Hi guys!
I'm working on a Car PC software and I'm looking for contributors. You can find the project on github: https://github.com/viktorgino/headunit-desktop
More about the project:
HeadUnit Desktop is a based free and open source software that is intended to be run on computers built into cars. This software is currently under active development and lot of the features are experimental. As of now there are three main features:
Media player with a media library and media scanner
Android Auto™ client
DAB radio (integrating welle.io)
Proposed features:
FM radio
CAN bus sniffer with a customizable profile for each car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some screenshots of the GUI: http://imgur.com/a/pnrpy
And a screen recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26EYhQuH-Xs
I'm using the C++ and Qt for this project, the front end is QML.
If you are interested in helping with this project, then PM me here, hit me up on Gitter https://gitter.im/headunit-desktop or drop me an email on [email protected]
Pretty excited about this, wish I could help
very interesting project today I try it on my p9 lite. any help files regarding steering wheel controls and buttons?
This is exactly the type of experience that I was looking for, something that allows AA but also maintains AM/FM radio so this can be used as a replacement to the current stereo.
I've been trying to get this installed, but running into some issues in the instructions.
I have the PI all setup, and now following the instructions here:
I'm stuck on this step:
After you’ve installed Qt add the lib folder its installed in to the library load path, the bin folder to your PATH and the lib/pkgconfig folder to the pkg-config path.
I'm not really sure what it's telling me to do here or how to do it.
Can anyone help?
So i got this up and running, this has a lot of potential.
Hopefully development of it can continue soon.
I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer.
Questions on current build
1. How is the progress for the FM radio going? Do you know what hardware requirements will be to use AM/FM?
This was the biggest draw to me, to allow me to use this as a replacement to a standard head unit.
2. With Android Audio, when I push the button to go into AA mode. When I plug my phone in, nothing happens? I have AA installed on my phone and it works on other devices.
3. I have a red box at the bottom of the screen that says 'no valid device found use Null device instead.'
What is this trying to tell me? Message is there regardless if phone is plugged in or not.
4. How do you enable the bluetooth so it can connect to the phone contacts etc?
Features I would like to see:
1. Customization navigation bar.
This will be going in an older car, with old fashion lever type heater controls, so I really don't need the climate control button on the screen. Be nice to be able to swap that out for something else.
Also I don't think DAB radio is available in the US, so that would be another one that I would like to remove. Any plans on HD radio for those in the US?
2. Will this support wireless AA at some point?
3. Suppress the Pi Login/Password screen on boot. It seems if you wait about 20 seconds it skips over it automatically. Would be nice in the settings if there was a way to turn that on/off.
So I think this is almost exactly what I have been looking for as a carpc setup, but I had a couple of questions/suggestions. It would be great if you could customize the "action menu" on the right to open other apps that are installed on the system. Like chrisfromwa said above, I have an older car and have no need for the A/C controls, but would I do have an aftermarket fuel injection system and have tuning software currently running on my Raspberry Pi that I would like to be able to open from the "desktop" environment. Also, while I realize that you can do mapping through Android Auto, it would be great if you could launch a navigation system that is installed on the Pi itself like Navit. That way I could have fully offline maps and navigation via a USB GPS dongle and not have to worry about my phone having a signal to have mapping info.
Ultimately I'm really just looking for a "launcher" of sorts that can do FM radio, navigation, and open my tuning app, but that has a nice interface that is easy to use in a car with the 7" touchscreen I have. This is one of the most promising I have seen and would love it if it could launch other apps from the main screen.
i would like to ask a question, and please know that i mean ABSOLUTELY no disrespect by this, but why build one? I ask because there are many head units that are double din, touchscreen, can play darn near every file known to man, have android auto, can interface easily with your car itself, much less the steering wheel controls (cheap interface built with the molex plugs needed for plug-n-play use. Again, i mean no disrespect as i tried doing this a few years back. I gave up because to do it properly, i found that i would have to pretty much rewrite the kernel so that it could idle when necessary and go into full-on ready in seconds vs a full boot every time. Creating an output section thats worth a damn would also prove to be expensive, which is what inexorably led me back to the pioneers, kenwoods etc etc etc of the world. I guess if youre wanting full, unrestricted access to what android has to offer while driving, that would explain it then. But you can also achieve this with some automated processes in your phone to lie to the deck and tell it that youre not moving etc etc. Anyways, just curious of your reasoning for doing this
Youdoofus said:
i would like to ask a question, and please know that i mean ABSOLUTELY no disrespect by this, but why build one? I ask because there are many head units that are double din, touchscreen, can play darn near every file known to man, have android auto, can interface easily with your car itself, much less the steering wheel controls (cheap interface built with the molex plugs needed for plug-n-play use. Again, i mean no disrespect as i tried doing this a few years back. I gave up because to do it properly, i found that i would have to pretty much rewrite the kernel so that it could idle when necessary and go into full-on ready in seconds vs a full boot every time. Creating an output section thats worth a damn would also prove to be expensive, which is what inexorably led me back to the pioneers, kenwoods etc etc etc of the world. I guess if youre wanting full, unrestricted access to what android has to offer while driving, that would explain it then. But you can also achieve this with some automated processes in your phone to lie to the deck and tell it that youre not moving etc etc. Anyways, just curious of your reasoning for doing this
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Click to collapse
I've built my own and after you see so many people having issues with their official head units, it is nice to know that you have the control and aren't at the mercy of a car manufacturer or company. Also, I can use it to play retro games and more. Plus I have a unique dashboard that I have helped design in some ways. Honestly I've tried this project and while it was heading in a good direction there wasn't enough for me to use it as it is currently. I have something else and don't have to pay for like Openauto pro. It's called OpenDash and while it functions as is, it is continuously adding functionality and customizations that you can't find in anything commercial.
