Maker Ryan Whalen has put collectively a distraction-free “digital typewriter,” powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and an ePaper show: the TypeWryter.
“I wished to a no distraction, digital typewriter, just like the Astrohaus Freewrite Traveler,” Whalen explains of the undertaking’s origins, “however they’re, like, $500. So I made a decision to construct my very own factor as a substitute. [I] saved myself $400+ as a substitute of shopping for a Freewrite.”
The TypeWryter goals to supply a distraction-free writing expertise at a fraction the price of industrial choices. (📷: Ryan Whalen)
The Freewrite Traveler is one in all a spread of writing instruments from Astrohaus, alongside the sooner and steampunk-esque Sensible Typewriter and the AlphaSmart-inspired Alpha, which intention to put off the distractions obtainable on trendy internet-connected multitasking units. There is not any help for apps, no net browser or social media, nor even any colours: only a black-and-white show and a cushty keyboard.
On the lookout for the identical expertise however with out the multi-hundred-dollar price ticket, Whalen set about making his personal. The guts of the compact construct is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W single-board pc operating TypeWryter, a terminal-based plain textual content editor based mostly on the sooner zerowriter undertaking. “It would not enable any fancy modifying,” Whalen explains. “You possibly can write and you’ll backspace, that is it; stopping the urge to return and edit. Recordsdata save on each carriage return.”
The 3D-printed housing holds the display, the Raspberry Pi, and a UPS battery for on-the-go productiveness. (📷: Ryan Whalen)
Booting straight into the editor, the Raspberry Pi shows its output on a Waveshare 4.2″ ePaper show — which makes use of electrophoretic know-how to supply a paper-like viewing expertise with no again nor entrance mild. That is housed inside a 3D-printed case, which additionally hides a Pi Sugar 3 uninterruptible energy provide (UPS) — permitting the device for use on-the-go with any USB keyboard.
“If you happen to navigate to Menu –> Community File Browser –> Begin Server a neighborhood Flask webserver will spin up on no matter gadget is operating TypeWryter,” Whalen writes of file retrieval. “TypeWryter will current you with a URL, QR Code, and four-digit password. You possibly can both go to the URL or scan the QR code, after which enter the password to see the recordsdata in your TypeWryter.”
Extra data is out there on Whalen’s Reddit submit, whereas the supply code has been printed to GitHub beneath an unspecified license.
