HackerGadgets' uConsole Upgrade Kit - adding NVME SSD(PCIe), RJ45 Ethernet and USB 3.0 to your Uconsole

uConsole
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21

That would be even better for sure

22

Ughhhh, crapā€¦
Do i really need it? Nope.
Do i want it? Heck yeah!

You kind sir, are going to cost me a lot of moneyā€¦. :wink:
Awesome job again!

1 Like
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Canā€™t wait till theyā€™re ready

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  • Will the upgraded boards work with the first AIO board? I would prefer having two external USB ports for plugging in peripherals.
  • Will board schematics be provided?
  • Is there a target price for the kit?

And lastly, two pipe-dream suggestions about your mentioned keyboard you can feel free to ignore: A legendless, black keyboard membrane with translucency only on the sides of the keys, to illuminate the shape of the keys and not the surfaces, and an amber glow rather than the harsh white of the uConsole keyboard.

Using the uConsole in low-light conditions is rough because the backlight goes from invisible to distracting (official firmware; QMK might as well be a strobe light with the way it flickers) to bright enough to use as a flashlight, which I know because I have used my uConsole keyboard alone as a flashlight. Itā€™s technically a useful feature but unnecessary as this does have a screen too which also gets very bright.

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Yes, the first AIO board will works without compromise.

No, but the pinout definition of the connectors of the board will be provided.

Around $65-70 for all the three boards. Around $23 for each.

I just thought about improving the keyboard, but I donā€™t think I will really go that far.

9 Likes
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Awesome to hear. I plan on keeping the original and upgrading the battery board and cm5 adapter.

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As a linux semi-noob, the thing im most looking forward to: Being able to hard-reset the damn thing :laughing: And yes, i know a bit about Linux already, but just enough to properly mess it up and not know how to fix it sometimes :wink:
Would be nice if there was a version with a connector and a bridge, but think i can manage the desolderig :wink:
End of rant, hoping mine runs out of power before i wake up. Currently not in a state to open it up and take out batteries :laughing:

28

Wow, this is an excellent and much needed upgrade! This will make the uConsole what it should have been from the start.

Waiting patiently!

29

Absolutely a welcome addition. I am only worried that tariffs and the current situation with customs will ruin it.

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I think vileers earlier AIO board shipped without tariff issues earlier this year

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Mine was held by customs and I had to pay an additional fee. Trump let the de minimis tariff exemption for all imports valued at $800 or less expire. I donā€™t know about DHL but UPS is destroying packages because they have a massive backup of shipments on hold in route to customs. I am by no means trying to be a party pooper. This is just a concern I have. I want to order one myself as I have been waiting a long time for this. I would recommend checking with DHL to see how they are handling this. I donā€™t think the fee is too bad but itā€™s something folks in the states should be aware of.

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I can second this; our (USA) governmentā€™s self-enforced siege is making it really sketchy as to whether we can get reasonably-priced goods even from reputable vendors. The 100% tariffs are a de facto embargo against China for the working class. I could justify a total cost of $100 (ideally less) for the battery and adapter boards but it is disheartening that half the cost will go to a government that arbitrarily inflated the price in the first place.

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@vileer is it possible to include the push button for the battery board? happy to do the soldering myself, but hunting and ensuring its the right part is more difficult.

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Hi All,

@vileer Is there a scheduled date for these improvements to be available?
From what I can see, there are quite a few people interested, and I am one of them.

1 Like
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This is a niche need. I may not put it in the bundle. But you can easily find it on AliExpress.

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Mid-October(around 20th), I will take some photos of the upgrade kit an upload it to the website tomorrow.

10 Likes
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I am still waiting for my Uconsole to arrive, have the SDR board already, waiting for the UConsole and now I have another upgrade I want, and will get when available. Prob be available too before my UConsole arrives!

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@vileer Another questionā€¦ can the PCIe expansion on your board be used to connect to anything other than a NVME SSD?

2 Likes
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@vileer to expand on this question, could the NVMe slot be used with any of the following:

  • Waveshare SIM7600G-H-PCIE
  • Wio-WM6180 Wi-Fi HaLow mini-PCIe Module
  • Seeed Studio WM1302 LoRaWAN

Also, does the new CM adapter module enable the uConsoleā€™s onboard Wi-Fi? Or do I still need a CM4/5 with wifi?

Thank you for your hard work. Plan to purchase several kits.

2 Likes
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oh crap, thatā€™s a really good question. if this is the case we can swap out the AIO board for the USB 3.0 and still get some other functionality out of it,

2 Likes