Pi 4. I have already established that the power bank is not capable of meeting the needs of a Pi 5."
The full project write-up is available on Hackday.io.