If you grew up watching Ripley dodge xenomorphs aboard the Nostromo, you already understand why this little build is so satisfying. Maker Jeff Merrick has crafted a slate-style handheld cyberdeck dripping with Alien franchise vibes — and the brain inside it is a humble Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W.
From scrapped writerdeck to retro-future handheld
The project, dubbed the Typeframe PS-85, started life as a different idea entirely. Jeff originally tried to convert a Penkesu-style retro PC into a writerdeck, but the cramped 40 percent keyboard and the limits of the original Pi Zero pushed him to rethink the whole thing. He pivoted, repurposed the internals he had already wired up, and chose a slate form factor on purpose: no hinges, no drama, just a clean handheld slab that boots fast and feels surprisingly sturdy.
The visual style is where this thing really shines. Jeff already had a set of keycaps printed with the Semiotic Standard glyphs Ron Cobb designed for the original Alien films, and he used those as the design anchor. He weathered the 3D-printed case with a paint-and-mask technique borrowed from his prop-making hobby — silver base, masked highlights, white topcoat, then chipped back to look like a piece of gear pulled out of a starship locker after a rough decade.
What’s inside the case
Under the hood, the build pairs a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with a Waveshare 7.9-inch touchscreen and a custom mechanical keyboard. The exposed GPIO header is put to clever use too: a removable LED panel built around an Adafruit CharliePlex LED Matrix Bonnet plugs into the corner, doubling as a nod to the Mother AI computer from the films. Wiring is routed for easy external access, which makes future tinkering a lot less painful.
Build it yourself
The great news is that nothing here is exotic — this is a project you can absolutely take on at home. A typical parts list would include:
- A Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (or even a Pi 4 if you want more headroom)
- A small touchscreen display
- A hot-swap mechanical keyboard PCB and a set of themed keycaps
- A LiPo battery and charge/boost board
- A 3D-printed enclosure of your own design
- A LED matrix or OLED for that extra sci-fi flair
You can grab Raspberry Pi boards, ESP32 modules, sensors, displays, and pretty much every passive part a build like this needs over at Circuit.Rocks. Whether you go full Alien, lean cyberpunk, or invent your own universe, a portable Pi build is one of the most rewarding weekend projects in the maker world right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy the parts to build the projects on this blog?
Boards, modules, sensors, and accessories featured in our build guides are stocked at Circuitrocks. We focus on hobbyist and maker electronics – Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32, sensors, breakout boards, and the small parts that make a project work.
What hardware does Circuitrocks stock?
We carry Arduino Uno and Nano, the full Raspberry Pi lineup (Pi 4, Pi Zero, Pi Pico), ESP32 and ESP8266 dev boards, plus common sensors like the DHT11/DHT22 (temp/humidity), HC-SR04 (ultrasonic distance), MPU6050 (motion), and a wide range of modules, breadboards, jumper wires, and components for prototyping.
Where can I find more DIY electronics projects and tutorials?
The Circuitrocks blog publishes fresh maker projects, hardware news, and build guides covering Arduino, Raspberry Pi, IoT, robotics, and home automation.