talon_dgnr8 said:
I've built my own and after you see so many people having issues with their official head units, it is nice to know that you have the control and aren't at the mercy of a car manufacturer or company. Also, I can use it to play retro games and more. Plus I have a unique dashboard that I have helped design in some ways. Honestly I've tried this project and while it was heading in a good direction there wasn't enough for me to use it as it is currently. I have something else and don't have to pay for like Openauto pro. It's called OpenDash and while it functions as is, it is continuously adding functionality and customizations that you can't find in anything commercial.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right on. What model car?
Related
The other day I was at a football game where I had to park on a golf course far from the stadium and ended up wandering around for 20 minutes trying to locate the car afterward.
I knew that the iPhone had an app called "Dude, Where's My Car?" which let someone use GPS to tag a specific location and then later use Google Maps to guide them back to the GPS mark, but when I did some searching I couldn't find a WinMo version. So I made one.
This version isn't as sexy as the iPhone app, but it's free, and you can store up to 3 different locations and even name them if you'd like. When you want to locate one, you just click the respective Find button and you will be provided an arrow or compass direction (N, NW, S, SW, E, SE, W, NE) and approximate distance to your destination which will change as you continue to move.
I did some testing and got rid of whatever bugs I could find and everything seems to work. Since I find it useful to have, I wanted to pass it on to the community in case they might be interested as well.
If you find any problems with it, let me know, otherwise enjoy.
UPDATE 3
I finally got around to adding arrow guidance to accompany compass directions for finding a destination. The arrows are a bit finicky, but its partially due to the quality of the gps fix and the amount of fluctuation in the coordinates it gets. I find that the best way to work with it is to travel in one direction for a short distance steadily until a steady arrow appears. Once that happens, turn in the direction of the arrow and keep walking in the direction it had indicated until it changes to reflect the direction you turned. I.e. if you are walking straight and right arrow appears, turn right and keep walking straight until the right arrow changes to an up arrow.
I also updated the source code package for anyone interested in modifying the code. As before, I just ask that you keep its open nature going (GNU style) and if you post a new version of the software with arrows, or a better GPS interface (that uses triangulation as an option), etc. that you link the new software back to this thread and you let me know about it so I can check it out
UPDATE 2
As requested, I have attached the source code for the project developed with Visual Studio 08. It's not super clean since I put it together kind of rapidly, but it is decently commented. Anyone is welcome to modify this code and use it for your own personal development. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.
UPDATE
Attached a screenshot from my visual studio emulator. It should look the same as on the phone but with longer decimal values for the GPS coords.
Also attached the .cab files for the .NET framework that people were having issues with. I don't know if those will resolve the problems or not, but I developed the phone using the 3.5 compact framework. If you have that, a GPS chip on your phone, and WinMo 6 it should work for you.
Downloading, will try it and give you some feedback.
I'll try this out later. The compass feature is nice, something that nuePark doesn't have.
Thanks for pointing me to nuePark. I wish I had located it when I first did my searching, but then I wouldn't have created this. It looks like I unintentionally covered some peoples' requests for naming and multiple locations. Good times.
theres also an app called wm mini gps, or something along those lines. it will let you set a point, then navigate back to it later.
just my 2 cents
you can also do this in google maps.
The WM Mini GPS looks pretty cool. Google maps is ok, but only if you save it as a favorite. Not very good for temp stuff, and I'm not sure you can add a mark based on your current location (vs an address, which I know you can). I guess this app fuses the functionality and adds flexibility with naming and multiple spots. Thanks for pointing out both options.
bug in progam
smrtdrmmr thanx for the program but the prob is
immediately upon install my lil scroll wheel thingy (dont laugh) stop functioning normally instead of scrolling while browsing it activated the call volume function just like I had tapped the lil speaker icon....
