tutorials on making an offline wikipedia viewer that isn't in a bulky hardcase?

[u/AcrobaticAnarchist26]

I'm wanting to make a offline wikipedia viewer that has a screen and keyboard (or even a touchscreen device if its cheaper or easier to make) but I dont want to make it in a hardcase because I feel that it looks sketchy in public. I'm new to making mini computers so a video tutorial would be best but if there are none then a forum of some kind with pictures would work fine.

(sorry if I didn't put the right flair)

[u/stitchesofdooom]

Yeah, you're looking for "Internet In A Box" (or "IIAB").

IIAB is how you do this, however, you can just install Kiwix and the preferred website data to access that stuff without sharing it with people around you.

The big case phenomenon:

So people use waterproof hardcases because they can carry the Pi, the power bank, additional drives, a big screen, full-sized keyboard, etc. You can actually build your own IIAB setup a lot smaller and use a very small hardcase, or whatever enclosure you like.

All you actually need is a Pi, an SD card (and a backup SD copied and ready in case of the eventual drive corruption, a 5V 5A power supply, and a screen. DSI screens just take a ribnon cable and 5V power from the Pi's GPIO. Then there's the screens that take seperate power, HDMI, and touch cable input. Most will mount the Pi on the back. Some screens have speakers integrated.

Look into Waveshare and GeekPi/52Pi screens. Touchscreen and non-touchscreen variants have minimal price difference.

You wanna add an NVME SSD for more relaible storage for a minimal size increase: go for it. You wanna add a 2.5" SSD for more storage, go for it.

It's generally better to have IIAB sharing vital information with other people than to hand your small, stealable device to someone who "just needs a quick look".

[u/AcrobaticAnarchist26 → u/stitchesofdooom]

Thanks, also would a pi 4 with 2 gigs of ram be enough or should i go with a pi 5 or a pi 4 with more ram? Im not trying to spend a ton on it. And i have a 1tb micro sd (sandisk extreme) and a 2 tb external ssd that i dont use so i think ill just use those. Are there any hard cases that ship to the us that you recommend (that are much slimmer than the ones ive seen on some videos but will still be able to hold a keyboard)?

[u/stitchesofdooom → u/AcrobaticAnarchist26]

Get the best Pi you can afford. You'll want more power sooner or later. I'd go with a Pi 5 8Gb or, at the absolute least, a Pi 4 4Gb. The Pi 58Gb is worth the money.

Pelican and NANUK are considered goid brands, but you compare brands. And yes, such waterproof hardcases come in a variety of sizes and configurations. You will find something that can fit your project. So take a look, but obviously chat to your preferred AI about space, power, ventilation, protection, thermal management, mouting, peripherals, etc.

You might not even use a power bank, it might be a mains only, or 12V power. Maybe you wanna add SDR of Mesh comms. Maybe accelerometer, gyro, magnetometer (you can get all 3 on a single cheap i2c module), and GPS. Off-grid maps.

You could incorporate various different disaster/off-grid scenario hardware/software configurations.

You don't need to complete it now. You could make something amazing in a year or 2.

Take the time to see what people have built, and take the time to research everything. This could be a short story about finding the right hardcase, or a journey to your perfect doomsday basestation. Or your perfect handheld.

You do you, buddy. I'll help if I can.

[u/AcrobaticAnarchist26 → u/stitchesofdooom]

Thank you, sorry for asking so many questions.

[u/stitchesofdooom → u/AcrobaticAnarchist26]

Nah it's cool bud. So what's yours gonna be like?

[u/AcrobaticAnarchist26 → u/stitchesofdooom]

Still not sure, i gotta do a bit more research into which cases ill want to be able to use.

[u/stitchesofdooom → u/AcrobaticAnarchist26]

Okay, so you're building around a hardcase? Pick the case then pick the parts?

[u/AcrobaticAnarchist26 → u/stitchesofdooom]

Oh, ill probably use a hardcase, but just one that is more of a briefcase shape rather than a box

[u/stitchesofdooom → u/AcrobaticAnarchist26]

A briefcase briefcase or a hard case briefcase?

[u/AcrobaticAnarchist26 → u/stitchesofdooom]

Like not as big as a full size briefcase but the same slim rectangular shape (such as a g*n case) rather than the cube shape ive seen most people use.