The appliance is built from four hardware parts (a Radxa Zero 3W, a Waveshare e-ink HAT, a PiSugar 3 UPS, and a microSD card) inside a 3D printed case, running an Armbian and Python software stack. This page lists each part and its role.
| Component |
Purpose |
Rationale |
| Radxa Zero 3W (8GB eMMC) |
Main controller |
eMMC is faster and more reliable than a microSD |
| Waveshare 2.13“ e-Paper HAT V4 (250x122) |
Status display |
Persistent output, readable, low power |
| PiSugar 3 |
UPS and safe shutdown |
Prevents corruption on power loss |
| MicroSD card |
Backup storage |
Dedicated storage separate from the OS |
| 3D printed case |
Enclosure |
Based on the design by PiSugar and edited for this purpose |
| Component |
Role |
| Armbian (Trixie) |
Base OS |
| Python 3.13 |
Runtime for backup and display scripts |
| libimobiledevice |
iPhone communication (idevicebackup2, idevicepair) |
| udev and systemd |
Automation and event handling |
| netplan, systemd-networkd, wpa_supplicant |
WiFi management (no NetworkManager) |
| Flask |
Web UI for settings |
| WireGuard |
Optional VPN client (auto-connect, optional full tunnel) |