That's really strange. It definitely didn't do that for me and I had to install/uninstall several times during the testing process. The installer is a generic project type based on the directions I got from MSDN. You might have some conflicting settings or something. Anyone else experience this?
This nice little utility works great on my Tilt. I'm gonna move this thread to Development and Hacking so it can have greater exposure for other devices.
Thanks
Tried it yesterday and it worked great!
Any way to get an arrow / graphic that works similar to a compass would, or is it just easier to have the words: SW / S...etc.
Thanks again!
I got the following error message once I tried to run it:
GParkS.exe
Exception
at Microsoft.AGL.Common.MISC.HandleAr()
at System.Windows.Forms.TextBoxBase._SetInfo()
at _System.Windows.Forms.TextBoxBase.set_MaxLength()
at GParkS.GParkS.InitializeComponent()
at GParkS.GParkS..ctor()
at GParkS.Program.Main()
I am running a custom wm6.1 rom with netcf 3.5
Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.
download and text
scotcha12345 said:
Tried it yesterday and it worked great!
Any way to get an arrow / graphic that works similar to a compass would, or is it just easier to have the words: SW / S...etc.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about using an arrow that rotates around, but because the phone's orientation can change relative to the compass direction I thought it might be kind of confusing (I.e. it points left so you turn left and start walking but it keeps pointing left because it wants you to travel West and you have rotated the phone).
It would be possible for me to track the direction that someone is traveling and adjust the arrow accordingly, but again, phone orientation could vary and it's just more complicated to deal with. The compass directions are fixed so it keeps things simple and generic no matter what way you are pointing your phone.
fredcatsmommy said:
I got the following error message once I tried to run it:
GParkS.exe
Exception
at Microsoft.AGL.Common.MISC.HandleAr()
at System.Windows.Forms.TextBoxBase._SetInfo()
at _System.Windows.Forms.TextBoxBase.set_MaxLength()
at GParkS.GParkS.InitializeComponent()
at GParkS.GParkS..ctor()
at GParkS.Program.Main()
I am running a custom wm6.1 rom with netcf 3.5
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Click to collapse
I haven't seen this before either so I did a little research and dug up this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-405749.html which then links here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2430410&postcount=390 I am not sure if this corresponds with my app or not, but you could check your registry setting and see if your problem matches the one described in the thread.
smrtdrmmr said:
I haven't seen this before either so I did a little research and dug up this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-405749.html which then links here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2430410&postcount=390 I am not sure if this corresponds with my app or not, but you could check your registry setting and see if your problem matches the one described in the thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will do. thanks
fredcatsmommy said:
will do. thanks
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Click to collapse
that wasn't the problem; my registry was fine.
doesn`t work for me too. I have net fram 3.5 and i get a window with a german text, somthing like: there is a error that can`t be displayed because i have not installed "NETCFv35Messages.DE.wm.cab" ?
I press okay, the app started and i first tried to change for miles to kilometers, now the app crashes completly with a unexpected error (no luck today)
Hope this helps you finding the Bugs.
smrtdrmmr said:
The other day I was at a football game where I had to park on a golf course far from the stadium and ended up wandering around for 20 minutes trying to locate the car afterward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Parking at the Rose Bowl sucks, huh. You get used to it after a few trips. Now I just need a phone with gps
Any hope of getting some screen shots of this?
I recently purchased a Nordic Track 9500 Elite Pro. This bad boy has a 10" android tablet built in. They really don't want you messing with the android part much, but I am sure there are plenty of other users out there like me that want to do more!
This is my first post so I am unable to show the pictures via the link. Hopefully you can copy and past the text to view the images. I will try to repost on my website so it all flows.
I don't see where a post like this would go, I am not sure if at some point it would gain it's own device forum... That would be exciting. So for now I will post here. I will also post my initial findings for others in the community that may want to purchase this treadmill and can't find any information regarding the built in Android Tablet with WiFi.
This image shows the version information. From what I can tell it looks like they purchase an APAD from someone and then stick it inside of their device. They also must have wrote some special drivers and software to interface with the equipment and hardware. I was very happy to see a mainstream current android OS.
Android OS 2.2
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0027.jpg
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Click to collapse
Here are the pre-installed apps. Pretty basic. (note: I was able to find an APK and install Last.FM that wasn't included) Also a major bummer to see was that there wasn't a market application.
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0026.jpg
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This is the typical workout screen you see.
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0024.jpg
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Click to collapse
I also noticed that the device doesn't have very much memory. This could be due to the built in applications taking up so much space. It only had about 57MB of internal memory free, but it had a built in 2GB SD Card. I have not gotten to the point where I have needed to take it apart yet to see if there is a replaceable SD card. I may wait another 5 years for my warranty to end to do that.
I have tried to install some apps but have not had very much luck. The only app that was I was able to install was the Last.FM.
