What tablet/device are you using for dashboards?

Great looking dashboards and info. What would be a recommended tablet for a wall mounted tablet? I have an Ipad mini, but every time I open Sharptools I have to login and the layout is much different than my computer I do like the mulitple dashboards mentioned just for the Ipad. . The wife will never go for this

Thanks

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Hey @Herb_Michelli-
I hope you don’t mind that I’ve moved your post from the Show off Your Dashboards thread into another related thread about which tablets people are using… if you scroll up a bit in the thread, you’ll find some relevant feedback!

The most popular tablets tend to be Amazon Fire Tablets, Apple iPads, and Samsung Galaxy Tabs (in rough order). Though any device with a modern web browser should work fine.

Amazon Fire Tablets

I think the Amazon Fire tablets are probably so popular based on being a good ‘bang for the buck’. They’re relatively low cost devices and have decent performance. There are definitely much more powerful devices out there though not at as good of a price. The Fire Tablets also have a decent number of options available for wall mounts on Etsy, Amazon, etc.

There’s also some neat apps like Fully Kiosk Browser which make it easy to wake the tablet on motion, set a screensaver, etc. Note that there are some limitations to the Fire tablets. For example, they cannot be automatically unlocked which means that you can’t let Fully Kiosk Browser let them go completely to sleep - the workaround most people use is to dim the screen as far as it will go on a black screensaver. (Normal Android tablets don’t typically have these same limitations)

Apple iPads

Apple iPads are also very popular. The new models are pretty powerful and there’s a wide variety of mounting options available for them. Relative to the Fire tablets, iPads are more expensive and the mounting options tend to be more expensive as well. That being said, they tend to be smooth / well performing devices.

While there isn’t a single stand-out “Kiosk” app that people use for iPads, it seems like a lot of people are happy with the Add to Homescreen approach.

As you noted, some of the older generation iPads might have some quirks. (The same really applies to older tablets of any sort which is why we generally recommend using a newer model tablet if you can - the newer models tend to be most performant and have support for the latest web standards)

Samsung Galaxy Tabs

The Samsung Galaxy Tabs share much in common with the Fire tablets in that they have access to the same apps like Fully Kiosk Browser which enable wake-on-motion and screensaver functionality.

The big difference is that Galaxy Tabs tend to be a bit more expensive than the Fire tablet counterparts… though their higher end models may be worth the premium as you get a more powerful device with a better quality screen.

Beyond that, I’d really leave it up to the community for their recommendations and experience. We’ve seen the community using a variety of other devices from RCA tablets that are occasionally on sale at Walmart to purpose-built in-wall tablets and more.

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what about mounting hardware ? What are people using ?

@John_Schultz

For Fire tablets, you can find some pretty reasonable priced mounts on Etsy, and just make sure you get the right one for your Fire tablet size and generation.

For iPad, I have seem some users posted some really nice mounts from iWallDock and iPort.

https://www.iwalldock.com/

The iPort Launch also allows you to undock from wall mount and turn it into a table top or vice versa, which is pretty cool.

Curious on the best ways to run power to these wall mounted devices. Is it hooking into a switch that’s close by?

yes, I wired from the switch below the tablet. Added an outlet with USB port and recessed mount behind the tablet. See photo from the post below.

So I’m looking into getting a couple tablets to setup 2 dashboard terminals in our new house. I’m leaning towards the fire hd 10. I see the current generation is 10 and I am wondering what generation fire hd 10 people on here are using? I have found some 7th for a reasonable price. Please give me your thoughts/suggestions.

I have been using 7th Fire HD 10" for the past couple years and it has been running fine. But I’d generally suggest the newer model for better performance. :joy:

@James I’ve been look at how to disable the lock on them. Lots of info some people say it works some says it doesn’t. What I’m hoping for is to achieve screen until motion detected for the dashboard going in the master bedroom. To your knowledge is there a better workaround?

Yes, I use Fully Kiosk Browser and use its Screensaver feature to dim the screen to lowest, and enable the Visual Motion Detection to wake the screen up. (Motion detection from the tablet’s camera.) So every time when somebody walks by it will turn the screen on. This is a very common approach for people using Fully Kiosk.

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My only concern is the little bit of light emitted from the screen at night with this going in the master bedroom. I was hoping for a full screen off.

The Fire Tablets will emit some level of light even when dimmed to the lowest setting. Probably fine for something like a hallway, but some people might find it distracting in a bedroom.

You might consider a traditional Android tablet if you want the screen to go completely off and the device to be able to wake (directly to your dashboard) when motion is detected. Samsung tablets are popular alternatives, but there’s a variety of other Android tablets out there that people have had luck with.

Let us know what device you end up going with and how you like it! :smiley:

Any advice on this tablet?

Wallmart onn

I would prefer a purpose-built tablet using a raspberry pi and a large 24” touchscreen. But I also want to be able to dynamically switch dashboards based on hub events, and I think that might require Fully Kiosk Browser app? Is there any way to run that app on a raspberry pi?

I´m thinking about use a Rasberry Pi with an old monitor(22"). I won´t have the touch screen function, but will be a large screen to use just to monitoring the status.
I´ll, probably use it in the corner of my man cave counter.

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Yep, I have old 22 here too, I am thinking to do the same, buy a Pi and set up to see all the status.

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Hi @josh, I am working on PI + Chromium in Kiosk Mode, in a config file I need to add a URL for my Dashboard, so when the page open ask for a login, so I does not have a keyboard/mouse connect to my PI, all the setup is done by SSH, so do you this is possible to add a login information on a URL?

Thank you

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An interactive login is required. Sessions are long lasting though so once you login on the device, you shouldn’t need to login again (unless there are changes to your account like a password reset that cause other sessions to get logged out).

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Hi all, I set up a Pi Zero W to works as Dashboard in mine office.

  • Pi Zero W
  • Power Supply 2.5A
  • MicroSD Card 32
  • USB OTG cable
  • USB Hub - only for initial setup
  • Mouse - only for initial setup
  • Keyboard - only for initial setup
  • MiniHDMI to HDMI adapter
  • HDMI to VGA adapter
  • 20.1inch 1600x1200 Lenovo/IBM Monitor

After tried many version of OS, the DietPi is my recommendation for Pi Zero W
Power On taking 4:15 minutes to have Dashboard ready on screen.
I still work on some issues
this screen below appear always when I power on and still for around 1 minute

After I have Dashboard ready to go

here my mess

So I think the Pi Zero W is not powerful if you want show cameras, for tiles work well, I will make a test with PI 3+.

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I´m plannig to do the same. Using a RPI 3 and a old 22" monitor.
Nice job!

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