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OFFLINE FIELD KIT / PERSONAL PROJECT

The offline
field kit.

A pocket phone, a workbench laptop, and useful references within reach.

I repurposed an older phone into a pocket reference kit. Downloaded maps help me get oriented, and saved guides and books keep useful information close at hand.

A Linux Mint laptop brings the same idea to a larger screen. Field Library is the interface I’m building to make those saved references easier to explore.

My phone-based cyberdeck resting on dark rocks beside yellow leaves, with the map view covered for location privacy.
My pocket kit, out in the world. Map covered for location privacy.

THE POCKET PHONE

What it can do offline.

Explore a setup for your device

FROM MY PERSONAL PHONE

A closer look inside.

A reference article in Kiwix and the repair library on my own phone. The paid setup options are outlined below.

Wikipedia’s solar power article open in the Kiwix reader on my phone.
A pocket reference library.

Wikipedia’s solar power article open in Kiwix.

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iFixit repair-reference categories on my phone, including phones, laptops, appliances, and tools.
A place to start a repair.

The iFixit repair-category menu on the device.

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THE WORKBENCH LAPTOP

More room to work.

HP Pavilion x360 · Linux Mint

An older convertible, rebuilt with Linux Mint. Kiwix and saved iFixit repair guides make it a larger companion to the pocket kit, with access to the home lab when there’s a connection.

The phone goes in a pocket; the laptop gives me a larger screen and keyboard for reading and working.

My HP laptop showing a seed-saving search in Field Library, beside my phone displaying Wikipedia’s guerrilla gardening article on a wooden table.
The two-device kit.

A larger screen for searching and reading, with a pocket reference close at hand.

My personal setup · 27 September 2026. Field Library is a development preview.

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Wikipedia’s illustrated browsing page in Kiwix on my Linux Mint laptop, with topics including solar eclipses, dinosaurs, and history.
A library worth wandering through.

Browsing Wikipedia in Kiwix on the laptop.

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Wikipedia’s amateur radio article open in Kiwix on my Linux Mint laptop.
Room to read and explore.

A closer look at Wikipedia’s amateur radio article.

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From my personal laptop · 24 September 2026. Content by Wikipedia contributors, viewed in Kiwix.

FIELD LIBRARY / DEVELOPMENT PREVIEW

Find it. Save it. Read the source.

Field Library brings saved references into one place on the laptop. Search for a topic, choose a source, and keep reading. This is a development preview, not a finished release.

In use on my laptop

The early interface is working with my saved reference collections. The photograph above shows a search for seed saving on the actual device. My separate personal map setup now also has U.S. maps in CoMaps.

An eight-document demo

On 6 October, a Linux Mint development demo selected and installed a bundled eight-document test pack in the existing reader. Search, source passages and favorites passed local checks. Visible PDF rendering, cold-offline startup, Windows support and customer delivery still need acceptance.

A growing guide collection

The current review collection holds 81 PDFs across 13 categories, from gardening and food storage to electronics and outdoor reference. Search excerpts help find a passage; the original document keeps its diagrams, tables, credits, and context.

Preparing the paid edition

A focused rights review on 5 October strengthened the reuse evidence for one guide, while specific quotation and agency-mark decisions remain open. I still need to settle the final content, intended uses, and distribution territory.

Offline use, low-memory behavior, and the customer package also need their final checks. The USB kit and download are still prototypes, not products available to buy. Maps on my personal devices are not a promised part of that bundle.

See the eight-document demo and its next checks

Field Library development preview with a search box, three reference collections, and an experimental local AI toggle switched off.
Field Library · Development preview

25 September 2026. Collections shown are from my personal test setup, not a promised paid bundle. Local AI remains experimental.

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EXPERIMENTAL / LOCAL AI

Questions about saved references.

A small Qwen model runs on the laptop and has answered from supplied text. I’m testing whether it can consistently use a source, quote it correctly, and recognize when the answer is missing.

The saved trials have not established reliable AI answers. Local AI remains experimental and outside the paid setup offer; the maps and reading libraries are already in use. Read the dated 28 September diagnostic.

A SETUP FOR YOUR DEVICE

Know what you’re getting.

We choose a manageable set of maps and references for a compatible phone or laptop you already own.

What a setup can include

  • Offline maps for an agreed region.
  • A reading app and a selected library permitted for the paid setup.
  • A check that the agreed maps and references open with the connection off.
  • Simple instructions for using and updating the setup.

What’s outside the offer

  • A supplied phone or laptop; this offer uses your existing device.
  • iFixit content without separate commercial permission. The repair screenshots above are from my personal kit.
  • Experimental AI answers. The current offer covers maps and reading.
See the equipment I use

PAID OFFLINE DEVICE SETUPS

Have a device in mind?

Send the model, your map region, and what you want to read offline. I’ll check compatibility, then we’ll agree the content, delivery, price, and support before work starts.

Request a setup quote

Opens an email draft · U.S. Eastern time