I tried the follow apps, and they didn't install:
1. Market
2. Angry Birds
3. Pandora
Other disappointments:
1. Designed to not be in the Android Interface. They have an application that runs, and makes it tricky to get to the android desktop. It takes about 3 clicks to get from the main workout screen back to the Android Desktop.
2. The screen is not capacitive, it is resistive. I don't know how much more I need to say about that.
3. Only 3 buttons. Back, Menu, Home. Home takes you to their software not the android home screen. Long press on home does nothing.
4. When i go to the desktop the Time is all over the place. I have tried changing settings in every spot possible but something is telling it what time to think it is, occasionally it is correct... Just don't get it.
Even with the disappointments this thing is sweet. I wish i could install more apps, stream videos from a PC over the WiFi connection and stream music from a PC over the WiFi connection. Maybe with the help of the community we will figure some of these items out... Or I will be the only one who has this that knows about this website!
ntsteele,
How is your experience up to now with your 9500? I am looking at getting the c1250, which is the same as the 9500, but with a smaller motor and no decilne. Is the 10" screen worth it? The rep at Nordictrack told me the only differcence between the 7" screen is the web browser, the google maps display, and some basic apps. But overall the workout system is the same as the 7' display of the 1750 commercial and that you can view the google maps by logging in on ifit.com. Thanks for the info and screen shots.
iFit Android App
Have you or has anyone else been able to pull the apk files off of the NordicTrack Elite 9500 Treadmill. I would be interested to see if it works on any adroid phone to view the menu system.
I played with this today at Google IO. The rep said that the integrated tablet was rev 1 and that they wanted to eventually let users connect their own devices.
what do you need to press to get to the android home screen?
Where I work at there is a Proform Trailrunner 4.0 treadmill that has 10" Android tablet screen. From what I have been told nordic track and proform are made by the same manufacture or something. It was returned because of a broken display unit. Of course I wasn't going to let them throw the old one away so they let me keep it. I trashed the main display and now I have the 10" tablet but cannot power it because the treadmill doesn't operate without a magnetic key. How could I power this thing and see if it works?
I got the new incline trainer x9i which has the 10 inch android interface. I am interested to get in and try installing apps as you have but I am unable to even get to the android home screen. The only time I see it is when I turn the machine on and it is booting up, the screen comes up for a few seconds to where I can hit on the applications button and see what is on it. But within a second after I see the apps it automatically gets routed into the machine exercise interface and I have not figured how to get back to the android home screen from there. How did you do it? It would sure be nice to install a different browser. I hate the fact that I cannot create my own shortcuts. Anyway, love the machine.
How to get to the Android Home Screen
Any luck finding out how to get to the Android Home Screen? I am wanting to do that also. I was able to get to it one time accidentally, but haven't figure out how to stop the machine interface from loading since.
Home Screen
Ok, same question. I just got a C2150 which is a similar model to the 9500. Slightly smaller motor and belt, but same basic thing with the 10" tablet. I believe it's capacitive now, but still not great as far as that goes.
I too have hit the setup icon when it's booting and it goes to the Android setup screen for a second and then continues to boot into the Nordictrack IFit proprietary stuff.
So I can't believe the posts with the images and no explanation of how you got there? Please share with the rest of us.
Also, my console has a USB connector at the top of the thing. Any idea what if anything that'll let me do?
Thanks!
Anyone figure this out? Seems a shame to have a 10' screen and not be able to install apps on it. There must be some button combination that the Icon service team would use to stop the auto load of the iFit interface.
Internal Pictures
I took the tablet apart to see what information can be gathered. Apparently, HANNSTAR (TAIWAN) manufactures the board (HANNSTAR J MV-7); which uses a Samsung ARM8 CPU(5PV210AH-A0 1044); has 512MB; and a 4GB SANDISK FLASH (SDIN2C2-4G).
I haven't been able to find sufficient info to track a compatible ROM, yet I can't imagine for the life of me that HANNSTAR would design this just for Nordic. I am posting some pics hoping that someone might be able to id the hardware, which in turn might help point to a more fruitful search for a workable ROM.
Try to upload pics but not sure if it worked. It's late, and I can't figure out how to do it smoothly yet.
I'm gonna do another bump. I have a similar treadmill (or maybe the exact same one, I lost the the manual with product name). It is of the X9i series and when I saw it in the store, I had to go for it. I was a bit irritated to see that you are locked to the iFit application and you cannot return to the launcher. I need a male to male USB cable to see if I can get a bit of ADB on it.
From the (crappy) performance of it, I can tell it has about 512 MB RAM, a dated CPU clocked at around 600-800MHz, the screen looks like a crappy TFT display at 1280x700. Lastly, this thing runs Froyo. Mine features a full USB port and an Audio in port. Not much to screw around with. Downloads are disabled in the browser, and the Menu key does nothing.
