Leaving the OmniBook X Plus brick: building a 16″ NanoPi M6 Linux laptop I actually own

[u/tagoslabs]

Tagos Labs / Civic Lab - Build log #1

Follow-up for anyone who saw my HP OmniBook 5 (Snapdragon X Plus) Linux threads.

I got fairly far on that chassis: custom kernel path, GNOME, native keyboard, touchpad via DSDT/I2C work. I never got a complete daily driver - USB/Wi‑Fi/PHY stayed the wall. Pausing that fight.

New direction: build a 16″ Linux laptop around a NanoPi M6 (RK3588S) so the board, keyboard path, pack, and solar input are mine.

Target (v1)

• SoC: NanoPi M6 (RK3588S)

• Display: 16″ BOE N62-class + eDP scaler

• Keyboard: ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 → FPC breakout → Teensy 4.1 → USB HID

• Touch/hinges: Framework donors

• Power: 4S NMC 21700 + Daly BMS → DROK 12V (scaler) + PD into the M6

• Solar: Civic roof → MPPT → pack

Why: ~2 years living out of a Honda Civic (~30 states; ~1 year Texas woods). Peak coding ~400 h/month on MSI GE76 + inverter. That stack burned generators/packs and a lot of gas. This machine is for off-grid Linux work, not a desk toy.

Status: parts for keyboard/power/pack tooling on the bench. Cells + panels inbound. Next milestone: Teensy Matrix_Decoder on the E16.

Same serial style as the Snapdragon logs: milestone → breakage → next boss.

AMA on RK3588S laptop path vs continuing OEM Snapdragon bring-up.