The author of Instructables nicknamed thechocolatist calls his homemade "pocket steampunker machine" and "Victorian MP3 player", but in fact the design is made from an old Dell Axim PDA. You won’t find this - a Qumo Touch MP3 player or similar, or a “smartphone” is suitable, in which the Nucleus OS is beautifully “made up” for Android, iOS, Symbian or Windows Phone, they were released longer, almost until the mid-2010s, and there too resistive touch display.
Own method of remaking various equipment to style steampunk the master calls it "sandwich technique." Its essence is that it makes the front panel and the back wall of sheet material, places an object between them, and on the perimeter has various objects that add expressiveness designs. This time he made “sandwich” layers of plywood, with the front panel of two layers (the inner one with a notch to hold the PDA, see below), and the back wall of one. Under the middle button, the PDA drilled a hole, and the buttons located on either side of it decided not to use it.
As a hardware, the master applied details from the irrigation system - they are brass, which fit perfectly into the general style. Like a slightly modified finger lamp: looking at the result, you don’t even think about the fact that Lee de Forest invented the triode only a few years after the end of the Victorian era. Of course, it is better to take a lamp that has lost emissions or is depressurized - it will not work here anyway. The button is also made of parts for the irrigation system, and both plates are made of sheet brass.
The theme for the Pocket PC in the steampunk style is created by the master on the site thememaker.cc, which is now closed due to the decline in popularity of the platform. Here's what he does:
Dell removes the docking station from the case, and then assembles a new one, using everything that comes to hand, the main thing is that there should be more wood and brass. Of course, making sure not to short-circuit anything.
Although the master is not going to give the PDA yet, he may have such a desire in the future, so he foresees a gift box in advance. True, headphones in the same style do not fit into it:
And a few photos of the device on this box:
And not one - mind you, not one - gears stereotypical for steampunk.