I think something can be done though. The application that controls the treadmill can't crash as it is, and if it ever does FC, the motor shouldn't stop. NordicTrack doesn't have a recovery image up for some reason (thanks, NordicTrack -_-) so that's even less to work with.
Nevertheless, something can be done. It's not really a fun thing for an Android enthusiast to pick up an Android device with such dated hardware (the tredmill itself, as just tredmill is amazing).. Plus, it was $2,100 at Sears.
---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 PM ----------
here is a video of the Treadmill and the board;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyf6MHIefk
USB and Audio in is on the right side of the console.
I've had my Nordictrack 9500 Pro for about a year now. Still working well for the most part (I do have messed up deck tension adjuster that I need to call support about).
Would love to be able to unlock the Android device to at least install Netflix, Pandora, etc.
I have had one over the air firmware upgrade that went pretty smoothly. Was hoping more updates would come from Nordictrack, but it has been a long time since that one.
Has anyone else noticed that the Speed Calibration utility under the iFit controls says that it isn't enabled yet? Maybe there's hope for future updates.
fanVrARCHITECT
Greetings,
I have been following this thread as a 9500 owner as well, and looking at what has been posted and see if there is any follow up.
1.) like everyone else what startup combinations may have disabled Nordic Tracks proprietary software.
2.) the usb socket on the top of the console, has anyone had anyluck attempting a usb male to male connection on a laptop? If so what has been tried?
3.) any idea of maybe porting something over via the Ifit updates or account? I noticed the HDvideo inside of the program is pretty descent from what I've seen, and looks like the video plays in the center of main app..just a thought.
I'm looking at getting the male to male usb cable and trying to interface it with the below. .. at least curious if the cable will talk, and most likely this unit is not root so view only but maybe a start if it works.
//www*howtogeek*com/howto/42491/how-to-remote-view-and-control-your-android-phone/
Cheers,
devmo
Did anyone figure out how to get android home screen????
I read somebody was able to email themselves an apk and install it? The tablet enables sideloading? Ding ding ding! I'm going to try sideloading launcherpro or any other replacement launcher to attempt to hijack the home screen
Update: Didn't work on my c2150's tablet. Bastards.... I did however get my c2150's to boot into "safe mode" which I have no idea what that entails. While it was powering on, I held down home and back I believe was the combo.
Update: SUCESS!!! So by booting into "safe" mode, you can hit the preferences launcher while the device is booting to interrupt the ifit loading. From there, go enable unknown sources. Then launch the browser and google "z4 apk" and download it and run it. Did permanent root on mine and it worked.
ENJOY
I forgot. Once you get the device into safe mode, install "smart taskbar" by sideloading. It'll make you able to view a task bar over ifit.
EDIT: Since we don't have a custom recovery, or for that matter even a recovery at all it seems, I've not attempted gapps. Could anyone give a detailed response on how to install this? I assume just unzip it in the root directory? I'm worried about permissions, I always forget what to set there. Also, the device comes pre-bundled with busybox, fyi Another must have for this is adbWireless. I tried editing the init.rc but it seems those changes were for nothing. I'll keep people updated as I discover things etc. I'm by no means a dev, but do know a little.
jsteelm said:
I forgot. Once you get the device into safe mode, install "smart taskbar" by sideloading. It'll make you able to view a task bar over ifit.
EDIT: Since we don't have a custom recovery, or for that matter even a recovery at all it seems, I've not attempted gapps. Could anyone give a detailed response on how to install this? I assume just unzip it in the root directory? I'm worried about permissions, I always forget what to set there. Also, the device comes pre-bundled with busybox, fyi Another must have for this is adbWireless. I tried editing the init.rc but it seems those changes were for nothing. I'll keep people updated as I discover things etc. I'm by no means a dev, but do know a little.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry - can you tell me the exact steps involved here. How do I get to safe mode and then what? I tried Home Back while powering on and it still goes to the ifit screen
You know I'm really not sure what trick it is to make it stay. I had good luck getting it to stay in android rubbing home/back/menu while it booted and as soon as I saw the android home screen, hit the preferences launcher and then grabbed the top menubar and half pulled it down. All I know is that when you get it to stick in android, its always in safe mode which is triggered by some combination of those buttons on boot. Even then it will boot into iFit, but if you go to the settings first, in safe mode, it wont exit that screen.
Nordictrack commercial 2150 Android Safemode
Very simple folks. Turn treadmill on and once you see ANDROID appear in the center of the screen, begin pressing the dashes button that is between the home and back buttons on the console. Not sure if holding down works any better. An "unable to load widget" will be seen in middle of screen once the I-FIT software has stopped and safe mode will appear at the lower left hand corner. You'll then be able to check out the various Android options etc for your tablet. Be careful in editing anything unless you know what you are doing! Wouldn't want to brick your treadmill unnecessarily. It took awhile to find the key to safe mode access, due to limited info out there, but I hope users will continue to make some progress on exploiting this device and maybe we'll be able to use it to our liking. I would like to stream my dish television to the tablet like I do on my i phone or i pad. Being able to install the dish app via google app store is what I'm looking forward to. I want to be able to watch tv on my treadmill while exercising. Please keep this thread going! I'm sure that future software updates may allow for a better user interface. The challenge is certainly in the storage capabilities in the tablet itself and the sd card inside.
