It’s Alive! Reviving an eMate 300 with a Raspberry Pi

Remember the Apple iMac G3? They were cute Mac computers that came in fun, translucent colors. They were all the rage in the late 90s. Even people who were proud PC users wanted one. But prior to this, in 1997 Apple released the eMate 300, a PDA for the education market that bears a striking resemblance to its more popular cousin. It didn’t last on the market for long; Apple ceased its production the following year. Despite this, one tinkerer who goes by socketwench, was so determined to finally have an eMate of her own that she built one using Raspberry Pi.

Using an old eMate 300 purchased on eBay, the PDA is equipped with a Raspberry Pi for its hardware along with the piJuice board. The board not only gives the device an extra power boost, but it also has a real-time clock, soft power switch, and other features needed to run the PDA. Rather than using the built-in keyboard, it’s been replaced entirely with a Nyquist. The board is similar to a Helix keyboard but has less complexity, on-board micros, and is smaller – a nearly perfect fit for the PDA. For sound, mini speakers were connected to the piJuice using its external power pins. After some trial and error, the speakers came to life.

A lot of work has been put into this project and it’s still not done! Though the results weren’t perfect socketwench says the entire process has been a learning experience. While she hasn’t given up hope yet, she may return to it someday, and she’s using the knowledge she gained for other projects.

Check out her detailed step-by-step process here.