I want to get this tablet for sheet music.
Any ideas how I could buy or hack a foot pedal to turn the pages for me?
bluetooth mouse?
usb mouse?
usb footpedals?
Here is a USB foot pedal for $32
Scythe USB-2FOOTSWITCH Express Pedal USB Input
Would I be able to rig this up to go page forward and back on a gtablet?
You could probably do the same thing with a cheap usb mouse if you just taped it in place were you need it to click...But maybe someone else knows more about getting a peddle to work
'Supplemental USB Foot Switch Input Device for Keyboard /Mouse, such as Double Click, [Ctrl+S].
. Under the difficult or ineffective situation to use your hands, you can do entry task by your foot with this Foot Switch.'....This looks promising it might actually work I just cant verify that...sorry
How about just using Voice Actions?
Actually a laser mouse positioned above your foot would work as well. The way the mouse works is it takes pictures of the surface below and then identifies the movement. So you could place the mouse slightly above your foot and wear socks that have some sort of design on them. Map the page switch to any mouse movement.
nunjabusiness said:
How about just using Voice Actions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just imagining that during a performance...nice concerto, then the pianist shouts "TURN!"
but I digress. I'll try some things out with a trackball. If buttons can be assigned a turn page command, than your foot pedal idea would work.
I just need to find an app that allows mouse usage
Didn't even see your link. I am pretty sure that could work as long as it just reports as an HID. If it just reports as a mouse, then its just about making the software respond to clicks.
Lets put it this way, if you get this going I am pretty sure you can turn this into a $9.99 app if it doesn't already exist.
I would pay for the app as I have no coding skills.
There are several apps that are specifically for guitar music and I would love to be able to use the pedal with one of them.
I've been searching, and from what I can see, it doesn't exist.
I plugged my logitech trackball into the g-tablet and it does work as a pointing device. However, it comes with some expected glitches.
First, there IS a small crosshair cursor on the screen. The axis' are off. Moving the ball right goes down, left goes up, up goes right, and down goes left. The right button doesn't seem to do anything at all, while the left button does initiate activity. I thought I could "trick" it by rotating the g-tablet, but alas, it does the same movements on all points of view.
I loaded a multiple page sheet music PDF into Ez PDF reader, and was able to turn pages. In portrait mode (ideal for reading sheet music) I was unable to get the cursor to the complete bottom of the page, where the selection is to turn a page. However, by keeping the cursor in the middle of the page, I clicked, and the page turned...BUT, turning BACK is REALLY tricky.
So, it works, it's glitchy, and it may not be the same with the pedal you're considering. Of course, a trackball can be placed on the floor. you can still navigate with the touch screen while it's plugged in.
All you'd need to do is set the cursor, and click the left button to get the page to advance.
I'm wondering if an app can be created that simply controls clicks, not mouse movement...so that it would be an ad-on for Adobe PDF viewer, Kindle Reader, or EZ PDF reader to simply institute a turn page command with each mouse click...forward with right click, backward with left...
Ah well...if only I knew enough to attempt to make an app.
in any case, there are my findings, it could work, but whether it works efficiently would depend on a future app to be written.
What instrument are you playing? My brother-in-law bought his iPad specifically for taking piano sheet music around with him. I know that he never had trouble turning pages on analog sheet music, so I didn't expect him to have a problem reaching up and swiping a screen, just as he would a real piece of paper.
I play bass, and the music (chord sheets) that I use I make sure to reduce to one page prior to scanning them, eliminating the need for page turning until the song is over and both hands are free.
This is a little off topic, but if an app like this could be created, or a tool found to do this, it would be an amazing tool for handicapped individuals to read books with a tablet. If simply click something with their feet/hand/wrist/elbow could turn the page, it could be used in a variety of situations.
I also wonder if broadening your search to include products or apps that are already out there but are marketed to the handicapped or disabled might help you find something.
Anyway, just a thought. My mom runs a daycare for handicapped children and young adults and something like this would be awesome for her kids to use.
I play guitar, ukulele and bass. I don't read sheet music so this would be just lyrics and chords usually.
Sometimes I change key or my buddy is playing capo 3 and I want to play uke or bass (no capo) and so one of the several apps that will import guitar tabs and change keys on the fly would be nice.
Changing the page isn't critical. It would be for the occasional song that I can't fit on one page or for seamlessly going from one song to the next.
When putting music on a stand, I can put three pages side-by-side which eliminates the need for a page turn.
Also, I know with some PDF viewers, you can make setlists. Does anyone know if any guitar chord apps would do this?
Cheap usb keyboard. Open it and wire a foot switch across the keyswitch for a key that does what you want like pgdn or enter?
Another option:
I am a working musician (guitar and vocals) and I use mine all the time for charts. I just paste them all together into a single doc using MS Word or whatever. I space them out between songs and I use a Calabri 14pt font and it works like a charm. A lot of the charts I use display on one screen in protrait mode. If I need to scroll I just swipe with my finger. It's really easy to do, much easier than it sounds. I use OfficeSuite Pro to display the docs. It has a full screen mode that is great for this purpose. Good luck!
Thanks frankencat.
Glad to hear it is working for you.
Have you had any problems with the viewing angle? I have heard the gtab can get a little picky.
I lead worship at my church and i use my tablet for my chords and lyrics. I use power point files and just swipe with my finger from song to song, but even that does break up the "flow" of the service slightly. I would absolutely love for this pedal to work just to go from slide to slide. It would be amazing. I would pay for any app it takes.
I am a worship leader as well. I use my gtablet for that purpose with pdfs. EZPDF Reader is the only pdf reader I have found that will work with my pedal. I use a pageflip bluetooth pedal. It will only work when set to send L & R commands.
I would insert a link, but haven't posted before. Google Pageflip Cicada...
80 dollars well spent!
Hope that helps!
Blessings!
Thanks Brandon. Glad to hear that it is working for you.
I am hoping to find an app that will let you change the keys of songs on the fly and make "set lists" of songs.
Anyone have any luck finding something like this for Android?
brandonhardin: Does your PDF app let you make setlists? or do you individually open up files or compile them in advance?
Do it with Bluetooth
Here are the parts you need:
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/bl...39_142&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/se...32_133&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/th...56_160&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/pl...78_184&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/ds...78_183&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/se...32_135&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
I can even help you write the code if you need to for the hardware as it would be really simple!
The Android code can be done using the APP INVENTOR so no super coding skills needed http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/
Basically, you will have your page turner act as a Bluetooth SPP connected to the Android phone. The page turner will need code that puts it in wait if pressed multiple times within 5-10min and goes into sleep if not continually activated with two buttons presses to wake up. this will save you massive battery life.
Just have the APK register whatever serial command you give over the SPP bluetooth to automatically turn the page.
Ka-Peche?
bob_frapples said:
Thanks frankencat.
Glad to hear it is working for you.
Have you had any problems with the viewing angle? I have heard the gtab can get a little picky.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A little bit bit it's really not a problem. Sounds like I am in good company...I lead worship at my church too.
Childofthehorn said:
Here are the parts you need:
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/bl...39_142&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/se...32_133&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/th...56_160&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/pl...78_184&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/ds...78_183&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/se...32_135&zenid=3d82021ce7f95ff23b4a7f97d9333d47
I can even help you write the code if you need to for the hardware as it would be really simple!
The Android code can be done using the APP INVENTOR so no super coding skills needed http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/
Basically, you will have your page turner act as a Bluetooth SPP connected to the Android phone. The page turner will need code that puts it in wait if pressed multiple times within 5-10min and goes into sleep if not continually activated with two buttons presses to wake up. this will save you massive battery life.
Just have the APK register whatever serial command you give over the SPP bluetooth to automatically turn the page.
Ka-Peche?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is amazing, but I am afraid it is way over my head!
I'll have to test this when I get home, but -
This was actually THE REASON why I bought the g-tablet. I'm a pianist, and I wanted a screen to view music on.
I own a footpedal page turner, and I don't remember the model right now - but it's essentially a wireless keyboard with only two keys, PGUP and PGDWN. It's just difficult to put a laptop on top of a piano and be able to see it, so I was hoping this would work with my G-Tab... Until I realized I have a touchscreen, and could just swipe to turn pages.
I'll check out the pageturner footswitch and return with the brand information when I get home tonight.
As a pianist I have the freedom to use a hand to turn pages while still playing with the other, but I can see where many other instrumentalists would prefer a footswitch.
~A
I'm developing a touch screen based system for controlling electronic music. As part of the development, we'll be building our own touch screen, but that's not going to be ready for some time. In the mean time, I need to start writing the software (which will be done in java), and I'm going to need a touch screen to use for testing.
So, I am NOT trying to write an application for the Galaxy Tab. I am writing a application that runs on the my desktop, and I'd like it to be able to get touch information from the Galaxy, in any way practical. I've looked into using an iPad for this, but it looks to be too much of a pain to be worth it. All I need is a way of my java application receiving the list of co-ordinates of touches from the tab, in real time. I don't need any higher level gesture interpretation (as I'll have to do that on my end for the final system anyway), just all the touch co-ordinates. Does anyone have a suggestion on the best way to go about this? Is there something in existence already to accomplish this easily, or is there any kind of java library I can use to make calls to a connected tab from my application? I've been googling around, but haven't found any particularly useful information on the subject, as the tab is chiefly meant to be a stand-alone item, not a pc peripheral. Any tips on where I might start looking would be a huge help. Thanks!
-cullam
cullambl said:
I'm developing a touch screen based system for controlling electronic music. As part of the development, we'll be building our own touch screen, but that's not going to be ready for some time. In the mean time, I need to start writing the software (which will be done in java), and I'm going to need a touch screen to use for testing.
So, I am NOT trying to write an application for the Galaxy Tab. I am writing a application that runs on the my desktop, and I'd like it to be able to get touch information from the Galaxy, in any way practical. I've looked into using an iPad for this, but it looks to be too much of a pain to be worth it. All I need is a way of my java application receiving the list of co-ordinates of touches from the tab, in real time. I don't need any higher level gesture interpretation (as I'll have to do that on my end for the final system anyway), just all the touch co-ordinates. Does anyone have a suggestion on the best way to go about this? Is there something in existence already to accomplish this easily, or is there any kind of java library I can use to make calls to a connected tab from my application? I've been googling around, but haven't found any particularly useful information on the subject, as the tab is chiefly meant to be a stand-alone item, not a pc peripheral. Any tips on where I might start looking would be a huge help. Thanks!
-cullam
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, well I'm going to try and be brief and not turn this into an Android programming essay so here goes.
You have a couple of different routes you can take.
1. If you use eclipse for development and you hook up your tablet, you can watch the log and see that it prints useful information constantly, basically debug output that tells you whats going on in the background. If you just want to look at it, you can probably see it there.
2. This would be my choice, but I'm a programmer so I love a new adventure. I would recommend you just write a quick app for your tablet that pumps out the location of a touch whenever you touch the screen. If you are familiar with sockets and such, you can just write a simple server Java app that collects packets of data from your tablet, and just have the tablet send out a multicast packet containing the coordinates you touch every time you touch the screen.
There are probably some other ways, but if you are already going to be doing the bulk of the project in Java, you aren't looking at a difficult learning curve to write a basic little android app.
Thanks! I'll definitely try the eclipse trick. And yeah, writing an app on the tab is probably going to be necessary, but MUCH easier than having to learn a new language, and get an official license to do one on the iPad. The thing I'm really unsure about is the available communication methods for getting data back and forth between them. I was hoping there might be some sort of java api to get calls going through the usb connection. So I'll guess I'll see what the Eclipse hook up shows me.
cullambl said:
Thanks! I'll definitely try the eclipse trick. And yeah, writing an app on the tab is probably going to be necessary, but MUCH easier than having to learn a new language, and get an official license to do one on the iPad. The thing I'm really unsure about is the available communication methods for getting data back and forth between them. I was hoping there might be some sort of java api to get calls going through the usb connection. So I'll guess I'll see what the Eclipse hook up shows me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
apple stuff is crap anyways, leave them to their pretentious commercials and closed minded development.
as far as the android sdk, I think it will take you a lot less time to just use network communications. google socket client/server java tutorials and you should be set to go in about 2 hours. I have implemented it, its all straight forward, and imho probably an easier app to write that something that pumps out of the usb port
Awesome, thanks
Hello. First time posting here - please forgive if wrong section.
Trying to use android boxes as hardware to run client android app for a security camera system I install quite regularly.
The app they have for iphones, macs, windows, android phones and tablets all work quite well, however, recently I thought "hey, why not use android boxes instead of $300+ computers to use as auxiliary displays and save customers some money".
It's a great idea I thought. Well... Turns out, I'm always wrong about Something...
So i've tried this on Android 7, it installed, but I can't get passed some screens like the "accept" and "Skip" screens.
On Android 9, I can install it as well, but I can't do things like get into the menu, scroll down certain areas.
Basically, it doesn't let me use a mouse and use it as a touch device.
Now, where I've had some better luck was using my Nvidia Shield. That one worked quite well, but again with this one, I couldn't "Drag" menus or even use a keyboard to see next screens or down menus.
I'm not going to get into a LOT more details, because I'm sure if somebody here is really going to help, they'll test this app to see what I mean. It's just REALLY weird!
Anyway, the app name is Provisioncam2.
I'd love to test things out with someone who may know more about android OS and these boxes. Please hit me up.
Good time of the day! It's cool that there are such applications. I myself use a similar application from ajax, which was so let's say bundled with this security system. I really liked the functionality. You can set up sensors and remotely monitor the apartment online. This is a very innovative solution just for the 21st century. Not like all the wired alarms from the last century, right? I'm always for progress! Therefore, I rate this app highly regardless of how well it works. Anyways, mine is better.